Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
12/11/2015
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) and the Department of Energy plan to ramp up production of plutonium oxide feed to support the nation’s MOX method of plutonium disposition. The feedstock, which will be produced using the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon and HB-Line facilities, is a diluted version of plutonium and would be used to feed 34 metric tons of weapon-grade plutonium into the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The MFFF will convert the material into commercial nuclear fuel – a mission the nation pledged to complete in an agreement with Russia that requires both countries to dispose of the same amount of weapon-usable plutonium.
The issue was discussed during a Dec. 1 committee meeting of the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB), according to SRS Watch Director Tom Clements. Jimmy Winkler, an SRNS senior technical adviser, gave an update on the status of SRNS-operated facilities that were previously under an operational safety pause after a plutonium sample headed to the Savannah River National Laboratory was improperly stored in a container that was not fit for transport.
The incident, among other safety issues, pushed SRNS to enter into a safety pause on all nonessential missions, including the production of plutonium feedstock. Last week, HB-Line joined H Canyon and other facilities in exiting the safety pause and is now in deliberate operations – a phase in which workers pay extra attention to detail and planning. During deliberate operations, SRNS will prepare the HB-Line to resume production of plutonium oxide. Once the facilities are ready, production will "eventually increase," said SRS spokesman Jim Giusti. Production of the feedstock began in 2014, and the goal is to have feedstock available in time for startup of the MFFF.
Clements said the details were confirmed at the Dec. 1 meeting by Patrick McGuire, the SRS assistant manager for the Nuclear Material Stabilization Project. H Canyon is expected to provide 3.7 metric tons of plutonium oxide feedstock for the MFFF. Giusti said previous production goals are being re-evaluated and a revised capacity will be established when SRNS exits deliberate operations. "DOE has requested SRNS evaluate an achievable production capacity in light of corrective actions brought about by the pause," Giusti said.
Clements disagreed with the decision and noted that the safety pause marked the second time this year in which work at HB-Line has been compromised. The first time occurred in February when SRNS workers discovered that the agitators on HB-Line had gone down, which went unnoticed for a month. The problem was the result of a January power outage. "The decision to place HB-Line in full-throttle production after two closure incidents is questionable and could introduce stresses resulting in safety problems," Clements said.
Mike Johnson, executive director of Aiken-based Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, said he has confidence that HB-Line will exit deliberate operations prepared to resume the mission of removing plutonium from South Carolina. "I would expect that resumption would include a slow ramp-up to full production, as would occur in any nuclear or non-nuclear process start-up," Johnson said. H Canyon and HB-Line are projected to exit deliberate operations in late January.
