Integration of Safeguards and Security to Reconfigure Special Nuclear Material Storage Areas

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Orders require facilities to determine the safeguards category of the facility based upon the quantities and attractiveness of the special nuclear materials (SNM) present at the facility. This determination of site’s category must address roll-up of the special nuclear materials from the various areas within the facility. Roll-up is the accumulation of smaller quantities of SNM to a higher category. In general, the special nuclear materials from all material balance areas at a facility are combined to determine the overall categorization for the facility. However, DOE allows facilities to establish programs to prevent the credible roll-up on material through activities, such as pre-approved transfers by both the material control and accounting (MC&A) organization and the shipping and receiving materials balance area (MBA) custodians, phone-ahead authorizations, or preliminary calculations by the accounting system with computerized notification. If such measures are established and a vulnerability assessment demonstrates that roll-up is not credible, the protection strategy for SNM at the facility may be safeguarded and protected based on the total quantity of SNM for a location (e.g., Material Access Area, Protected Area, building, or group of buildings) instead of the entire facility. In 1995, EG&G Mound Applied Technologies (EG&G), which operated the Mound facility under contract to DOE, developed a plan where the SNM on inventory could be reconfigured into multiple Category III locations (SNM storage vaults and vault-type rooms) and developed administrative procedures and controls to effectively prevent credible roll-up on SNM to a Category II level. Upon completion of the facility’s vulnerability assessment and subsequent approval of that assessment by the DOE Ohio Field Office, EG&G implemented the plan and resulted in a documented cost savings of over $1.6M.