The extended safe storage of plutonium takes place at SRS Nuclear Materials Management’s K Area Material Storage (KAMS) facility.

Nuclear Materials Management

Nuclear Materials Management (NMM) operations provides for the safe handling and interim storage of our nation’s excess plutonium and other special nuclear materials (SNM) in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

Over the last several years the Department of Energy (DOE) has been seeking viable alternatives to properly secure and disposition our nation’s SNM. NMM assisted the DOE Complex in saving millions of taxpayer dollars during the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site deinventory program by receiving and providing safe and secure storage of its plutonium material. Departmental decisions to deinventory the FB Line and F Area Material Storage facilities, coupled with significant security upgrades, have established the K Area Complex (KAC) as the only SRS facility that can handle and provide interim storage of Category I quantities of SNM.

The principal operations facility in KAC once housed the K Reactor, which produced SNM to support the United States during the Cold War for nearly four decades. It was the nation’s last operating production reactor, shutting down for the last time in 1992.

Today KAC is the nation’s cornerstone for excess plutonium handling and interim storage. Its flexibility allows for a variety of other SNM to be successfully managed there as well including highly enriched uranium.

Using an A-Frame lifting hoist to safely relocate 9975s in the K Area Material Storage Facility.

KAC was chosen as the primary handling and interim storage facility for several reasons:

• The facility underwent stringent, well-documented earthquake and structural upgrades during the reactor restart campaign of the early 1990s.
• It is a robust building, constructed of concrete walls many feet thick.
• Much of the security infrastructure was already in place.
• Necessary modifications were relatively minor compared to the cost benefit.

Currently, NMM is the recognized leader in plutonium surveillance management throughout the DOE Complex. As a sophisticated operations facility, the KAC will soon provide a full range of plutonium-handling options through several ongoing projects. Ultimately the K Area projects will provide a full surveillance, stabilization, and packaging capability in addition to an expanded storage capacity in the most cost-effective manner.

NMM maintains the strictest adherence to safety and security requirements for all the SNM it handles. Operational efforts focus on protecting NMM workers, the environment, and the public to ensure the materials are safely handled and protected from any potential adversary. As the various project upgrades are completed, the KAC will further enhance the nation’s ability to safely manage our nation’s excess plutonium and other SNM until a final disposition path for the material is determined.