UNITED STATES PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION, ACQUISITION, AND UTILIZATION FROM 1944 THROUGH 1994

On February 6, 1996, Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary held an openness press conference to declassify the United States (U. S.) plutonium inventory and other information needed to present a complete picture of the production, acquisition, and use of plutonium from 1944 through September 30, 1994. The Secretary of Energy’s earlier commitment to inform the public about the details of the U.S. plutonium story was fulfilled by release of a comprehensive report, “Plutonium: The First 50 Years.” This report was intended to be a material balance; however, the scope was expanded to include detailed explanations of the plutonium acquisition and removal categories, as well as the quantitative data for each of these categories. The information used to prepare this report came from safeguards accountability records, historical reports and memoranda, library research, and interviews. This paper will summarize the report; discuss the methods used to identify, collect, and categorize data; and illuminate the lessons learned from this exercise. A recommendation to address the need for more complete, consistent, and institutionalized record keeping will be made.