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Assistrnt hfanager for Ad nl c let nat Department of bnergy One Ridge Operation e Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 Reference : Your Letter tome dated May 25, 1984 - r e FOIA Request deleted - Control of Nucl eu Materiale Thank you for your above referred letter and the en cloe urea entitled aDeleted Version Control of Nuclear Material a in the Y-12 Plant!' by Robert A . Harris, eta1.- Nuclear Mat0ricrll8 Control Div lei on, The Exe cut l ve Summary page of th le report etat ee that Union Carbide Corporation was I n management of the facility from 1943 tn rou qh 1946. It i s my under at and ing that when an outside corpora tl on perfo-me manareyent duties,the "outside" corporation / com c any lao par sting as a n "inst-?;-m?.fality of tar3 United Sts tie Governmentma It is further my understanding that t5:a corporation acta under agreement of ay contract and that the information and tilea generated asthe result of the oF erst i or ? s as an Ir gt - v a - nta ? : tvni 1, the Contract Yunbar (8)with V nl cn Cartide aril the cnn tract t me for the services rendered as Tent l med in your report top ether with the ad aFc gg n~ 2, Since,it 10 known that the file8generated would be now I n the oosp-splon of the United State e Government, kindly adv ige me whe-p thoRt= PLleq a restored. It leas sun ed that they would be i n the Departmept of Enerey archives but I am not eure lf the location la Suitland, Md. or el gew Le re. 2. We have''lS47 Zar'cide m d Carbcr. Chenlcal Corporation assumed the o p - e rating control ' : They naturally have a eontract, may I have the name, o on tract number a n d date (same as item 1 4.We & S O nave the " original operating contractor whoee tenure ended i n 1947 YS Tennessee Eaetman"- we asme this is a eu be ida ry, may we have the parent nae,the contract number, the contract nme,the contract date and the plvce wkere these files would be stored and their filing ! urls diction or pre een t location.(p.4) 5, I n 1955 the General Man wer directed the appointment of a committee: (p.5) cone ie ting of technical expert6 from and Argonne National Laboratory. contract or grant date and the present filing location of these file8 together with the appointee ' a company location or addre88 and same ae item 2 ) . Union Carbide (K-25>, General & lect ric Co. (Hanford), LASL,
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Brothere and Montgomery. f wiah t o know (a0 is the urual practice) If the CPA'a Lybrund, e t ul eupplled your Material e and eyatem of accounting chart you my block out the dollar mount.1wish to know wnere the Listing of account o can be located I fully realize that the FOIA eaye that paper must he aupD1iH ;p& will save both ~f u a the proc ees of appeal. . I Thank8 again for your cooperation. <.:- I
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SUGECT Unclassified Version o f "Control o f Nuclear Materfals a t the Y-12 Plant" Oak Ridge Operations Off fce An unclassified version of the report "Control of Nuclear Materials a t the Y-12 Plant" has been developed and provided to the House Armed Services Comi ttee i n accordance w i t h your comni tment given on February 6 , 1984. The report was reviewed for compliance w i t h Classificatfon, Operations Security, and Section 148 concerns and a l l recomnended deletions made prior Me recomnend that this version be rewritten ina more readable fon as there isa possibility o f continued interest i n this report. Should a rewrite be done, the OSS Security Operations Branch has a few additional com nts to offer the writer. A copy o f the unclassified version released i s a &a ched for your records. Ifyou should have any quesJions regarding t h i s matter,-. please- feel free Office o f Safeguards and Security
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Ext cut iv t Sumnary strucfure o f the currrnt Nuclear M tw lats bntrot System at the 1-12 Plant bas dry fated vary llttle frm the system Implemented I n 1947 when the Unfon br bide Corporation, lSuclear DlvtrIon, 8SSMed management o f the facility. Comparable data are clot aVmbl8 for the pr lod of 1943 through 1946. mat has change$ dramatic al ~ y1s the 8bllIty to measure the many msta stterns associated with the flows of Hapon grade uranium. SInm 1947, the cumulative total vapon or inadequatt mcasuranentt aade yean ago rhen the a w e advanced meant for measuring waste had not been Implananted. Alto, of the accuut a t l v e ID 4s attributed to 8 cross over af wapon grade matarirtt to a depleted grade uranium inventory dftfermcc (IO) Is mare have been 8 number of !mutual fncldrnts Involving nuclear materlrls, and all have been Invcstlgated by the contractor m d WCIORO. The vast 4 0 d t y of Investigated by the F%I and OSS-HQ. Investigations of the unusual Incidents have not Indicated unauthorized ranoval or posfesslon, gross nagllgence, or unauthorized use o f rrcapon grade nuclear utcrirt . Contrfbutorr t o the measurment Uftc ~ rta f ntl ~ Sthat cause IDS Include Irapuriflcs I n uranium, track od, atmospheric losses, solfds and solution dtscards, use Df factor wefghts, plating, adsorption, etc., of uranium on process equip ent. AI1of these uncertainttes are closely monitored and wfth the exctptfon of I m - pur f tics In uranium, affect only 0.4 percent of the total plant Inventory. A t the 1-12 Plant, a conscfous effort IS made t o process as quickly as possible mately 99.6 percent of the fnventfoy IS In the Item accountability system. The remaining 0.4 perCt?nt Rltntioned above I s measured as be11 as reasonably Far reaching act iv it les are underway to lm pro vt the current system, hng these efforts are: (1) error propaqatlon W ch w lt t pfavfdr ID control It nits bur d o n neasurement cap a bill t lts as opposed to his to t fc al experience; (2) mre e+- f rct iv c use o f non-dcstructjve assay (NDA) systems t o monitor flows and qwntlfy very difficult to measure matarlals; (3) a major upgrade o f the Ura ntu Recovery Fact ll ty khich wll1 provide a wide range o f mtanurenent Imgrovunants plusa reduction o f the shelf inventorfcs and allow for a qufctrr Inventory dettnnfnation; and (4) 8syst m atl twa lu atl on of the measuranent systan I n place frm an ln div ld url processing opetatlon as well as the synergistic rrlrttonship. MI o f these rct tv l ties are designed t o keep the I-12 Plant &nut of the state-of-the-att In naterfal s control. Plant, and a very hlqh degree of accountablllty awareness, btqinnlng with t o p management and txtendlng through the optratlng levels, Is c vf dent, ne NHC . Department closely monitors the mapom grade uranfun now data as tell as the fn tarn al controls, Anew real-time accountfng system Wtll provlde I book Inventory of the medal th8-d to my h dfv ld url portlon o f the Plant In dd ltl on to providing the ret o f the NMC Department's data rids.
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plant I t prfonncd by OR0 on an annurt baslr w f t h special investlgrtlons petformed as neded. Coverage Includes observation o f lnvcntoy prrctlcu, physical verification of the Inventory, revfew o f the Ipaaturment systents usad by the contractor tb quantify 8nd monjtor the nuclear mattrfa~s,t w f - and test. (ng o f the contractor's rctountabllfty records system, and rwleu o f thr systems usad to mnltor and evaluate such control Indicators IS ID$, normal opcrationrt tosser, and rhfpper/raettver dlfferbncer, All of the nuclear are embodled In 8 procedures manuat rhcrrfn the P l a n t spcclfles, with reference t o many SPt,howth t lr systen operates, 4s reviewed on 8 S p o t check basis durfng each survey t o canpare actual practfct rnd OR0 hrve placed on the YOUP l a n t Each we8 thrt procrrset or I t othrMs8 charged w f t h weapon grade uranium 1s Uhen nuclear materjals enter or leave these secured areas, it tequl res the coordf natad efforts of product1on rupervi s i on the et forts of chmf-cal operators, and the ln dfv i dual handl lng the t rant part f ng v&tctc. men equipment other than nuclear material enter o r leave these secured areas, i t requires the coordinated efforts of internal tupcwisfon, health physics pro non-nuclear material, and possibly a materlal handler.
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I Sactlon 6). Atso, 8 pctr group review was perfomed by b s s r s , C, A. Kellef Gilbert md 6, kkond, Weguards 8nd Secrrrlty Dlvlrion, DOE, Hp. Hatertats Control Organizatlon, Yo12 Plant, for hfr and thelr contrfbution o f data and Infomation without which this document wuld k mush less lnfomatlve.
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3.2 History of Uranium Processes 6 Process Equipment ...................... .........4.2.4 Solids a d Salutlon Discards 4.2.7 M I see1 1antous ......................................4.3 Currant and future Efforts to Improve ID Trend .............4.3. 1 Error Proprgrtl on ............. ....................4.3.2 Development o f Nondcotructlva h a y 4.3.3 Hajor Upgrade o f the Urrnlwr, Recovery Facllity .....403.4 Eva1 ur tion of hcasurmtnt Systm ................... 5.2 k count a bil 1t y Measurmcnts ............... ................ 33
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6.0 Security-Personnel and Phyrkrl ................................6.1 Ini tirl Security k a r u t e s ..................................6.2 Interlm Meaturu-1945 6.3 Present Ue atum 6.4 Future Efforts t o Improve Sacutlty .........................6.5 Surveys and Appraisal t ..................................... 7.0 Field Office Ovcrtlght o f Contractor Control System ............. 7.1 Obtrwrtl on ................................................7.2 Review o f Procedures and Practfccs 7.3 Phyricrl Verification md Analyslt o f Samples ..............7.4 Jnvotigatlon o f ID Probtant and Mssfng Itaus .............7.5 Monitorfng Control Indicators ..............................7.6 Headquarters R e v l t w s .......................................
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rl n irt atl ve controls and this system hat been cont ln url ly aonltond and upgraded to satisfy the n qu l run ents for control Imposed by the MC, ERDA, rnd DOE. A prImary Indfcator ofthe effectfvrnrss of the control systan has been the lack of balance between the monthly book vs ph;yslcrl fl uctuatl: o n s have occurred that must be termed out-of-control $1turtlons and all have been s at lt factor fly explained. Huch hat been done lnmnt years t o upgrade the overall materials control and a ccw n tab flit y (a) ty st cm and much Is currently bring done ftaa both an adm ln it tt at lv a ud ope rat I onal standpol nt. lhls document 1s intended to describe the syrtm tpr control and accountability of uranium enriched fa >20 percent U-235 r t the Y-12 Plant, the history of that system,its effect f ve ness, and the ptans under way for further strengthening of the systca. Data is unavailable for nuclear materlal flows a t the Y-12 Plant p r i o r to 1947. Thereforee this document will address the ttme period January le 1947, through March 31, 1983. Alm, there is a very wfde variety of nuclear materlals and precfous metals accounted for a t the Y-12 Plant,dth the same essential control as that exerted over uranium anrlched ta >20 percmt b2358 but t h l t doc* ment I s rvrtrlctcd to the >20 percent enrlched uranium. ncretore, the tern tpectal nuclear material (SMI) a s used here can be undewtood tn mean urrnfum enrfched to >20 penant i n the U-235 Isotope. Uhile t,$e Y-12 Plant has many interface sui th operatlons th tau qh out the nuclear Industry, the control of SNW described hero begins and ends with the ru tip tat the warehouse or Jhlpnent fraa the plant of Ucn. APPARENT LOSS i s the Inablllty t o locate phystcrlly or to o thc nir r a. Any ldcntlfiable o r discrete Item (e.9.. batch, lot, o r piece) b. An Inventory dlffarmcr quantity of nuclear aattriaf *ere the book tn vt n toy 1s larger than the physical inventory by an amount uhich I t In excess ofthe mtabllshed alarm llait.1 II8 Ij 8
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BOOK INMHIOFIY ? s themount o f arterlrl ptnent r t 8 Mven tfm 8s rrflectecl by rccountlng ncordr such 8s M a general and subrldlrfy tcdgen, La., the beglnning phytlcrl Inventory adjusted f o r recclptr 8nd muovals for 8 g h r n reporflng period. afttlbutr o r characteristic ofthe nuclear material I t conslstmt wfth the expected tuponra for that mrtrrlrl i f no change hu occurred. A conf hato y lacatutenmt may fnClUdQ golno-go, qualitative, runtquanti tat ive,or veriflcatlon mtasurmrntt. CONTROL LIHnS are the estab’lf shed vrtues beyond Mch any n t t r - tion,in this cast Inventory dlfferrncc, Is consfdcred t o be rn Indicatlon o f the presence of an assignable cause, and the vrrla - tlon should be investigated, Control lfmtts should usually k established d t h a 95 percent probability and called warning tlmlts, while those usually w i t h a 99 percent probablllty art called alarm limits. EQUIPMENT HOLDUP f s an estimated or measure4 quantlty o f nuclear matertal whi c h adheres so tcnaclourly t o the qu lp men tart jt has becme part of the equipment orr qu f rts specla1 treatment IN-PROCESS INVENTORY refers to the quantity of nuclear matcrlal present Ina fabrication or process lfnc, I n processing vessels and mchlnu a t any specified tlmc. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM Isa set o f adrntnfstratfvc and accounting policies and procedures fmp1emented by i f8CtIfty I n order to account for and maintain control o f nuclear matcrlal. I t fncludcs checks and balancer I n the division of duties so designed t h a t the work of one dl1 serve ta var j fy tha rark o f mother. INMHTORY DIFFERENCE (ID) I t the rlqebralc differanci betwren the l.e., ID = B I - PI. I t can be a posftivc or ne q atl vt value. the quantity o f nuclear mtcrlal being moved Into or out Is represented by I measured value, MEASURED YALE refers t o one or more quantltatlrc o r qwlftatjvc characteristics t h a t have been detenintd for 8 mrclcar material Itan and lmplles associated limits o f efmr. a. The measured value may be quantittts of nuclear material detsrajned by sampllng and analysis, mtght, volume detcrm4natfon,
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anrtytls o r nondettructlvt assay ofr reprcrentatlve tmplr. c. For the purposes o f fhfs dfraettve, I I dfscretr, Identlfirblt Item it considered to have a matured value I f previously measured 8 d If the tntegrlty …
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