Aberdeen/SPR II Nuclear Material: A Successful Integrated Effort to Disposition Legacy Highly Enriched Uranium

Recognizing the cost of storage and safekeeping of excess special nuclear material (SNM), the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated an integrated effort to support the disposition of legacy highly enriched uranium (HEU) associated with the Army Pulse Radiation Facility at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APRF/APG) and the Sandia Pulse Reactor II (SPR II) at the Sandia National Laboratory (SNL). Participating in this disposition effort were the Department of Army (Army) and sites within the DOE including the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Nevada Test Site (NTS), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), and the Savannah River Site (SRS) along with the Office of Secure Transportation (OST). As a result of this integrated effort, the HEU is now scheduled for disposition as part of a campaign to process lightly irradiated HEU for down blend to commercial reactor fuel. This paper describes challenges faced and lessons learned while removing HEU from an Army facility and then preparing, packaging, and shipping the material to meet the processing window at SRS.