Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
10/16/2015
The National Nuclear Security Administration has approved Critical Decisions 1 and 3-A for an electrorefining project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, setting the stage for replacing an “analogous capability” for purifying uranium metal that is currently housed in the 70-year-old 9212 complex at Oak Ridge.
According to information in a newly released memo by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the cost range for the Y-12 project is $58.6 million to $76.7 million.
The electrorefining project will take place in Building 9998, which is sandwiched between 9212 and the 9215 uranium complex. The location is in the industrial heart of Y-12’s production complex on the west end of the Tennessee plant.
Purifying enriched uranium metal is considered an essential part of Y-12’s defense missions.
The electrorefining project is scheduled to become operational in summer 2021, and it is part of Y-12’s overarching strategy to vacate the aged 9212 complex and other old production facilities as soon as feasible. The location of the work at Building 9998 also reflects the change in strategy for the Uranium Processing Facility, which at one time was envisioned to be the hub for virtually all of the site’s uranium work. Based on cost-cutting recommendations from review teams, planners are now trying to take advantage of existing buildings where possible.
Multiple projects are on the drawing board at Y-12, including the installation of a “calciner” in 9212 to help recycle scraps of enriched uranium in solutions, such as mop water and other liquids, and convert them to an oxide form. The calciner is a rotary kiln, with related components, and has an estimated cost up to $46.4 million.
The safety board report indicated that Tim Driscoll, the NNSA’s uranium program manager at agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., approved the critical decisions that establish alternatives for the uranium purification effort and pave the way for long-lead procurements for the electrorefining equipment.
The NNSA Production Office previously OK’d a “safety validation report” for the project. That includes the safety design strategy and other documents. According to the DNFSB staff report, some of the project’s design features are focused on protecting against a possible nuclear criticality event at the enriched uranium facility.
