Appendix B Plutonium In Department of Energy Facilities

DOE-STD-1128-98

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