Publication Laka-library:
Vol I: Briefing Package
| Author | Plutonium Working Gr US DoE |
| Date | |
| Classification | 3.01.5.30/07 (UNITED STATES - GENERAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANTS + CLEAN UP) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Executive Summary In March 1994, Department of Energy Secretary Hazel R O'Leary commissioned a comprehensive assessment to identify and prioritize the environment, safety and health vulnerabilities that arise from the storage of plutonium in the Department of Energy facilities and determine which are the most dangerous and urgent. These vulnerabilities are degradation in plutonium materials and packaging, and weaknesses in facilities and administrative controls that can result in inadvertent releases of plutonium that can expose workers and the public, or contaminate the environment. This report presents the results of that assessment. The assessment was commissioned because of recent ruptures of stored plutonium packages and the need to store safely the large amount of plutonium-bearing materials held by the Department in its aging facilities. The ultimate goal of the assessment is to facilitate safe interim storage of plutonium materials held by the Department. Plutonium will be kept in interim storage until its final disposition, which is not expected to take place for at least 10 to 20 years. The assessment covered 166 facilities at 35 sites and employed a Working Group process. The Plutonium Working Group combined the talent of DOE federal staff, site management and operations contractors, consultants and stakeholders. The Working Group developed plans and technical approaches for the assessment and evaluated the assessment results. Overall, this assessment took more than six months and consumed well over 80,000 person-hours. During the assessment, DOE discussed information about vulnerabilities with stakeholders. About 45 stakeholder groups were involved in either the Working Group meetings or local activities associated with site assessments. For example, state regulators and a representative of public interest groups participated in the Rocky Flats Plant facility inspections, and representatives from international and federal regulatory bodies participated in the general Working Group meetings. Local news media reported some of the results from individual site assessments during the summer and after the second Working Group meeting in August 1994. This DOE-wide assessment identified 299 environment, safety and health vulnerabilities at 13 sites. Excluding the classified mass of plutonium contained in nuclear weapon pits at the Pantex Plant in Texas, these sites hold 26 metric tons of plutonium. Most of this is located at Rocky Flats, Colorado; Hanford, Washington; Argonne-West, Idaho; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. This report details the most significant vulnerabilities within each site and across all sites. The figure shown on slide 13, Summary of Vulnerability Categories and Classifications shows how the Working Group categorized and classified vulnerabilities based on possible effects on workers, the public or environment.
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