Thomas Grumbly, acting under secretary of the U. S. Department of Energy and assistant secretary of the Office of Environmental Management, has chartered a sixth focus area--plutonium stabilization and immobilization. During a workshop hosted by DOE on December 12-14, the need for the new focus area became evident as the scientific community discussed stabilizing and immobilizing the department's surplus plutonium and plutonium contaminated waste. Attendees proposed short-term solutions to stabilize fissile materials to ensure adequate physical security against terrorist theft or sabotage, safeguard against proliferation, and protect against environmental and health risks. All these responsibilities fall under DOE's Office of Environmental Management. Attendees stressed that viable methods must be achieved for long-term disposition.
The plutonium focus area will be managed by the Idaho Operations Office with support from Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Co. and Argonne National Laboratory.The focus area's scope provides for peer and technical reviews of research and development in plutonium stabilization. An executive panel will be established to advise the plutonium focus area manager, who reports to the director of the Nuclear Materials Stabilization Task Group. For additional information, contact Bill Scott, the plutonium focus area manager, at (208) 526-8189. Scott is on the staff of DOE's Idaho Operations Office.
