105-K building houses the K-Area Material Storage (KAMS) facility, designated for the consolidated storage of surplus plutonium at Savannah River Site pending disposition. The plutonium shipped to KAMS is sealed inside a welded 3013 containers that are nested in 9975 shipping containers.
The Office of Environmental Management (EM), in coordination with the National Nuclear Security Administration, is responsible for disposition of about 12.8 metric tons (MT) of surplus, non-pit, weapons-usable plutonium-239. The majority of the surplus non-pit plutonium has been consolidated for storage at SRS, pending disposition. DOE’s preferred disposition strategy is to prepare most of the non-pit plutonium as feed for the Department’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX), which is under construction at SRS. The non-pit plutonium that is not suitable for MOX feed would be disposed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The final decision on this preferred disposition strategy is subject to completion of the ongoing Draft Surplus Plutonium Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
EM is responsible for surplus uranium-233 at various sites. The largest quantities are currently at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and until recently at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2006, EM became responsible for disposition of over 1,000 containers (~ 450 kg) of surplus uranium-233 stored in Building 3019 at the ORNL.
Some of this material has been transferred — and will continue to be transferred — to other programs to support their ongoing missions. Some material is eligible for direct disposal. The disposal of this material is planned for 2013 and 2014. The remainder of the material will be downblended with depleted uranium to remove safeguards and criticality concerns and the downblended material will be disposed. After the uranium-233 is removed from Building 3019, the building will be shut down.
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| DOE 3013 containers (a nested package of three containers) are used to store surplus plutonium material. Prior to being packaged at various sites across the EM complex, the plutonium is stabilized in accordance with established standards for 50 year safe storage. In accordance with the 3013 surveillance program, nondestructive and destructive examinations of representative 3013 containers are performed to assure the integrity of the containers and their contents. (From left to right: outer 3013 container, inner 3013 container, and convenience can) | 9975 shipping containers are used to ship and store 3013 containers at a consolidated storage facility, pending disposition. | A package ready to be shipped consists of a 3013 container inside a 9975 shipping container. |