HB-Line Material Controla nd Accountability Measurements at the Savannah River Company

Presently, HB-Line work at the Savannah River Site consists primarily of the stabilization and packaging of nuclear materials for storage and the characterization of materials for disposition in H-Area. In order to ensure compliance with Material Control and Accountability (MC&A) Regulations, accountability measurements are performed throughout the HB-Line processes. Accountability measurements are used to keep track of the nuclear material inventory by constantly updating the amount of material in the MBAs (Material Balance Area) and sub-MBAs. This is done by subtracting the amount of accountable material that is added to a process and by adding the amount of accountable material that is put back in storage. A Physical Inventory is taken and compared to the “Book Value” listed in the Nuclear Material Accounting System. The difference (BPID) in the Book Inventory minus the Physical Inventory of a sub-account for bulk material must agree within the measurement errors (referred to as the Limit of Error for Inventory Differences – LEID) combined in quadrature to provide assurance that nuclear material is accounted for. This work provides an overview of HB-Line processes and accountability measurements. The Scrap Recovery Line (Phase I) and Neptunium-237/Plutonium-239 Oxide (Phase II) Line are described and sampling and analyses for Phase II are provided. Recommendations for improvements are provided to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness.