The initial HEUMF load out was completed on Wednesday, April 7, in 73 days, which is well ahead of the 90-day goal and a fraction of the original plan that called for loading to be performed over a 13-month period
– By Stephen Heiser –
Officials at the Y-12 National Security Complex announced today they have finished the transfer of enriched uranium from a warehouse in operation since the 1940s into the nation's new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility more than two weeks ahead of an already highly accelerated schedule.
The initial HEUMF load out was completed on Wednesday, April 7, in 73 days, which is well ahead of the 90-day goal and a fraction of the original plan that called for loading to be performed over a 13-month period. HEUMF operations were authorized two months ahead of schedule in January, with loading beginning on Jan. 25. The accelerated plan saved approximately $26 million and was made possible by detailed planning, material preparation and staging, repackaging and relocating materials not suitable for the new facility, and application of lean manufacturing principles.
"The start of HEUMF operations has been remarkably smooth, including stellar operational readiness reviews and this very successful initial loading effort,” said Ted Sherry, Manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 Site Office. “It's a credit to a site office and contractor team dedicated to the President's commitment to safe, secure and efficient storage that ensures nuclear security not just for the United States but nations around the world."
“Completing this task was the result of a concentrated effort by a dedicated, integrated team,” said Darrel Kohlhorst, president and general manager of B&W Y-12, which operates the site for the National Nuclear Security Administration. “This is truly the first large move toward the transformation of Y-12 and ranks with some of the other very large historical activities that have occurred at this great facility. The Y-12 team once again has proven the ability to rise to the occasion and meet the goal.”
About 40 percent of Y-12’s highly enriched uranium now is stored at HEUMF. Additional enriched uranium currently located in four processing areas at Y-12 will be moved to the HEUMF over the next year and a half to provide more efficient and secure storage, and to free up valuable space for materials needed in manufacturing operations.
The HEUMF will replace aging facilities with a single state-of-the-art storage facility. The largest construction project at the Oak Ridge facility in more than 40 years, the $549 million HEUMF was completed in 2008.
HEUMF was dedicated March 22 by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and will play a major role in helping NNSA accomplish its mission of protecting the nation’s inventory of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is a vital national security asset. The enriched uranium stored at HEUMF will be used for maintaining the U.S. nuclear deterrent and as a source of fuel for the Naval Reactors program. Other uses of the material include downblended fuel for commercial, research or medical isotope production reactors.
In addition to being a modern facility for receiving, shipping and providing long-term storage of HEU, the HEUMF will be an integral part of NNSA Administrator Tom D'Agostino's plan to move from a Cold War-era nuclear weapons complex to a 21st century national security enterprise. It also is a key part of Y-¬12’s long-range modernization plan.
The HEUMF is a large (approximately 300 ft. by 475 ft.) primarily reinforced concrete structure with adjoining equipment and administrative area. It will provide storage capacity for thousands of containers of material to be held in specially designed storage racks. Construction of the HEUMF began in 2004.
HEUMF was constructed with 91,000 cubic yards of concrete, 5,800 tons of rebar and more than 1.5 million linear feet of wiring. The HEUMF is one of two facilities whose joint mission will be to accomplish the storage and processing of all enriched uranium in one small, centralized area. A new Uranium Processing Facility is being designed and is to be built next to HEUMF.
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science in the nation’s national security enterprise. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. Visit http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/ for more information.