NOTIFICATION OF DECISION ON TIMING OF THE PIT DISASSEMBLY AND PROCESSING LINE-ITEM PROJECTS
ECA Staff | 10/16/2023
NNSA has made a decision on the timing of the pit disassembly and processing (PDP) project. The project initiation will begin in the mid 2030s rather than the mid 2020s which was anticipated.
Early this year DOE's NNSA prepared a draft environmental impact statement for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program (SPDP) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the disposition of plutonium that is surplus to the defense needs of the U.S. NNSA's need for this action is so they can safely and securely dispose 34 metric tons (MT) of plutonium that is surplus to the Nation's defense needs so that it is not readily usable in nuclear weapons. To meet this purpose, NNSA analyzed two alternatives, the Preferred Alternative and the No Action Alternative.
The Preferred Alternative includes PDP of pit plutonium and non-pit metal processing (NPMP) of non-pit plutonium using a furnace in a glovebox, resulting in plutonium oxide.
The Preferred Alternative for disposition of 34 MT of surplus pit and non-pit plutonium is implementation of the dilute and dispose strategy to safely and securely disposition the surplus plutonium such that it could never again be readily used in a nuclear weapon. The Preferred Alternative would require new, modified, or existing capabilities at the Savannah River Site (SRS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Pantex Plant (Pantex), Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The dilute and dispose strategy can be accomplished via any of several sub-alternatives, all of which result in permanent disposal of the CH-TRU defense waste at the WIPP facility.
The No Action Alternative includes, (1) continued storage of pits at Pantex, (2) the continued plutonium mission at LANL to process up to 400 kg of actinides (including surplus plutonium) a year, and (3) disposition of up to 7.1 MT of non-pit surplus plutonium for which the disposition decision, using the dilute and dispose strategy, was announced in NNSA’s 2020 Amended Record of Decision (AROD) (85 FR 53350). NPMP could occur at an existing facility at LANL or a new facility built at SRS. If NPMP occurs at LANL, the resulting plutonium oxide would be shipped to SRS for dilution. In both cases, dilution, characterization, and packaging would occur at SRS followed by shipment to the WIPP facility in the same manner as discussed for the Preferred Alternative as shown in Table 1.
On October 11th, NNSA made a decision on the timing of the Pit Disassembly and Processing (PDP) Line-Item Project. After NNSA analyzed the options for expanding PDP at Savannah River Site (SRS) or Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and considered the current high volume major construction projects across the nuclear security enterprise, they decided to wait approximately 10 years beyond current plans to initiate the PDP capital line-item project. This means that the project initiation will occur in the mid 2030s rather than mid 2020s. NNSA can potentially re-evaluate this decision as conditions change. However, as of now NNSA will continue to dismantle surplus pits and produce plutonium oxide at LANL and will remain fully committed to disposing of 34 MT of surplus weapon-grade plutonium, consistent with the U.S.' international obligations.
The SPDP at SRS will continue as planned and NNSA will continue to downblend and ship material to WIPP for permanent disposition. This will allow NNSA to focus on removal of material from South Carolina in alignment with DOE's Settlement Agreement with South Carolina. NNSA will continue to engage with public stakeholders through the SPDP execution.
This decision from NNSA does not indicate that NNSA is choosing the no action alternative. This decision to re-evaluate the timing of the PDP line-item project is an acknowledgement that NNSA is nearing capacity for executing projects. The SPDP will continue with the current limited plutonium oxidation capabilities until PDP can be executed without the concern of competing for resources with critical pit-production priorities.