Safeguards considerations related to the decontamination and decommissioning of former nuclear weapons facilities

In response to the post-Cold War environment and the changes in the U. S. Department of Energy defense mission, many former nuclear operations are being permanently shut down. These operations include facilities where nuclear materials production, processing, and weapons manufacturing have occurred in support of the nation's defense industry. Since defense-related operations have ceased, many of the classification and sensitive information concerns do not exist. However, nuclear materials found at these sites are of interest to the DOE from environmental, safety and health, and materials management perspectives. Since these facilities played a role in defense activities, the nuclear materials found at these facilities are considered special nuclear materials, primarily highly enriched uranium and/or plutonium. Consequently, these materials pose significant diversion, theft, and sabotage threats, and significant nuclear security issues exist that must be addressed. This paper focuses on the nuclear materials protection issues associated with facility decommissioning and decontamination, primarily safeguards