In its report, Management Challenges at the Department of Energy - Fiscal Year 2025, the U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provided updates
produced by the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) on the progress of its Pit Production Program, and the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) on its ongoing efforts to treat and locate disposal pathways for radioactive liquid waste. The OIG leveraged findings in other reports to highlight the progress made in each program, the challenges each program faces, and what solutions are available to DOE to address such challenges.
RESTORING PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION CAPABILITY
NNSA’s goal is to reach the capacity to produce 80 war-reserve (WR) plutonium pits per year (ppy) via a two-site solution, which aims to produce 30 WR ppy at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and 50 WR ppy at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF).
Newly manufactured pits are crucial to updating the safety and security of the American nuclear arsenal and maintaining confidence in American nuclear deterrence. The first production unit (FPU) of a WR plutonium pit was completed on schedule on at LANL on October 1, 2024.
However, NNSA has determined that the original goal of producing 50 ppy by 2030 at SRS to meet the overall 80 ppy objective is not
achievable. SRPPF officials have stated that their FPU is on track for 2035.
The reason for the pushback can be traced to several program management issues, including failure to reach key milestones, glovebox supply production issues, and workforce issues. The OIG cited and reiterated the findings of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, NNSA Does Not Have a Comprehensive Schedule or Cost Estimate for Pit Production Capability. The report recommended that the NNSA develop either a comprehensive schedule and/or cost estimate to meet GAO best practices and reduce risk of delay, especially with regards to reaching and achieving key milestones. There has been progress in this regard,
as in 2024, LANL developed a Plutonium Infrastructure Integrated Master Schedule that includes all work at the site.
The OIG also emphasized that NNSA is having difficulty in procuring a glovebox, a crucial piece of technology that allow workers to handle plutonium without exposure. There are a limited of manufacturers, and numerous production issues that have stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic, including filings for
bankruptcy among that limited number of manufacturers. NNSA expected glovebox manufacturing to take one (1) year, but vendors may take two (2) years to produce a glovebox. Moreover, design changes to the SRPPF, due to a change in contractor, are a major risk to completing the project within cost and schedule.
Retaining the highly trained pit production workforce is another concern. To address the challenge of keeping these
workers, NNSA has developed a Plutonium Premium Pay Program, which will work as a retention incentive program for employees working in designated facilities.
MANAGING RADIOACTIVE LIQUID WASTE
According to DOE officials, new policies and approaches to open new disposition pathways for tank waste have been instituted. The foremost
among those initiatives is the adoption and implementation of the high-level radioactive waste interpretation, which could enable DOE to manage and dispose of tank waste in a risk-based and more cost-effective manner that remains protective of human health and the environment.
For example, under the high-level radioactive waste interpretation, a second waste stream at SRS can potentially be disposal of at a licensed
commercial facility. The first shipment left SRS in March 2024.
Progress
The report noted progress and achievements made at the Hanford Site, SRS, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) over the past year.
Hanford:
- Startup and commissioning
preparations are underway at the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).
- Production of the first full test glass container at the Low-Activity Waste Facility in December 2023; cold commissioning is scheduled to begin in November 2024 to support commencement of radiological operations.
- Hanford’s Tank Side Cesium Removal System has staged over 500,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste in preparation to send to the Low-Activity Waste Facility
SRS:
- The Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) initiated hot commissioning in October 2020 and began full operations in January 2021.
- 7.5 million gallons of salt waste has been processed, as of December 2023.
- SWPF estimated process rates of up to 6 million gallons annually are projected as early as FY 2025 with current technologies, with the goal to achieve future processing rates of
up to 9 million gallons annually.
INL:
- The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) is expected to treat 900,000 gallons of liquid radioactive and hazardous waste stored in three stainless steel storage tanks.
- In May 2023, the IWTU began treating 100 percent sodium-bearing waste; more than 74,000 gallons of sodium-bearing waste has been processed to date.
Challenges
The report also noted challenges that have come in maintaining progress and meeting deadlines at the Hanford Site, SRS, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) over the past year.
Hanford:
- Identifying and developing technically achievable, cost-effective, and
viable approaches for treating the high-activity inventory of tank waste at Hanford for disposition.
- The need to complete startup and commissioning of facilities involved in the processing of low-activity waste.
- Identifying additional treatment options to address Hanford’s remaining low-activity inventory.
The Federally Funded Research and Development Center National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, recommended that DOE consider grout as an alternative to supplemental treatment of low-activity liquid waste. DOE is
working with regulators to advance a Test Bed Initiative to sufficiently treat 2,000 gallons of tank waste for this purpose.
SRS:
- Improving the Defense Waste Processing Facility’s and the SWPF’s long-term reliability and availability.
- Effective management of the spent nuclear fuel processing mission at the Savannah River H-Canyon Facility to enable processing up to 9 million gallons of
waste per year.
INL:
- Safe operation of the IWTU and interim storage of the stainless-steel canisters until the cannisters can be permanently disposed of in a national geologic repository. DOE estimates that processing the remaining tank farm liquid waste would take an additional 4–6 years.
- Securing a pathway for the disposal of the processed waste currently stored at
INL.
Read the full report yourself here.
ECA will continue to provide updates and summaries on assessments and reports on the DOE Pit
Production and Cleanup programs. For more information, please visit ECA’s website.
