Establishment of the Heavy Isotopes Lead Material Management Organization (LMMO)

The US Department of Energy (DOE) possesses significant quantities of rare, irreplaceable actinide isotopes that can be used for future research and development (R&D) missions. Their production has been possible, in most cases, only by the massive investment of time, money, and special facilities associated with US Government–sponsored programs. Many of these isotopes are no longer needed for their originally intended purposes; however, the availability and uniqueness of the materials have spawned a large number of R&D efforts that have yielded both intellectual and commercial successes for DOE. Currently, many of these nuclear materials do not have a well-defined path forward either for retention for future use or disposal as waste. Additionally, no central planning activity coordinates users of special actinide isotopes with supplies of these materials. In 2009, DOE issued guidance in the form of DOE Order 410.2, Management of Nuclear Materials, which provides for Lead Material Management Organizations (LMMOs) to be designated for specific sets of nuclear materials. This paper describes the recent establishment of the Heavy Isotopes LMMO (HI LMMO) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The HI LMMO will serve a crosscutting function, both providing input to DOE regarding management of select heavy isotopes within the department and assisting in the development of long-term plans for future use. ORNL will maintain current inventory information, identify options for reuse, identity facility needs, and provide analysis to support “keep or dispose” decisions on these materials. The responsibilities of the HI LMMO include plutonium-240, plutonium-242, americium-241, americium-243, curium-242, curium-244, curium-246, curium-248, californium-249, californium-252, neptunium-237, uranium-233, uranium-234, thorium-228, and thorium-229.