MOUND SITE

KEY FACILITIES

Semi-Works Tritium Complex

The Semi-Works (SW/R) Tritium Complex, a two-story Category 2 nuclear facility, was used primarily for handling tritium. Four major operations were performed in the SW/R Tritium Complex: component development, component evaluation operations, tritium recovery, and materials analysis. The SW/R was constructed in 1950 and underwent 13 major additions. One corridor of rooms in the adjacent building, Research (R), was converted to tritium operations and, together with the SW building and Building 58, formed the SW/R complex. While the complex was primarily a tritium facility, three additional areas exist. This facility was decontaminated and decommissioned.

Technical Building

The Technical (T) Building, a former DOE Category 2 nuclear facility, was originally used to purify Po-210 for use in nuclear weapons initiators. The current mission is to support tritium programs for reconfiguration, safe shutdown, and remaining operations. The facility has also been used to extract radionuclides, to house the plutonium verification facility, and to store TRU materials. Since 1980, the KYLE (classified), Tritium Emission Recovery Facility (TERF), Hydrogen Isotope Separations System (HISS), and other tritium facilities large enough to handle multi-kilogram quantities were added to T Building. T Building is expected to remain in either operational or standby mode for several years. Special nuclear material (SNM), primarily Pu-239, is stored in T-Building storage areas A and B prior to transfer to Building-38 for repackaging. The SNM is in the form of metal, metal oxide, residue, and/or combinations thereof; these materials are contained in sealed drums and other metal containers and are approximately 20 years old. It was decontaminated and transferred to MMCIC by CH2M HILL.

Building 38

Building 38 was originally designed to be a radiochemical processing facility for Pu-238, used in the oxide form as a fuel for RTGs. Building design began in 1965, and construction was completed in December 1967. Building 38 primarily housed the assembly and disassembly operations associated with manufacturing Pu-238 heat source modules for RTGs. Other programs conducted in Building 38 included the assembly of three types of heat sources and two types of RTGs and general- purpose radionuclide handling. RTG and heat source assembly and disassembly were supported in the F-line operations and involve the Five-watt, High Power Generator Mod 3 and General Purpose Heat Sources (GPHS) programs. This work was funded by the Office of Nuclear Energy.

Building 50

Building 50 was an RTG assembly and test labboratory. Encapsulated Pu-238 fuel received from the primary encapsulating agency was loaded into graphite assemblies in Building 38, welded into stainless steel containers, and then transferred to Building 50 for fuel reduction and subsequent installation into electrical converters (which then form the RTG).

Building 22, Waste Staging Facility

The Waste Staging Facility (WSF) facility provided storage and staging for solid low-level radioactive waste (LLW) containers generated prior to offsite shipment. The facility could store up to 186 metal boxes, stage lined and unlined 30 gallon or 55 gallon metal drums with or without overpack, and stage closed wooded boxes that contain LLW. The drums were stacked on pallets. The transition to the WSF was completed in June 1995. Building 22, constructed in 1967, previously housed a property management warehouse, office spaces, and a test facility for glove box operations.

Building 72

Building 72, a steel-framed building with metal panel siding on three walls, was used to store miscellaneous hazardous wastes generated at Mound until the wastes could be shipped off site for disposal. The wastes were contained in steel drums, plastic drums, plastic and steel containers of various sizes, and gas cylinders. Waste sampling, packaging, and repackaging of some wastes; drum over packing; and container inspection and marking were also conducted in this facility. The quantities of hazardous chemicals in the facility could be up to 13,000 gallons.