New Uranium Canning Capabilities Could Save Millions at Y-12
Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
9/4/2015
Adding new capabilities for canning weapon-grade uranium could save as much as $30 million over the next five years at the Y-12 National Security Complex, according to the government’s managing contractor for the Tennessee facility.
Consolidated Nuclear Security this week released additional information about the canning work introduced this year at Building 9204-2E (also known as Beta-2E), which is perhaps best known as the Oak Ridge plant’s main facility for assembling and dismantling nuclear warhead parts.
An earlier report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board seemed to indicate that the canning work conducted at the 9212 uranium processing complex had been transferred to Beta-2E.
However, CNS said that’s not the case. Contractor spokeswoman Ellen Boatner said the work at Beta-2E will add to the capabilities at 9212 and increase the efficiency of Y-12 operations.
Boatner said the canning of uranium, which prepares the material for storage at the high-security Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, would continue and be expanded.
“The direct canning processing in Building 9204-2E (Beta-2E) allows operators to package some enriched uranium material removed from dismantled weapons … and ship it directly to the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility for long-term storage,” she said in response to questions. “Previously, all material from dismantled weapons in (Beta-2E) had to be shipped to Building 9212 for canning before being sent to HEUMF.”
The main driver for this expansion was to help “stem the flow” of enriched material into 9212, CNS said. That move limited the “material-at-risk in the facility by expanding and accelerating the ability to get material to its final storage place in HEUMF.”
The direct canning at Beta-2E also eliminated transportation and interim storage costs, while eliminating the “hazardous material handling concerns” associated with the canning operations in the 70-year-old 9212 complex.
Boatner said the estimated savings were at least $30 million between now and 2021. That’s based on the current dismantlement plans for Beta-2E, she said.
“By streamlining the path from 9204-2E to HEUMF, the new direct canning method also eliminates approximately 10,000 handling steps versus previous processes,” Boatner said.
CNS said it cost about $2 million to establish this capability at Beta-2E.
