Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
3/21/2014
A significant slowdown in warhead dismantlement activities is planned for Fiscal Year 2015, according to budget documents released this week. The documents show a steep reduction in spending for dismantlement, with the money apparently being shifted to other programs in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Directed Stockpile Work. As proposed, NNSA funding for dismantlement and disposition activities would drop from the current level of $54.3 million to $30 million. Dismantlement at Pantex, the main assembly/disassembly center, would be reduced by 40 percent.
The documents indicated that the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, a sister plant to Pantex, would continue dismantlement of warhead components at a level needed to meet the material needs of in-house and external customers. After the initial disassembly at Pantex, Y-12 receives the parts originally manufactured in Oak Ridge to take them apart and reuse some of the materials, notably the highly enriched uranium.
2022 Dismantlement Goal in Jeopardy?
One of the big questions is how this slowdown in FY2015 will impact the Department of Energy’s commitment to dismantle all weapons retired before 2009 by the year 2022. Since making that commitment four years ago, the NNSA facilities have reportedly dismantled more than 35 percent of the retired weapons in the queue. The budget documents indicated a new plan will be developed for meeting the commitments. The budget document explanation for the drop in funding is that the NNSA uses the dismantlement program as a “workload leveler” across all programs. “The reduced FY 2015 funding does not neces- sarily mean NNSA will not meet its 2022 goal as the funding comes back up to expected levels later in the FYNSP (Future Year Nuclear Security Plan),” the document states.
In the current year, the agency is planning to”pursue a balanced approach” to dismantling warheads and canned subassemblies, using “efficiencies” and multi-shift operations to get the job done. In FY 2015, Y-12 will dismantle the CSAs as “feedstock” for other projects. “Y-12 will receive the minimum number of CSAs to sustain the Pantex dismantlement line,” the document states. The budget documents indicate Y-12 in FY 2015 would maintain the dismantlements needed to provide materials for life-extension projects and supply fuel for the nuclear Navy. Also, the Oak Ridge would “continue with dismantlement deliverables for the W80 ALT 369 and W76-1 LEP.”
Outyear Funding Expected to Rise
Outyear funding projections indicate that funding for dismantlements will begin to creep back up toward historical levels, with $46.8 million planned for FY 2016, $47 million planned for FY 2017, $63.6 million planned for FY 20018 and $71 million planned for FY 2019. It’s apparent that the slowdown in 2015 will have impacts, however. Both Y-12 and Pantex are supposed to complete development of post-FY 2015 “recovery plans” for the dismantlement program. Pantex is reportedly ahead of schedule on its weapon dismantlements and that apparently is part of the rationale for shifting funds in FY2015 as part of an effort to find money for other projects in the weapons program.
The NNSA has indicated that it will continue dismantlement at Y-12 to meet its “stream requirements, “and move forward with dismantlement of W76-0 warheads at a rate needed to support the W76-1 Life Extension Program. There is some conflicting information about disposition of components, with one document indicating that the disposition of W76 components would take place so as not to create storage issues while another document said disposition of components would be put on hold during 2015.
The NNSA also said it is conducting, as promised in a February letter to the GAO, an analysis of more effective ways to complete the dismantlement and disposition of nuclear weapons. But it appears there is a possibility of extending the date for completing some of the promised dismantlement goals.
