Plutonium pit project – initially to produce pits for new warheads (first W87-1, then W93) – under formal review? The unneeded, unjustified the SRS Plutonium Bomb plant is coming under increasing scrutiny.
At the South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council (NAC) meeting on March 15, 2021 – video archived here – it was stated that the plutonium pit project is under review by the new administration. We had heard rumors about that but have no documentation to that effect. If a review is happening why not openly state that?
The chairman of the NAC stated at the opening of the meeting: “We were supposed to have had join us the Deputy Assistant Secretary Drew Walter from the Department of Defense Office of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs and he was going to make a presentation with regards to pit production and why the Department of Defense feels it imperative that we get under way with program. But at the present time the Biden administration is engaged in a full review of the program and until such time as they settle out on what they want to do he would not be available for that kind of gathering.”
At the NAC meeting, it was also stated in a presentation by the CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions that the Critical Decision-1 document package on converting the MOX plant into the SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant – 4500 documents and 30,000 pages – was sent to NNSA in late January. The CD-1 decision, essentially the go-ahead decision point for a project, is expected in late May/early June and would include new cost estimates. CD-1 may be delayed if the pit program is actually under a substantive review. The Los Alamos pit project was only mentioned in the context of CD-1 planning documents being prepared with a similar approach and with consultation between the two sites.
Efforts on ramping up surplus plutonium disposition at SRS and closeout of MOX equipment were also discussed at the NAC meeting. “Downblending” of surplus plutonium to go to WIPP will be increased in the one existing glovebox in the old K-Reactor to four shifts running 24/7 by June. Efforts to add more gloveboxes are increasing. GAO refuses to look into concerns about irregularities into purchase of MOX equipment. Nonetheless, the MOX debacle still needs to be investigated.
photo by High Flyer: partially finished MOX building at SRS, boosters and nuclear war profiteers aim for it to become the SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant – but troubles for the scheme may be brewing