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NUCLEAR MATERIALS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
1. GENERAL. Nuclear materials are a highly valuable resource that must be considered along with dollars and work force in making decisions based on the total resources to accomplish program objectives at the least cost to the Government. Sound materials management policies minimize nuclear materials stored onsite, or held in user programs, which are not needed for near-term mission accomplishment. Annual assessments of nuclear material inventories are required to evaluate the need for the inventory levels and to determine if the materials are categorized properly. Appropriate indicators for inventory evaluation should be developed and used. 2. REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. a. Field Offices. (1) Establish appropriate inventory management guidelines based on programmatic needs, and review/evaluate contractor inventories on a continuing basis. (2) Ensure that the nuclear materials for which the field office has programmatic responsibility are accurately categorized, e.g., project number, composition of ending inventory, and usage status. (3) Perform formal reviews of contractor nuclear materials utilization and report the findings according to the procedures set forth in Chapter VII. (4) Prepare and provide to Headquarters, by 1-15, an annual assessment of the nuclear material inventories held by contractors, as of 9-30, for which the field office has programmatic responsibility. b. Headquarters Program Organizations. Directors of Headquarters program organizations shall review the annual assessments of nuclear materials inventories submitted by the field offices and approve and/or recommend changes in project inventory levels, based on existing and planned program activities, to ensure that appropriate inventory levels and good inventory management practices are maintained. 3. FIELD OFFICE ASSESSMENT OF CONTRACTOR USE OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS. The following instructions are provided for preparing the annual nuclear materials inventory assessment report: a. Inventory Date. The assessment shall cover nuclear materials on inventory as of 9-30. b. Reporting Responsibility. The assessment should cover nuclear materials under all user and supply projects for which the field office has programmatic responsibility or, in the case of nuclear materials or weapons production operations, contract administration responsibility. This responsibility is identified by the prefix in the alphanumeric project number used to identify all DOE program nuclear materials. Onsite "M" and "E" project materials should be included in the assessment. Materials with "I" project numbers are excluded from the assessment report. c. Material to be Reported. The following table shows the nuclear materials to be included in the annual inventory assessment reports along with project quantities below which no explanations are required: Project Exempt Material Type Reporting Unit Quantities ------------- -------------- -------------- Enriched Uranium kg U-235 2 kg Plutonium kg Pu 2 kg Uranium-233 kg U-233 1 kg Heavy Water (D20) kg D20 equiv. 500 kg Plutonium-238 gm Pu-238 100 gm Tritium gm Tritium 10 gm Normal Uranium MT U 10 MT Depleted Uranium MT U 10 MT Plutonium-242 gm Pu-242 100 gm Americium-243 gm Am-243 1 gm Curium gm Cm 1 gm Americium-241 kg Am-241 1 kg Berkelium-249 鎔m Bk-249 1 鎔m Californium-252 鎔m Cf-252 1 鎔m Lithium-6 kg Li-6 2 kg Neptunium-237 kg Np-237 1 kg Thorium kg Th 1000 kg d. Analysis Format. Assessments submitted to Headquarters should summarize inventories by individual projects with explanations using the following categories: (1) Active Material. Material that is actively used in DOE user programs. (2) Inactive Material - Defined Use. Material not in active use, but held for probable future use in an identifiable DOE program within the next 2 years or being held in designated reserves for probable future use beyond 2 years. (3) Inactive Material - No Defined Use. Material not in active use or needed for an onsite DOE program now or in the next 2 years. Includes material that is surplus to projected needs but is desirable for retention, but does not include reserves designated for specific purposes. In addition, the assessments shall include composition of ending inventory data codes with the material quantities. e. Source of Data. The quantities of nuclear materials contained in the assessment reports should be consistent with that reported to Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System. Reports are available from Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System that show the project inventories, inventory composition, assays, etc. f. Assessments. The explanations should contain sufficient information to allow determination as to whether inventory levels are reasonable relative to programmatic objectives and established inventory guidelines, where applicable. Merely restating composition of ending inventory categories is not adequate. A major consideration in assessing inventories, associated with processing operations, fabrication operations, reactor operations, and scrap processing operations, is the rate of inventory use, throughput, or turnover. The circumstances related to all inactive usable materials should be clearly identified, as well as the rationale for continued storage, and the final disposition plan, if known. Information, such as problems in disposing of scrap, irradiated fuel ("I" project material excluded) or other excess material should be specified. In effect, the assessment is not merely a look at the inventory at a point in time but includes plans in terms of quantities and timeframe to make the review dynamic in nature. Significant recent materials management activities, such as the reduction in inventory levels, should be reported. g. Timing. The annual field office inventory assessment report is due to the Office of Nuclear Weapons Management (with copies to the appropriate Headquarters programs) by 1-15. Headquarters program comments on the field office submissions should be forwarded to the Office of Nuclear Weapons Management by 1-31.