Tritium NNSA?s ?Most Pressing? Defense Mission Need: Report

Tritium production is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “most pressing defense mission need,” according to the recently released “Tritium and Enriched Uranium Management Plan through 2060” published by the Energy Department. Tritium for use in the NNSA’s weapons program is produced by burning unencumbered LEU at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar nuclear plant. The gas, which is used to boost the yield of a nuclear explosion, is captured when the LEU is irradiated and sent to the Savannah River Site, where it is processed. Unobligated low enriched uranium fuel for tritium production was projected to be expended by 2027, but that could be a moot point, as the report states that the unobligated LEU fuel “heed date” for tritium production could reasonably be extended until 2038-2041 or later, if NNSA acts.

According to the 55-page report, options that could allow this extension include preserving existing unobligated LEU inventories, repurposing excess uranium, and down-blending national security and excess highly enriched uranium. “Based on long-range processing and capability assessments, current and future recycle and recovery capabilities and capacity are insufficient to process the materials in this backlog for many decades, even considering Y-12’s forecast transition to the new Uranium Processing Facility,” the report states.