Sandia National Laboratories Special Nuclear Material De-inventory Project; Best Practices and Lessons Learned

On May 7, 2004, the Secretary for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced the National Nuclear Security Agency’s (NNSA) Nuclear Materials Consolidation Initiative. This program was established to reinforce national security by consolidating Special Nuclear Material (SNM) from across the nuclear weapons complex. As an early adopter of this initiative, Sandia National Laboratories was directed to remove all Security Category I and II SNM from the Albuquerque, New Mexico site by the end of fiscal year 2007. Seven target groups of SNM were identified in order to meet the objectives and establish Sandia National Laboratories as a “non-enduring” SNM site for the complex. The Sandia SNM De-inventory project is in progress and has so far resulted in the removal of four of the original seven target groups. Disposition of SNM is a formidable challenge under the best circumstances. Accomplishing these objectives on an aggressive schedule amplifies the challenges and causes unexpected ones, given the myriad of stakeholders and special project requirements. While many of the core processes to ship and dispose of materials are well-established, the unique characteristics, security requirements, and inter-lab and DOE agency coordination for many of the materials do not lend themselves to utilizing the typical transfer routines. SNM disposition requirements include material analysis, site receiving agreements, shipping container certifications, safeguards and security protections, authorization basis approvals, and nuclear criticality safety. Also, basic project management elements including budget, staffing, stakeholder buy-in, and effective communication must be managed judiciously to ensure project success. This paper presents best practices and lessons learned during the Sandia National Laboratories SNM De-inventory Project. Other NNSA facilities are planned for de-inventory over the coming years to reduce security targets and protection costs. It is hoped that lessons learned at Sandia can be applied at the other sites as their project teams embark on their SNM de-inventory efforts. Topical areas are Methodologies and Best Practices and Testing, Assessments, and Lessons Learned. Subtopical areas include Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Materials Control and Accountability, Waste Management, and Packaging and Transportation.