RISK AS A METRIC IN THE NUCLEAR MATERIALS INTEGRATION

This paper describes work sponsored by the Center for Risk Excellence (CRE). The Nuclear Materials Integration Project (NMI) was chartered to identify the Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear material inventories; to determine disposition paths for excess nuclear materials that are under the control of or of interest to the Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM); to evaluate the programmatic risks associated with these plans; and to identify opportunities for program improvement and cost savings. In order to achieve these objectives, an NMI assessment and evaluation process was established. Baseline and alternative materials disposition pathways were developed by evaluating parameters associated with the technical maturity of the proposed stabilization and disposition processes, the programmatic risks associated with moving from current state conditions to ultimate disposition along a pathway, and the environmental, safety, and health (ES&H) risks associated with the current state conditions and the pathway processes. Over 1,100 disposition pathways were defined and mapped for nuclear materials in three general categories: transuranic materials; uranium/thorium materials; and non-actinide sealed source and special isotope materials