Unallocated Off-Specification Highly Enriched Uranium Study: Disposition Implementation and Revision

In September 2001, a technical study report was issued that evaluated disposition options and recommended disposition paths for approximately 22 MTU of off-specification (offspec) surplus highly enriched uranium (HEU) that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for dispositioning.1 This HEU is contaminated with plutonium (Pu) or other impurities, or has unusual uranium isotopic ratios. These materials are considered off-spec because, when down blended to low-enriched uranium (LEU), they will not meet the normal commercial nuclear fuel specifications. The HEU Disposition Program Office (HDPO), BWXT Y-12, develops plans and integrates the surplus HEU disposition activities in support of the Office of Fissile Materials Disposition. Based on disposition recommendations from the study report, approximately 6 MTU of this 22 MTU were successfully added to the established interagency agreement between DOE and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for using off-spec fuel in commercial reactors under the Off-Specification Fuel Program. The additional material forms include oxides and miscellaneous compounds. Most of this material will be processed to LEU at the TVA vendor, and some will be down blended at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for delivery as LEU to the TVA vendor. Disposition implementation began with development of site specific disposition projects to prepare the materials for shipment to the TVA vendor or SRS. In some cases, equipment needed to be installed or modified to process or package the materials. Once the material is packaged for shipment, the required shipper and receiver documentation is prepared. The actual material deliveries from INEEL, SRS, and Y-12 have to be projected and coordinated with the Office of Secure Transportation. What is the disposition status of the remaining approximately 16 MTU of off-spec surplus HEU? In the timeframe from the completion of the off-spec study to the present, several programmatic and site drivers have impacted the viability of some of the recommended disposition paths and quantities of off-spec HEU remaining to be dispositioned. As a result, HDPO commissioned a new study team to re-evaluate disposition paths for the current inventory of off-spec surplus HEU. The evaluation process and preliminary disposition recommendations will be presented.