Appendix B: Plutonium in Department of Energy Facilities

DOE-STD-1128-98

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities

APPENDIX B

PLUTONIUM IN DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FACILITIES

The mission of the DOE complex has changed significantly from the operation of the many and varied

facilities required for the production of a nuclear deterrent system to maintenance of a smaller-scale

nuclear weapons program, dismantling of surplus weapons, and decontamination and decommissioning of

facilities no longer needed. Many, although not all, of the DOE facilities were involved in the

production, separation, processing, handling, or storing of plutonium. This appendix describes those

DOE facilities which were significantly involved in these activities. It provides future users of this

manual with a brief description of the facilities and processes involving plutonium within the DOE

complex. Personnel at facilities with similar needs are encouraged to contact one another and share

information for increased safety and efficiency.

Many of the plutonium facilities given in this appendix are no longer in production and either are

currently or are scheduled to be incorporated into the environmental restoration program. The following

descriptions will alert the user to potential plutonium concerns within the facility.

B.1

ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY - WEST

Research and development activities involving plutonium at the Argonne National Laboratory have

been limited to Argonne West at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Pu-U-Mo

alloy fuel plates used in the Zero Power Physics Reactor are in storage at the facility. Some fuel-

cycle research and development using plutonium has been conducted, and plutonium metal and

oxides are in storage.

B.2

BATTELLE COLUMBUS LABORATORY - WEST JEFFERSON FACILITY

The West Jefferson Facility Nuclear Sciences area contained a hot laboratory, an administrative

building, a retired research reactor, and a decommissioned plutonium laboratory. The hot

laboratory was used for the examination of irradiated reactor fuel and other materials, as well as

for other purposes such as the preparation of sealed radiation sources. Entire power reactor fuel

assemblies were handled in this facility. The administrative building was used for critical

experiments from 1957 through 1963. The operating license was terminated in 1970 although a

storage vault was still being used for special nuclear material storage in 1987. The research reactor

ceased operation in 1975 and was being decommissioned in 1987. Since the plutonium laboratory

was dismantled in 1985, only hazardous materials operations have been conducted. The facility has

been undergoing decontamination and decommissioning, which should be completed in the near

future.

B.3

FEED MATERIAL PRODUCTION CENTER

The Feed Material Production Center was primarily a uranium processing and production facility.

However, trace quantities of plutonium were found in some of the recycled feed uranium. The site

is undergoing decontamination and decommissioning.

B-1