Hanford Site

DOE-STD-1128-98

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities

B.4

HANFORD SITE

Nine reactors were operated at various times at the Hanford Site for the production of plutonium.

Plutonium separation from irradiated fuel started at the Hanford Site in December 1944 in T-Plant

in the 200-West Area. Processed material from T-Plant was transferred to 224-T and to 231-Z for

additional processing. The final Hanford product was a plutonium nitrate paste which was shipped

to Los Alamos for further processing. A sister facility, B-Plant, was constructed to increase

capacity. A new facility, Redox, was started in 1952 using a new, more efficient process. Another

plutonium separations facility soon followed, the PUREX Plant, in 1955. Because of the capacity

of this new process and its efficiency, T-Plant, B-Plant, and Redox were shut down. Plutonium

purification and further processing was conducted in 234-5 facility. A detailed history of these

facilities and processes can be found in WHC-MR-0437, A Brief History of the Purex and UO3

Facilities (Gerber, 1993), and in WHC-MR-0452, Dramatic Change at T Plant (Gerber, 1994). It

may be noted that PUREX is also currently shut down.

A large number of support facilities were required for the plutonium separations activities.

Analytical and testing laboratories and research and development facilities used in the support of

the plutonium activities are located in the 200-East, 200-West, and 300 Areas. Specific buildings

handling plutonium in the 300 Area include 3706 in the early years and 308, 324, 325, 329, 331 and

3720 in the later years to the current time. Building 331 used plutonium aerosols for inhalation

uptake studies. Building 326 also performed analyses and measurements on small quantities of

plutonium, generally environmental levels.

There are no plutonium production or processing activities currently active at the Hanford Site.

B.5

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducts significant design, development, and

quality control activities using plutonium. The Plutonium Facility (Building 332) was constructed

in 1960 to provide a capability for safe handling and storage of plutonium in support of the

laboratory's metallurgical research and development effort and the nuclear weapons design

program. The facility has been expanded and upgraded several times to increase capacity and

enhance safety features. All the capabilities necessary for fabrication of plutonium weapons parts

and the metallurgical evaluations accompanying those operations are available within the facility.

The Laser Isotope Separation program has been a major user of the facility.

B.6

IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY

The INEL use of plutonium is associated primarily with two areas. The Radioactive Waste

Management Complex (RWMC) has in the past received plutonium wastes from DOE facilities

such as Rocky Flats and Mound Laboratory. Plutonium waste at the RWMC is stored pending

characterization and eventual disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Other INEL facilities

using plutonium are the Argonne National Laboratory - West Site; the EBR II reactor, a fast breeder

reactor fueled with plutonium and the Fuel Conversion Facility, built to demonstrate the concept of

removing EBR II fuel, processing it in an enclosed attached facility, and reusing the plutonium and

actinides in refueling the reactor. Closure of these facilities curtailed these functions, but the

remaining fuel is still stored pending eventual disposal. Additional plutonium was used at the Zero

Power Reactor for design testing. Plutonium is an incidental radioisotope encountered at the Idaho

Chemical Processing Plant.

B-2