Lifecycle Management of Nuclear Materials at Y-12

The Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) is responsible for the manufacture of nuclear weapons parts, assemblies, and components; the safeguarding of special nuclear material (SNM); and the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Nuclear Material Management and Storage (NMM&S) Program is the Y-12 organization within Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (RTBF) responsible for accomplishing the lifecycle management of nuclear materials which include the following: 1) The safe, secure storage of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) and other SNM in Material Access Areas (MAAs); 2) The safe, secure storage of lithium and other non- SNM materials in non-MAA storage; and 3) The disposition of materials that no longer have a defined use. The NMM&S Program activities involve extensive interaction other DOE/NNSA sites; industrial partners; and oversite and integrating organizations. Activities within the NMM&S Program are organized by work breakdown structure to insure clear lines of responsibilities and authority. The major emphasis of the NMM&S Program in recent years has been: 1) Support of nuclear weapons production, dismantlement, refurbishment, and assembly activities; 2) Improvement in material storage conditions through facility upgrades, such as the new Highly Enriched Uranium Material Facility, consolidation, and packaging improvements; and 3) Disposition of a large inventory of legacy materials and equipment that no longer have a defined use. Substantial inventories of legacy materials with no defined use, including almost 1.5 million kg of depleted and natural uranium, over 100,000 kg of lithium compounds, and almost 500,000 ft3 of classified items, have been dispositioned off-site in recent years.