Calendar Year 2020

In 1998, the Department of Energy determined that a new facility to store highly enriched uranium materials at the Y-12 National Security Complex was needed. The new facility was intended to modernize security, improve operational efficiency, and consolidate highly enriched uranium materials. The originial design was patterned after a previously constructed facility at another Department site and consisted of a concrete bunker covered by and earthen berm on the top and three sides of the facility. In February 2000, the Department approved the berm design. The Y-12 Complex is now part of the Department's National Nuclear Security Administraton (NNSA).

For over 30 years, the Department of Energy (Department) operated geous diffusion plans in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Paducah, Kentucky, to meet its enriched uranium needs. As a byproduct of the enrichment process, about 704,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride were generated and stored in approximately 58,00 cylinders at the enrichment plants. While the cylinders are currently stored with little risk to workers, the public, and the environment, they are gradually deteriorating. Prolonged storage has the potential to increase the Department's safety and health risks from handling operations, natural disasters, or malicious acts.

The emphasis on homeland security and protection of national assets, especially since September 11, 2001, has prompted the Department of Energy to take a number of actions to enhance its security posture. A critical component of this effort is the cadre of over 4,000 armed personnel responsible for securing the Department's nuclear materials, weapons, and national security-related information.