Year
2005
Abstract
The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has an exceptional history of leading precedent- setting overseas operations to rapidly respond to threats posed by vulnerable caches of nuclear and radiological materials of proliferation concern. On three occasions over the last 10 years, DOE has called upon the experience and capability of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) staff to conceive, plan, and conduct (with the support of other DOE/NNSA laboratories and sites) ever more complex, sensitive, and dangerous missions to meet the needs of U.S. national security. Each of the missions will be described at some level of detail. During each of these missions, extremely valuable experience has been gained in the planning, estimating, organizing, management, and execution of such activities. In each case, extensive knowledge was gained on what types of equipment were ideal for these operations. Prior to and during subsequent operations, new and more capable equipment was identified and procured to enhance NNSA’s future response capabilities. Over the past 10 years, ORNL has accumulated a significant quantity and range of technical and logistical equipment that is now dedicated to support future rapid recovery operations. In addition, ORNL has broken ground on a new facility that will further enhance its ability to support DOE’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which is now formally chartered with the programmatic responsibility to identify, recover, and secure vulnerable nuclear materials.