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Thermal treatment of high explosives at Mason & Hanger/Pantex Plant

Description: The Pantex plant presently processes about 45,000 kg (100,000 lb) of high explosives annually by outdoor burning. About half of the explosives are weapon components weighing over 5 kg (10 lb) which come directly out of nuclear weapons being removed from the stockpile. The other half is generated from various support processes, special tests, etc. Burning serves the three-fold purpose of demilitarizing, removing all classified characteristics, and eliminating the severe hazard posed by the explo… more
Date: December 31, 1993
Creator: Patterson, W. E. & Phelan, P. F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Practical issues in discriminating between environmental and occupational sources in a uranium urinalysis bioassay program

Description: Workers at two Department of Energy facilities, the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Hanford Site in Washington, are potentially exposed to class Y depleted or natural uranium. Since trace amounts of uranium are naturally present in urine excretion, site bioassay programs must be able to discern occupational exposure from naturally occurring uranium exposure. In 1985 Hanford established a 0.2-{mu}g/d environmental screening level for elemental uranium in urine; the protocol was based on log-normal… more
Date: November 1, 1994
Creator: Long, M. P.; Carbaugh, E. H. & Fairrow, N. L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The use of benchmarking at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Pantex Plant

Description: The U.S. Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, is responsible for the assembly, stockpile maintenance, and disassembly of nuclear weapons. Pantex is operated by the Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc. The following summarizes the pilot study that was designed to establish Pantex as a leader in using the continuous improvement tool of benchmarking within the DOE`s Nuclear Weapon Complex (NWC). The pilot study was conducted with Mason and Hanger-Silas Mason C… more
Date: September 1, 1993
Creator: Anderson, F. G.; Burling, J.; Moncivais, G. C.; Skelton, R.; Fulton, J. T.; Hostick, C. J. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

MAINTAINING HIGH RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY CAPABILITIES FOR NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION APPLICATIONS

Description: The Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has a specialized need for analyzing low mass gas species at very high resolutions. The currently preferred analytical method is electromagnetic sector mass spectrometry. This method allows the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) to resolve species of similar masses down to acceptable minimum detection limits (MDLs). Some examples of these similar masses are helium-4/deuterium and carbon monoxide/nitrogen. Through… more
Date: June 6, 2011
Creator: Wyrick, S.; Cordaro, J.; Reeves, G.; Mcintosh, J.; Mauldin, C.; Tietze, K. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

High Consequence System Surety. Issue 1

Description: High Consequence System Surety is an ongoing project at Sandia National Laboratories. This project pulls together a multi- disciplinary team to integrate the elements of surety into an encompassing process. The surety process will be augmented and validated by applying it to an automated system handling a critical nuclear weapon component at the Mason & Hanger Pantex Plant. This paper presents the development to date of an integrated, high consequence surety process.
Date: July 11, 1994
Creator: Randall, G. T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Fast track demonstration of the straight-line system architecture

Description: Sandia National Laboratories is developing Fast Track as a near term demonstration of the Straight-Line nuclear material monitoring system architecture. It will implement major elements of the Straight-Line system in a realistic system setting. Fast Track will act as a test bed to gain information on monitoring stored, weapon grade nuclear material. The Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas has agreed to participate as a demonstration site along with sites located in New Mexico and California. Info… more
Date: August 1, 1995
Creator: Mickelsen, B.; Cofield, C.; Damico, J.; Oetken, B. & Hanson, E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Development and status of the AL Mixed Waste Treatment Plan or I love that mobile unit of mine

Description: Nine Department of Energy (DOE) sites reporting to the Albuquerque Office (AL) have mixed waste that is chemically hazardous and radioactive. The hazardous waste regulations require the chemical portion of mixed waste to be to be treated to certain standards. The total volume of low-level mixed waste at the nine sites is equivalent to 7,000 drums, with individual site volumes ranging from 1 gallon of waste at the Pinellas Plant to 4,500 drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Nearly all the si… more
Date: February 1, 1995
Creator: Bounini, L.; Williams, M. & Zygmunt, S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

USING AN ADAPTER TO PERFORM THE CHALFANT-STYLE CONTAINMENT VESSEL PERIODIC MAINTENANCE LEAK RATE TEST

Description: Recently the Packaging Technology and Pressurized Systems (PT&PS) organization at the Savannah River National Laboratory was asked to develop an adapter for performing the leak-rate test of a Chalfant-style containment vessel. The PT&PS organization collaborated with designers at the Department of Energy's Pantex Plant to develop the adapter currently in use for performing the leak-rate testing on the containment vessels. This paper will give the history of leak-rate testing of the Chal… more
Date: June 3, 2011
Creator: Loftin, B.; Abramczyk, G. & Trapp, D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Off-line programming and simulation in handling nuclear components

Description: IGRIP was used to create a simulation of the robotic workcell design for handling components at the PANTEX nuclear arms facility. This initial simulation identified problems with the customer`s proposed worker layout, and allowed a correction to be proposed. Refinement of the IGRIP simulation allowed the design and construction of a workcell mock-up and accurate off-line programming of the system. IGRIP`s off-line programming capabilities are being used to develop the motion control code for th… more
Date: October 1, 1993
Creator: Baker, C. P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Integration of human reliability analysis into the high consequence process

Description: When performing a hazards analysis (HA) for a high consequence process, human error often plays a significant role in the hazards analysis. In order to integrate human error into the hazards analysis, a human reliability analysis (HRA) is performed. Human reliability is the probability that a person will correctly perform a system-required activity in a required time period and will perform no extraneous activity that will affect the correct performance. Even though human error is a very comple… more
Date: December 1, 1998
Creator: Houghton, F.K. & Morzinski, J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Safety assessment of high consequence robotics system

Description: This paper outlines the use of a failure modes and effects analysis for the safety assessment of a robotic system being developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The robotic system, the weigh and leak check system, is to replace a manual process for weight and leakage of nuclear materials at the DOE Pantex facility. Failure modes and effects analyses were completed for the robotics process to ensure that safety goals for the systems have been met. Due to the flexible nature of the robot config… more
Date: August 1996
Creator: Robinson, D. G. & Atcitty, C. B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A sensor-based automation system for handling nuclear materials

Description: An automated system is being developed for handling large payloads of radioactive nuclear materials in an analytical laboratory. The automation system performs unpacking and repacking of payloads from shipping and storage containers, and delivery of the payloads to the stations in the laboratory. The system uses machine vision and force/torque sensing to provide sensor-based control of the automation system in order to enhance system safety, flexibility, and robustness, and achieve easy remote … more
Date: March 1, 1997
Creator: Drotning, W.; Kimberly, H.; Wapman, W. & Darras, D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Production planning tools and techniques for agile manufacturing

Description: Effective use of resources shared among multiple products or processes is critical for agile manufacturing. This paper describes development and implementation of a computerized model to support production planning in a complex manufacturing system at Pantex Plant. The model integrates two different production processes (nuclear weapon dismantlement and stockpile evaluation) which use common facilities and personnel, and reflects the interactions of scheduling constraints, material flow constra… more
Date: October 1, 1996
Creator: Kjeldgaard, E. A.; Jones, D. A.; List, G. F. & Turnquist, M. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Planning tools and techniques for production evaluation and disassembly

Description: This paper describes the development and implementation of a computerized model to support production planning in a specialized type of remanufacturing facility, the Pantex Plant operated for the US Department of Energy. The model integrates two different production processes (nuclear weapon dismantlement and stockpile evaluation) which use common facilities and personnel, and reflects the interactions of scheduling constraints, material flow constraints and resource availability. These two pro… more
Date: December 1, 1996
Creator: Kjeldgaard, E. A.; List, G. F.; Turnquist, M. A. & Jones, D. A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Pilot-Scale Pressurized Base Hydrolysis of HMX Plastic-Bonded Explosives

Description: A pilot-scale, pressurized, base hydrolysis reactor has been designed and its construction is nearly completed. Up to 120 L of 1--6 M NaOH aqueous solutions will convert as much as 25 kg of consolidated, explosive pieces to non-energetic compounds. Temperatures approaching 155 C in the pressurized unit will reduce reaction times significantly for the destruction of plastic-bonded explosives compared to previous atmospheric-pressure reactors. The hydrolysis effluent is then pumped into a holding… more
Date: December 31, 1998
Creator: Larson, Sheldon A.; Brewer, Gordon R.; Harradine, David M.; Polston, Clifford E.; Le, Loan A.; Bishop, Robert L. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Innovative approach to modeling accident response of Gravel Gerties

Description: Recent safety analyses at nuclear explosive facilities have renewed interest in the accident phenomenology associated with explosions in nuclear explosive cells, which are commonly referred to as {open_quotes}Gravel Gerties.{close_quotes} The cells are used for the assembly and disassembly of nuclear explosives and are located in the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at the Pantex facility. The cells are designed to mitigate the release of special nuclear material… more
Date: August 1, 1997
Creator: Kramer, M.; McClure, P. & Sullivan, H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Transportation requirements for the disposition of excess weapon plutonium by burning in fission reactors

Description: Both the US and Russia are planning to dispose of about 50 Mg of excess weapon plutonium over a 25-year period. One option is to transfer the plutonium to Advanced Light Water (power) Reactors (ALWRs) for use as fuel. Subsequent disposal would then be considered commercial spent fuel. This disposition option, like others, involves the transportation of plutonium in various material forms as it proceeds through various points in the recovery operation. This paper examines both the disposition op… more
Date: January 1, 1996
Creator: Hovingh, J. & Walter, C.E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Solid phase microextraction analysis of B83 SLTS and Core B compatibility test units

Description: Solid phase microextraction has permitted the efficient collection and analysis of a broad range of volatile and semivolatile compounds outgassed from materials. In 1998, we implemented a microextraction protocol at Mason and Hanger, Pantex Plant, for the analysis of weapons and compatibility test units. The chemical information that was obtained from this work is interpreted by determining the source and outgas mechanism for each compound in the weapon signature, which is a task only accomplis… more
Date: March 26, 1999
Creator: Chambers, D M; Ithaca, J; King, H A & Malcolm, S
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Chemical and biological systems for treating waste streams contaminated with high explosives

Description: The removal of high explosives (HIE) from ordnance is being accomplished via washout steamout procedures. Because large volumes of waste water are generated by these processes, safe and efficient methods must be developed for their treatment. Activated carbon can be used to efficiently remove HE from aqueous waste streams, but carbon that is laden with HE constitutes a hazardous solid waste. Although conventional treatment methods (i.e., incineration, open burning) are available, they may not b… more
Date: November 1, 1995
Creator: Knezovich, J. P.; Daniels, J. L.; Stenstrom, M. K. & Heilmann, H. M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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