The management of nuclear materials, and fissile materials in particular, at the DOE facilities is undergoing significant changes. These result in large part from decreasing requirements for these materials in the U. S. weapons program. Not only is new production no longer required, but returns must be handled and safely stored. Eventually surplus fissile material will be used for power production, or else put into a form suitable for long term disposition. In the meanwhile concentrates must be stored with protection against releases of radioactive material to the environment, and also against theft or deliberate dispersion. In addition, cleaning up large volumes of materials contaminated with fissile isotopes will be a major activity, and there will also be some quantity of spent fuel containing enriched uranium that cannot readily be processed. All these activities pose safety problems, some of which are addressed here.
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