Management of Uranium-233 Inventories

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued guidance in the form of DOE Order 410.2, Management of Nuclear Materials, which authorized the formation of Lead Materials Management Organizations (LMMOs) for the oversight of specific sets of nuclear materials. The LMMO serves 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 and/or disposition. As the LMMO for Heavy Isotopes, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) performs these functions for heavy isotopes. The LMMO maintains an inventory, identifies options for reuse, identifies facility needs, and provides analysis to support “keep-or-dispose” decisions for these materials by Office of Nuclear Materials Integration (ONMI). The Heavy Isotope LMMO developed a Material Specific Management Plan (MSMP) to integrate nuclear material management activities for the present uranium-233 (233U) inventories across DOE, to identify integration opportunities, and to serve as a link between program requirements and the DOE National Strategic Plan for Nuclear Materials. The US government evaluated the use of 233U for weapons, reactors, and other purposes from the 1950s into the 1970s, with large-scale production and reprocessing of the material occurring in the latter part of that period. This paper summarizes the US production of 233U and the disposition plan for the current US inventory. The vast majority of the DOE inventory of 233U was produced at the Hanford and Savannah River Sites between 1964 and 1970 for Defense Programs, including a substantial load slated for use in Light Water Breeder Reactor demonstration in the Shippingport Reactor. Uranium-233 was also recovered from the irradiation of thorium in the Consolidated Edison Indian Point Reactor.