The downblending of 6 metric tons of plutonium at the Savannah River Site is expected to begin in September, with plans to complete the process over the next several years.
The weapon-usable, non-pit plutonium is not part of the 34 metric tons of material that would be processed by the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility being built at Department of Energy site in South Carolina – a facility the Obama administration has proposed to cancel. However, both the 6 metric tons and the 34 metric tons are stockpiles of excess plutonium that date back to the Cold War.
Downblending involves diluting the plutonium using inhibitor materials, thereby reducing the ability to use it for weapons production. The Energy Department on Dec. 24, 2015, reported a preferred alternative for processing 6 tons of plutonium stored at SRS and shipping the material to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. The plan was introduced as early as April 2015 in a final surplus plutonium disposition supplemental environmental impact statement, but gained traction in November after a report released by nuclear watchdog SRS Watch mentioned the document. In April, DOE posted its record of decision to move forward with the downblending alternative at SRS and ultimate disposal at WIPP.
SRS spokesman Jim Giusti said by email Wednesday that the site has approved a safety analysis to conduct the downblending in K Area, the location on site that also stores the excess plutonium. The next step is for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management contractor, to develop and approve operating procedures and perform a readiness assessment (RA) for the project. That is expected to surface next month. “Based on the results of the RA, SRNS will correct any deficiencies and resume down blending at the end of September 2016,” Giusti wrote.
Initial downblend operations will be performed four days a week in K Area. Downblending will take place on a one operation shift each of the four days using workers already employed at the site. If DOE decides to scale up the operation to perform downblending for four shifts each day of the week, the site would have to hire approximately 30 to 40 more workers. Once hired, it takes about three years to clear, train, and qualify the new personnel for operations, Giusti reported. A scale up would require an increase in funds, but that decision would be made further down the road, according to SRS Manager Jack Craig. “We’ll have the ability to demonstrate we can do downblending and then a decision will have to be made on if we want to expand that capacity. We can always scale up from that once we’ve demonstrated that it can be done,” Craig said.
SRS previously downblended plutonium from October 2011 through September 2012, and created 670 pipe-overpack containers of material. Some of the material remains at SRS and some has already been sent to WIPP, but DOE-SR could not confirm how much resides at either location. The operation ceased due to constrained budgets and the need to use the HB-Line facility for other missions, Giusti stated.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley reported in March that Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz had assured her that the 6 metric tons of plutonium would be leaving her state. At the time Haley said, “This is a big win for South Carolina, but we will continue to watch this process carefully.”
The federal government announced plans to scrap the MOX project after DOE projections last year estimated it would cost $51 billion over its lifetime, including about $5 billion that has already been spent. By comparison, DOE believes downblending the plutonium would only cost $17 billion.
The Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed on June 14 and calls for $340 million to continue MOX construction. The House passed its version in May, and also called for $340 million for MOX. The two bodies of Congress will now head into conference committee. Members of the committee are expected to be named on Friday.
