The dissolution vessel for plutonium pits at the U.S. DOE Pantex Plant.

The U.S. DOE Pantex Plant has been given the mission to recertify and requalify plutonium pits for reuse in existing War Reserve nuclear weapons. The first process common to both recertification and requalification is cleaning the plutonium pit. The pit will be cleaned in a dissolution vessel using N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent. The recertification and requalification programs are both in the design concept phase at Pantex Plant The U.S. DOE Pantex Plant secures the national security of the United States by using safe vessels for cleaning plutonium pits in a manner that protects the health and safety of employees, the public and the environment.

The AL-R8 SI: the next generation staging container for plutonium pits at the USDOE Pantex Plant.

The AL-R8 SI (sealed insert) is the next generation staging container for plutonium pits at the U.S. DOE Pantex Plant. The sealed insert is a stainless steel container that will be placed inside a modified AL-R8 container to stagepits. A pit is a hollow sphere of plutonium metal which is the primary fissionable material in nuclear weapons (warheads and bombs). It is hermetically sealed by a cladding material, which is usually stainless steel. Personnel exposures to ionizing radiation from the pits in storage are expected to decrease due to the attenuation provided by the new SI. All personnel exposures to ionizing radiation at Pantex Plant are As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). Pantex Plant secures the common defense and national security of the United States by safely staging plutonium pits in a manner that protects the health and safety of employees, the public, and the environment.