Plutonium metal operations at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site resumed last month, following a yearlong suspension that started with a safety pause induced in September 2015 by facility management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS).
Plutonium metal operations, in which plutonium is repackaged from its original storage container in K Area, to a container that can be safely dissolved in the SRS H Canyon facility, is the first step in producing plutonium oxide feed for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF).
The feedstock, which will be produced using the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon and HB-Line facilities, is a diluted version of plutonium and would be used to feed 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium into the MFFF, which would convert the material into commercial nuclear fuel. The plutonium must be processed under a 2000 U.S.-Russian nonproliferation deal that was recently suspended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the program falls by the wayside, DOE says the oxide material will still be in a form that can be safely managed for disposal.
To resume the plutonium metal mission, SRNS revised repacking procedures to clarify the steps of the operation, trained the operators on the revised procedures including via practice runs in the site training facility, and conducted an independent assessment regarding readiness to operate. “In addition, DOE also performed oversight to confirm SRNS’ readiness to resume operations,” SRNS spokeswoman Angie French said by email. “SRNS also provided senior supervisory oversight during the repackaging evolution.”
