Senators eye NNSA plans for waste disposal as nuke modernization continues

Colin Demarest, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Sep. 23—Senators want the National Nuclear Security Administration to develop a comprehensive strategy for treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes born from the maintenance and modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Of particular interest, lawmakers noted in documents tied to the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, are the volumes of transuranic waste that will be generated by plutonium pit production, both at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site south of Aiken.

"The committee notes that as the United States continues to maintain and modernize its nuclear weapons stockpile, waste will continue to be generated and must be treated, stored, and disposed of," reads a bill report published Wednesday.

Dozens of plutonium pits — fissile cores, or triggers — are expected to be produced every year in New Mexico and South Carolina. Most of the demand will be fulfilled in the Palmetto State, according to plans announced in May 2018.

Transuranic waste — contaminated gear and other materials, often referred to as TRU — and low-level waste would be produced at the Savannah River Site pit factory, the potentially $11 billion Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. Transuranic waste would be disposed of in New Mexico, at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a choke point; other options exist for the low-level waste, environmental studies show.

It is unclear, senators suggested, "whether there are sufficient facilities to address the waste generated by these activities or whether such facilities are included in current plans and budgets."

Lawmakers are interested in hearing exactly how the National Nuclear Security Administration will work alongside the Office of Environmental Management, the Energy Department's cleanup wing, to tackle waste streams associated with stockpile work. They also want a price tag.

The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual spending-and-policy bundle, supports nearly $778 billion in defense funding. It would authorize $740.3 billion for the Defense Department and $27.7 billion for certain Energy Department programs.