USE OF THE BARNWELL NUCLEAR FUEL PLANT AS AN INTERNATIONAL PLUTONIUM STORAGE FACILITY

The Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (BNFP) is a large scale commercial fuel reprocessing plant located near Barnwell, South Carolina that could be operating within four years of the decision to fund that objective. Its operation would provide an opportunity, unique within the United S t a t e s , to test and evaluate the mechanics of running an International P l u t o n i um Storage (IPS) f a c i l i t y under IAEA c o n t r o l . The IPS would consist of either the existing plutoniuro n i t r a t e storage f a c i l i t y with a c a p a c i t y of up to 16,000 kg of plutonium or an as yet u n b u i l t p l u t o n i um oxide f a c i l i t y storage vault with a c a p a c i t y of up to 40,000 kg of plutonium. The issues of material a c c o u n t a n c y , d a t a c o l l e c t i o n , and m a t e r i a l control are addressed with the o b j e c t i v e s of running the BNFP as a demonstration IPS under sponsorship of the United States Government.