[DOE LETTER HEAD]
National Nuclear Security Administration
January 3, 2008
The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Washington, D.C. 20004-2901
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This purpose of this letter is to update you on one of the elements of our Implementation
Plan (IP) for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 2000-1,
Stabilization and Storage of Nuclear Materials.
Commitment 504-2 of the IP called for processing and stabilization of 165kg of
non-weapons grade (NWG) plutonium at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) by
December 31, 2007. During a routine inventory assessment, a package of fuel grade
plutonium oxide was found to be leaking. Subsequently, 20 additional packages
containing fuel grade oxide were identified as having similar characteristics as the
leaking package.
As a result, approximately 20kg of fuel grade material was prioritized and repackaged
ahead of the 2000-1 inventory. LANL has stabilized 165kg of the 186kg NWG material.
The remaining NWG material will be stabilized by June 30, 2008.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Sujita Pierpoint at
(301) 903-9601.
Sincerely,
Robert
L. Smolen
Deputy
Administrator
for Defense Programs
cc: Mark Whitaker, HS-1.1
Don Winchell, LASO