Department of Energy

The DOE Announces Plans For Pit Production

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

The Department of Energy has been contemplating the future production of nuclear weapon pits – the fissile part of the weapon, usually plutonium. Rocky Flats, between Golden and Boulder, Colorado, used to do it, but it turned into an environmental disaster. All buildings have been removed from the site.

Los Alamos and Savannah River are the only two DOE sites that can work with plutonium. Both put themselves into the running for the task. Both have had some problems with safely handling the stuff, for example. The decision was announced today. Both were, in effect, selected. Read More

That DOE Article in Vanity Fair

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Michael Lewis has an extensive article on the Trump administration’s approach to the Department of Energy. It’s worth reading.  I’ll add some observations and objections.

The biggest thing I object to is the framing of scary. Nuke stuff is always framed as scary. There’s some basis for that, particularly in the time of Trump, but being scared is not the best way to deal with problems. Read More

Tunnel Collapse at Hanford

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

A tunnel collapsed in the 200 Area of Washington State’s Hanford Reservation. The 200 Area is where fuel elements from Hanford’s reactors were processed to recover the plutonium that went into American nuclear weapons. I was not aware of an underground rail system there. The system is probably in the 200 area only because the reactors are much too far away to make an underground system possible. Read More