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The National Nuclear Security Administration could dispose of more plutonium at the Savannah River Site.
The semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday it would be holding a 60-day public comment period and four public hearings regarding its plans for the final disposition of 34 metric tons of plutonium.
A metric ton is equal to 1,000 kilograms and 2,205 pounds.
The plutonium comprised of both pit- and non-pit plutonium was set to be converted into mixed-oxide fuel and disposed of in commercial nuclear reactors pursuant to a post-Cold War agreement between the United States and Russia to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium each.
The conversion into mixed-oxide fuel was planned to happen at the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site, but the facility ran into technical and organizational problems and was ultimately stopped in 2016 and canceled in 2018, leaving the NNSA without a path to dispose of the plutonium.
The NNSA’s preferred alternative is to dispose of the plutonium via the dilute and dispose method.
Diluting and disposing of plutonium involves shipping the plutonium from the Pantex facility in Texas to another NNSA site where it will be mixed with a classified substance known as stardust and then packaged and shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico for burial in a salt formation.
The NNSA offers two potential sites where the plutonium can be mixed before being shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: the Savannah River Site and Los Alamos National Laboratory. It also offers two alternatives involving both facilities.
In the Savannah River Site alternative, a new capability to disassemble the pit plutonium would be added to F or K area. Highly enriched uranium would be shipped to the Y-12 National Security Facility for final disposal and by-products would be shipped to Los Alamos National Laboratory for disposal.
In the Los Alamos National Laboratory alternative, the facilities at PF-4 would be expanded. Highly enriched uranium would be shipped to the Y-12 National Security Facility for final disposal.
In one of the combination alternatives, the pit plutonium would be disassembled at Los Alamos before being shipped to the Savannah River Site’s K-Area for mixing and shipping.
The other combination alternative is similar but adds 7.1 metric tons of non-pit plutonium for mixing and shipping in K-Area.
In-person hearings are scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 19, 2023, at the North Augusta Municipal Building located at 100 Georgia Ave.; 6 to 9 p.m. Mountain Time Jan. 24, 2023, at the Carousel House at Pecos River Village Conference Center located at 711 Muscatel Drive, Carlsbad, N.M.; and from 6 to 9 p.m. Mountain Time Jan. 26, 2023, at the Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School located at 1300 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, N.M.
The fourth hearing will be virtual and will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 30, 2023. The link to the hearing will be posted before the hearing at energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room.
The public comment period ends Feb. 14, 2023. Written comments can be sent by email to SPDP-EIS@nnsa.doe.gov or to Maxcine Maxted, NEPA Document Manager, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Material Management and Minimization, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802. Phone comments can be left at 803-952-7434.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment – including your personally identifiable information – may be made publicly available. If you wish for NNSA to withhold your name and/or other personally identifiable information, state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. You may also submit comments anonymously.
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