The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has formally amended its approach to meeting enriched uranium requirements at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee by upgrading some existing enriched uranium processing facilities and constructing a multi-building Uranium Processing Facility (UPF). An amended record of decision published Tuesday represents the final step in the process to adopting the new approach.
The new decision amends NNSA’s July 2011 record of decision, in which the agency said it planned to adopt the preferred alternative from an environmental impact statement issued that same year to construct and operate a single-structure UPF to replace existing buildings. UPF will host enriched uranium operations in support of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
A 2014 review of UPF project then led to a revised strategy under which NNSA would construct the plant to consist of multiple buildings rather than a single-structure facility – each according to the security requirements of the building’s function – and maintain and upgrade some existing enriched uranium facilities, the latest notice said.
The new decision follows an April 2016 supplemental analysis through which “NNSA determined that there are no significant environmental concerns that warrant preparation of a supplemental or new [environmental impact statement] prior to construction of the UPF,” according to NNSA spokeswoman Francie Israeli.
Y-12’s primary enriched uranium capabilities are currently housed in the Manhattan-era 9212 complex. The agency plans to shut down this complex and transition its operations into the new UPF by 2025. Part of the project now includes extending the service lives of aging facilities such as 9204-2E and 9215 to host some of operations from the 9212 complex.
The costs of extending the life of those two facilities will not be part of the overall UPF construction cost, which is capped at $6.5 billion.
“NNSA has decided to separate the single-structure UPF design concept into a new design consisting of multiple buildings, with each constructed to safety and security requirements appropriate to the building’s function,” the notice said, a decision that combined two alternatives put forth in the 2011 environmental impact statement.
Safety evaluations of the continued use of existing facilities have concluded that radiation doses from normal operations would fall below regulatory standards and therefore have no significant impact on the health and safety of workers and the public, the notice said.
