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Extend Life of N Reactor

Question: Please describe the program to extend the life of "N" reactor at Richland.

Answer: N Reactor can be operated safely and economically until the mid-1990's with surveillance, maintenance, and selective replacement of fuel pressure tubes. However, years of neutron bombardment is resulting in the distortion of the graphite stack and embrittlement of the pressure tubes. In addition, normal aging processes are causing gradual deterioration of equipment in the balance-of-plant systems leading to increased reliability and efficiency problems. In order to extend the life of N Reactor beyond the year 2000, we are expanding our graphite stack and pressure tube surveillance program to better characterize the nature and timing of the aging phenomena and to support decisions on the type of renovation work that will be required to extend the reactor life. Presently, we see the need to either refurbish or replace the graphite stack and many of the process tubes in the mid-1990's requiring a construction line item in the early 1990's. The balance-of-plant systems will be addressed as part of a continuing comprehensive maintenance program.

Number of Reactors on Tritium

Question: Once the stockpile requirements for plutonium are met, how many reactor years of tritium are required on a continuing basis?

Answer: Production of tritium in the Savannah River reactors is always scheduled before plutonium production.

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Status of New Replacement Reactor

Question: What is the status of work on a New Replacement Reactor? How much is included in the budget in FY 1985, FY 1986, and FY 1987 for a New Replacement Reactor? What is the expected TEC of such a reactor?

Answer: The decision to deploy a New Production Reactor, NPR, has been deferred for several years until completion of life extension studies for the existing Savannah River Plant production reactors and refurbishment plans for the N Reactor are finalized and requirements for materials production confirm the need for an NPR.

In FY 1985, $3.0 million was expended for the New Production Reactor, NPR, for preconceptual design activities. In FY 1986, $6.1 million was budgeted for NPR activities. However, the NPR

program is being deferred, and all efforts and studies are being brought to a logical termination in FY 1986. There are no funds included in the FY 1987 budget for the NPR program.

The expected total estimated cost of a large New Production Reactor could range from $2.8 billion for a Heavy Water Reactor to $4.4 billion for a High-Temperature Gas Reactor in 1985 constant year dollars. These estimates assume the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory as the reference site. Other sites were also considered--the Savannah River Plant and the Hanford site.

Employment Levels

Question: Please provide the employment levels at all Materials Production sites in FY 1985, FY 1986, and FY 1987.

Answer: Contractor employment levels at Materials Production sites follows:

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*This data represents prime contractor operation personnel. Construction subcontractor employment, which fluctuates with the level of construction effort, is not included.

Special Isotope Separation

Question: What is the status of the readiness review of the competing Special Isotope Separation process required in the conference report on the FY 1986 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act?

Answer: The process readiness review is now complete. It was conducted by a team of experts in the fields of science and engineering.

The technologies reviewed were the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation, AVLIS, process being developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LLNL, and the Molecular Laser Isotope Separation, MLIS, process under development at the Los Alamos National Laboratory or LANL.

The review team held its initial meeting on January 27, 1986, in Washington, D.C. Briefings on the AVLIS and MLIS processes were held February 17-19, 1986, at LLNL and February 26-28, 1986, at LANL, respectively. A final meeting of the review team was held on March 17-19, 1986, at the Department of Energy's Germantown, Maryland, offices. The review team issued it's report on March 28, 1986.

Question: Please describe the process being used for this review and describe how it conforms with the requirements of the conference report.

Answer:

In response to the requirements of the conference report, the Department assembled a team of experts to perform the Special Isotope Separation, SIS, process readiness review under the purview of Dr. Alvin Trivelpiece, Director of the Office of Energy Research, The review was directed by Mr. William J. Howard, former Executive Vice President of Sandia National Laboratories. Other team members were selected from the Department of Energy, DOE consultants, and the national laboratories and have expertise in fields related to production plant operations and engineering design, as well as the basic science relating to the SIS processes.

As stipulated in the conference report, the review was focused on examining the readiness of the competing processes for plant deployment and identifying the process if any, that is most likely to achieve technical success and have the lowest operating and capital costs. Briefings were held on each of the two processes and allowed for structured peer review involving proponent and opponent presentations by each process development laboratory. A summary meeting was held to allow representatives for each process to address any outstanding questions or concerns expressed at the previous review meetings and to make their summary presentations to the review team. The review team report was submitted to DOE on March 28, 1986.

Question: Please describe the status of the Special Isotope Separation (SIS) process.

Answer: For the AVLIS process under development at LLNL, operation of the first set of plant prototype lasers has been initiated in the Laser Demonstration Facility. Construction is continuing on the Engineering Demonstration System, which is a prototypic installation of plutonium separators to be tested in FY 1987 and FY 1988. Work is also continuing on the

balance-of-plant pyrochemical processes. These laser systems, separators, and plutonium processes are plant-scale demonstrations and their successful operation will provide the data needed should it be decided to proceed with plant construction and operation.

For the MLIS process under development at LANL, plutonium operations were started this year in the SIS-III facility. Initial isotope separation experiments are scheduled for the third quarter of FY 1986. The SIS-III facility contains a continuous gas flow loop in which the important parameters of the MLIS process can be demonstrated.

Question: What is the funding for this program in FY 1985, FY 1986, and FY 1987?

Answer: Funding levels for the two plutonium Special Isotope Separation, SIS, processes for FY 1985, FY 1986, and FY 1987 follows:

Plutonium Special Isotope Separation Funding
(Dollars in Millions)

FY 1985 FY 1986

FY 1987

Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation $ 69.0
Molecular Laser Isotope Separation
Special Isotope Separation Plant Proj. 0.0

$ 75.0

20.5

18.4
3.8

$ 75.9 17.9

0.0

Total

$ 89.5 $ 97.2

$ 93.8

*Funding for Molecular Laser Isotope Separation is contained in the appropriations for process development and is not included under the SIS program.

Process Facility Modifications

Question: Please describe the progress on the Process Facility Modification at Richland, Washington. Please describe the need for this facility.

Answer: The proposed Process Facility Modifications facility design is currently 30 percent complete. A draft environmental impact statement, analyzing the potential environmental effects that may result from the construction and operation of the facility, has been completed and is expected to be released for public review and comment in May 1986. Facility construction is scheduled to begin in early CY 1987.

Uranium Enriching

Question: Please justify the requirement to increase the funding for Uranium Enrichment. Please indicate how much of this funding is for working inventory of the Uranium Enrichment enterprise.

Answer: Additional separative work is required to provide enriched material for the N Reactor at Richland and for the Naval Reactors program.

A total of $190 million, or an increase of $29.6 million, is needed to support Naval fuel fabrication at both Nuclear Fuel Services at Erwin, Tennessee and at the Savannah River Plant Fuel Materials Facility. NFS has a contract to fabricate fuel at full production for about 2 more years. The Naval facility at Savannah River will reach full production in FY 1987. Savannah River needs to be operated at capacity to qualify the facility and to build fuel inventories which are needed as a protection measure against problems like the protracted strike at NFs.

The N Reactor requirements are dependent on the amount of fuel recycled from Richland to the Feed Material Production Center, FMPC, at Fernald. A total of $14.5 million, or an increase of

$5.3 million above FY 1986 is required to meet N Reactor requirements.

No funds are included in the budget for uranium working inventories.

Report on Special Nuclear Materials

Question: Please describe the results of the recent review of the Materials Production program required by Armed Services authorization legislation.

Answer: The Report to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives detailed military requirements and sources of special nuclear materials through FY 1991. During FY 1986-FY 1991, DELETED warheads and bombs are projected to be produced by the Department of Energy and delivered to the Department of Defense based on Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budgetary constraints.

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The Department of Energy can marginally meet these requirements if no major operational problems occur and adequate funding is available.

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Question: Please describe the status of the Plasma Separation

Process.

Answer: The original mission for the Plasma Separation Process, PSP, was the separation of U-236 from the highly enriched uranium driver fuel used in the Savannah River Plant reactors. Based on cost, need, benefit, and fiscal constraints, this mission was indefinitely deferred. Subsequent to this, a potential use for PSP was identified, by the contractor, of separating nickel isotopes for nuclear isotope power supplies. A preliminary analysis of this mission by DOE found little need for the nickel. Based on the interest that the Congress has shown in the nickel mission and in PSP in general, DOE is reevaluating the nickel mission and the PSP program.

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