Trigger plant plans remain unchanged, report shows

By PHILIP LORD Senior writer

A recent report to Congress shows the National Nuclear Security Administration is not backing off on the need for or the scope of a proposed Modern Pit Facility.

The nuclear trigger plant, for which the Savannah River Site is one of five sites seeking the mission, would employ more than 1,000 for more than a decade to produce new triggers for the nation's nuclear arsenal.

The unclassified portion of the NNSA report to Congress – which has stalled a decision on the future of the $2 trillion to $4 trillion mission – shows the NNSA and the Department of Defense want to eventually maintain the nation's nuclear arsenal with between 1,700 to 2,000 active units deployed, according to the report, which said the planned stockpile represents a 2/3rds reduction in the number of deployed weapons systems.

"We don't talk about stockpile numbers," said NNSA spokesman Bryan Wilkes, when questioned about the report.

Currently the United States is the only world superpower without the capability to replenish its plutonium triggers, which degrade over time.

Most of the pits currently deployed in the nation's nuclear arsenal were created from 1952 to 1989 at the U.S. Department of Energy's plant in Rocky Flats, in Golden, Colo.

Rocky Flats was closed in 1989 due to environmental and safety concerns, according to the NNSA report.

Treaties with the former Soviet Union are reducing the number of nuclear weapons needed, but nuclear experts say they are not sure how long the pits in the current stockpile will be effective. Estimates show the pits have a life span between 40 to 70 years.

Treaties have prevented the U.S. from underground testing of nuclear weapons since 1963, experts said. So no one really knows the exact life span of a nuclear pit, according to the report.

In April 2003 the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has been under fire in recent months for security concerns, produced one certifiable pit for the W88 weapons system, which is one of the types of nuclear weapon currently deployed.

The NNSA said in the report the MPF facility had to be operational by 2020 or the nation's current nuclear stockpile will likely be compromised due to the natural deterioration of plutonium.

"Without major upgrades to the interim capacities ... (Los Alamos) can be expected to manufacture up to a few hundred pits between now and the planned start of MPF production. LANL is expected to produce 10 pits per year.

"Interim production of a few hundred pits at LANL would contribute to stockpile responsiveness but does not significantly reduce risk to the stockpile until higher production levels are achieved," the report concludes.

The report said the MPF facility needed to produce at least 125 pits per year starting in 2021 in order to meet stockpile needs. The report warns, however, this estimate is based on the lifetime of a pit being 60 years.

"A 125 pit per year MPF with full production starting in 2021 will not support the planned stockpile if pit lifetime is 40 to 50 years," the NNSA report said. "These short lifetimes would require a more costly MPF with a larger capacity."

Currently the issue of building the MPF, or even selecting a location for the new mission, is on hold until members of Congress who have concerns about the need for the plant are satisfied.

Leading this opposition movement is Chairman David Hobson, R-Ohio, who runs a critical appropriations committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The NNSA report has been long awaited on Capitol Hill and has been mentioned by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as a key part of the puzzle to move the program forward.

Competing with SRS for the MPF mission are the Nevada Test Site, Los Alamos, the Carlsbad Site in New Mexico and the Pantex Site in Texas.

Contact Philip Lord at plord@aikenstandard.com.

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