Hyatt, N.C.

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This is a repository copy of eLetters: Preventing future failure of plutonium disposition strategies.White Rose Research Online URL for this paper:http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/131383/Version: Accepted VersionArticle:Hyatt, N.C. (2018) eLetters: Preventing future failure of plutonium disposition strategies. Science, 360 (6390). ISSN 0036-8075 eprints@whiterose.ac.ukhttps://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. Letter: Preventing future failure of plutonium disposition strategies Neil C. Hyatt Department of Materials Science, Sir Robert Hadfield Building, Mappin Street, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, United Kingdom Following its decision terminate the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at Savannah River, after a decade of construction activity and expenditure of more than $7.6 Billion [1], the US Department of Energy plans to “dilute and dispose” of 34 tons of surplus weapons plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).  Whilst this may present an expedient route to reducing the immediate proliferation risk of this material, the long term safety of this disposition option is uncertain [2,3].  In particular, the original disposal system safety case is challenged by the increase in envisaged plutonium inventory (by a factor of three), increased risk of human intrusion, and lack of sufficiently demanding performance requirements on the plutonium disposal package, due to reliance on the geological isolation [3]. The failure of MFFF will also urge further scrutiny of the UK policy to disposition up to 140 tons of separated plutonium as MOX fuel, with no evident appetite for utilisation in commercial reactors [4].   In 1994, the National Academy of Sciences advised the US Government to adopt a “dual-track strategy” for managing surplus plutonium, with parallel development of MOX fuel and immobilisation approaches to de-risk the programme, given the uncertainties in cost and technical implementation, and to achieve earlier completion of the disposition mission [5].  Immobilisation technology has matured considerably over the last two decades and is considered a credible option for disposition of the UK plutonium stockpile [4,6].  Accelerating the development of this technology, to demonstrate pilot and full scale production of a passively safe and proliferation resistant wasteform, in an effective “dual track strategy”, is essential to safeguard against further policy failure in both the UK and USA. Acknowledgments We acknowledge support from EPSRC for our research on plutonium management under grants EP/L014041/1 and EP/R511754/1. References 1. From fuel plant to bombmaker, Science, 360, 2018, 691. 2. C.L. Tracy, M.K. Dustin, R.C. Ewing, Reassess New Mexico's nuclear-waste repository, Nature 2016, 529, 149–151. 3. E. Lyman and F. von Hippel, Nuclear waste: Weapons plutonium riskier above ground, Nature, 2016, 530, 281. 4. N.C. Hyatt, Plutonium management policy in the United Kingdom: The need for a dual track strategy, Energy Policy, 2017, 101, 303-309. 5. Committee on International Security and Arms Control, 1994. National Academy of Sciences, Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium.  6. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, 2010. Plutonium – Credible Options Analysis (Gate A), Sms/TS/B1-PLUT/002/A.  

eLetters: 

Preventing future failure of plutonium disposition strategies

https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/131383/1/Hyatt%20Science%20eLettter%20Plutonium%20FINAL.pdf

eLetters: Preventing future failure of plutonium disposition strategies

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