NRC shuts down submarine fuel plant

The news aspects of the apparent loss of 20lbs of fuel-grade U at the Erin, TN Nulcear Fuel Services plant are reviewed. It is pointed out that the plant has continually had problems with inventory control. Some reasons for this inbalance in U inventory - other than theft of the material - are cited. These reasons are that there are many places the U could be at the moment of sampling, such as caught in pipes or tanks, lost in scrap, floating around in the air, or a figment of a prior miscalculation. Bias of measurements is also cited as a possible source of error. These possible sources of error, as well as insufficient security, are used as a basis for a recommendation that perhaps all handling of fuel-grade material be removed from NRC supervision and placed under the supervision of the Department of Energy who is more used to dealing with this type of problem. The problem of material accountability is seen as a serious problem if breeder reactors are used for commercial power and if fuel reprocessing is done by commercial firms