DOCUMENTING AND TRACKING NUCLEAR MATERIAL IN WASTE IN THE NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT AND SAFEGUARDS SYSTEM

Over the past several years, the Department of Energy (DOE) has given high priority to the accelerated cleanup and closure of sites and the disposition of nuclear materials. Enhanced cradle to grave tracking of nuclear material ensures consistency of nuclear material data, thereby, increasing public confidence in the Department’s overall nuclear material stewardship responsibilities. This paper will focus on one important aspect of nuclear material stewardship, the tracking of nuclear material in waste in the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS). The tracking of waste in NMMSS has been implemented by a “Top-Down Approach” utilizing existing DOE information databases and demonstrated by the ongoing Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Nuclear Material Pilot Test.