Hanford Site - doe-std-1128-98

DOE-STD-1128-98

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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.

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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.

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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

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