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Institutional Constancy Guides NMT's Future Part 2

by Bruce Matthews, NMT Division Director

The recommendations in this editorial are mine; they do not represent the opinion of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of California, the Department of Energy, or the U. S. Government.

"We ultimately work for the U.S. taxpayers, and we are the stewards of their plutonium."

In the last issue of Actinide Research Quarterly I described why NMT must be concerned about the long-term impact of its activities, and I stated that we should be introducing an infrastructure of "institutional constancy." I then looked at where we should be in 2010, organized according to five constancy-assuring capabilities and activities: skilled people, excellence in actinide science, safe and compliant operations, solid record of delivery, and stakeholder involvement. In this editorial I look at where we are now in each of the five areas.

Skilled people: A cadre of skilled people, trained in actinide sciences and nuclear facility engineering, is a necessary element of constancy for the future. Given the year-to-year budget uncertainties combined with a paucity of institutions that train and educate people in nuclear materials disciplines, attracting and retaining educated employees has become a complex challenge. Past practices have been to transfer people internally and to hire new employees to meet the latest programmatic need. Strategic hiring, a key objective for the future, has not been well managed. While a number of activities (such as those noted below) have begun to help build the numbers of skilled people, additional, similar activities will be needed to execute future nuclear materials missions.

These activities will support a strategic hiring plan that targets 25% of new hires as entry-level hiring aimed at filling the skills required for anticipated future NMT Division programs and facilities.

Excellence in actinide science: The overall objectives of our sponsors and program offices are oriented towards short-term results. The overall objectives of assessors and regulators are compliance and rigorous formality in all operations. These objectives do not produce an environment that is particularly nurturing for sustained advances in actinide science. Nevertheless, our dual operational challenges of (a) certifying the safety and performance of the enduring stockpile without testing and (b) manufacturing a limited number of pits for nuclear warheads have heightened the importance of understanding the fundamental properties of plutonium. Science-based stockpile stewardship is not just a clever name for the work of sandbox physicists, chemists, and materials scientists; it is essential for certifying the reliability of the enduring stockpile, of whatever size. NMT must continue to expand activities that complement the shorter-term emphases of sponsors and regulators with rigorous, high-quality scientific work for the long term.

The DOE Defense Programs Office has begun supporting new programs designed to study the special properties of plutonium. The Pit Surveillance Project, pit certification activities, and enhanced surveillance studies are a foundation for future programs in the fundamentals of plutonium materials science. Materials scientists are making measurements of plutonium's properties-crystal structures, structural changes and melting, surface, mechanical, and shock properties-and how these change over time. These measurements will enable physicists to model and predict the long-term behavior of plutonium. New approaches in actinide-separations chemistry are being explored to produce in-specification metal for the stockpile, as well as to minimize waste at the source, protect residues, and secure excess plutonium metal and oxide for long-term storage.

The Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Weapons has launched an important initiative called "Outward Look" that will give NMT Division further incentive to ensure that the best science and technologies are applied to plutonium programs. Current division-wide activities such as the Plutonium Futures Conference, the Los Alamos branch of the Seaborg Institute, and the division's annual science and technology assessment will be the foundation for the division's part in Outward Look.

Safe and compliant operations: No future activities are possible unless we have a safe operating facility that complies with regulations. Our DOE sponsors have supported that need. NMT's facility management, nuclear materials control and accountability, waste management, training, radiation protection, industrial safety, and performance assurance are building a strong foundation for implementation of integrated safety management in our nuclear facilities. We continue to formalize improvements in facility operation based on internally identified issues and clearly articulated expectations of high performance. We think that, with sustained effort, these activities will prepare TA-55 and the CMR Building for future external regulation.

The recent integration of the CMR Building into NMT presents a strong challenge in preparing for future operations that will stress NMT's nuclear operations infrastructure. As we apply the best of TA-55 formality-of-operations practices, combined with the Lab-wide Integrated Safety Management Program at CMR, we will achieve operations that are safe and in-compliance there. We recognize the need to upgrade aging and inoperable facility-safety systems and have developed programs (the Nuclear Materials Storage Facility, the Capability Maintenance and Improvement Project, and the CMR Upgrades Project) that should provide for a solid operational foundation for the future.

Solid record of delivery: For years TA-55 has excelled in small-scale, innovative, high-quality, manufacturing of nuclear material components for weapons programs, nuclear energy programs, and disposal programs. The key to continued success and achievement of institutional constancy in the future will be the on-schedule, in-budget delivery on all such NMT projects. A number of large projects are being managed with modern project-management tools with the result that they meet cost and delivery commitments. In the future, as federal budgets are constrained, as DOE becomes an ever more demanding customer, and as public expectations and requirements for accountability increase, continued improvement of planning, scheduling, and delivery will be necessary.

Stakeholder involvement: The DOE's initiatives in openness and attempts to gain public trust through the Site-wide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement have heightened public awareness of Los Alamos' activities and the impact of these activities on the public and the environment. This report, combined with NMT's expanded mission, has increased the public's demands on the Laboratory. We must take aggressive measures to engage our stakeholders and gain their trust and confidence. After all, we ultimately work for the U.S. taxpayers, and we are the stewards of their plutonium. We have paid too little attention to this most important element of institutional constancy in the past, despite some positive, minor attempts to do so. However, until the University of California, the Laboratory, and NMT apply resources toward improved external relations, the continuing success of our nuclear materials programs is threatened.

In conclusion, the answer to the question, "Are we in NMT Division becoming fit for the future?" is "Yes, we have started." We are striving vigorously in most areas, but success requires continued diligence and additional and sustained effort. If the current initiatives continue and are successful and if we continue to introduce new activities and initiatives in these areas, the 2010 vision for skilled people, excellence in actinide science, safe and compliant operations, and solid record of delivery will be achieved. My greatest concern lies in the challenge of gaining public trust and confidence through formal activities in stakeholder involvement.


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