Department of Energy Plutonium Vulnerability Analysis Study

DOE-STD-1128-98

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities

surfaces because criticality could be a concern, depending on the geometry of the removed

coating when in the disposal unit.

7.6

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PLUTONIUM VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS STUDY

In March 1994, Department of Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary commissioned a comprehensive

assessment to identify and prioritize the environment, safety and health vulnerabilities that arise

from the storage of plutonium in the DOE facilities and determine which are the most dangerous

and urgent. These vulnerabilities are degradation in plutonium materials and packaging, and

weakness in facilities and administrative controls that can expose workers and public, or

contaminate the environment. The summary of the results presented in this section is taken from

DOE/DP-0123T, Assessment of Plutonium Storage Safety Issues at Department of Energy

Facilities (DOE, 1994a).

The assessment was commissioned because of recent ruptures of stored plutonium packages and the

need to store safely the large amount of plutonium-bearing materials held by the DOE in its aging

facilities. The ultimate goal of the assessment was to facilitate safe and stable interim storage until

its final disposition, which is not expected to take place for at least 10 to 20 years. The assessment

covered 166 facilities at 35 site and employed a Working Group process. The Plutonium Working

Group combined the talent of DOE federal staff, site management and operations contractors,

consultants and stakeholders. The Working Group developed plans and technical approaches for

the assessment and evaluated the assessment results. Overall, this assessment took more than six

months and 80,000 person-hours.

During the assessment, the DOE discussed information about vulnerabilities with stakeholders.

About 45 stakeholder groups were involved in either the Working Group meetings or local

activities associated with site assessments.

Excluding the classified mass of plutonium contained in nuclear weapon pits at the Pantex Plant in

Texas, these sites hold 26 metric tons of plutonium. Most of this is located in Rocky Flats,

Colorado; Hanford, Washington; Argonne-West, Idaho; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Savannah

River Site, South Carolina. The report details the most significant vulnerabilities within each site

and across all sites. The Working Group categorized and classified vulnerabilities based on

possible effects on workers, the public or environment.

The DOE-wide assessment identified 299 environment, safety and health vulnerabilities at 13 sites,

consisting of 91 material/packaging vulnerabilities, 140 facility condition vulnerabilities and 68

institutional vulnerabilities.

In general, the vulnerabilities identified in this assessment pose the greatest hazards to workers.

Packaging, which the Working Group found to be widely deficient for long term storage, is often

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