Characterization of Highly Enriched Uranium Declared Excess to United States Defense Needs

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proceeding in making arrangements to dispose of highly enriched uranium (HEU) that has been declared excess to U.S. defense needs. The Offices of Defense Programs, Fissile Materials Disposition, and Nonproliferation and National Security have combined efforts to create and populate a database which characterizes the ~174 metric tons of excess HEU. The initial database contained fields which described the materials, storage locations, container information, and disposition plans. Additional fields are being added to describe specific classification concerns and to identify Presidential and Secretarial commitments for making specific batches of material available for international safeguards. This integrated effort consolidates separate database efforts that have been initiated over the last two years. Once completed, it will be possible to query the database to identify materials that are currently in facilities that have previously been declared eligible for International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and to review disposition plans that will move excess materials through eligible facilities on their way to ultimate disposition. Benefits of this consolidated database include the elimination of potentially conflicting information among DOE’s Offices, a minimization of the number of data calls requested of DOE’s field offices and facility material custodians, and an integration of Department stewardship, disposition, and nonproliferation goals.