Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6) Cylinders Monitoring Needs

George Eccleston & Ed Wonder Discussion with NMMSS Users Group Meeting Las Vegas, NV May 18, 2010
NNSA UF6 Cylinder Monitoring Study Authors
G. R. J. G. D. J. M. J. M. J. M. Eccleston Babcock Bedell Cefus Hanks Jo Laughter Oakberg Rosenthal Tape Whittaker Consultant LLNL LANL SRNL SRNL BNL ORNL Consultant BNL Consultant ORNL

Twelve ton Type 48Y UF6 Cylinder

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Cylinders are used to store, transport and process UF6

Filled cylinders can be safely handled at contact without radiation shielding (< 3.0 mrem/hr). Natural background radiation is ~ 0.04 mrem/hr Cylinders are easily handled and moved with the proper lifting equipment

Cylinders are manufactured and certified to ISO and ANSI specifications

30B Cylinder at a feed/withdrawal station

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UF6 Cylinder Types*

Cylinder Model Nominal Maximum Maximum Maximum Maximum 235 Diameter UF6 U Enrichment U inches kgs % 235U kgs kgs
1.5 3.5 5 8 12 0.45 2.22 24.95 115.7 208.7 0.30 1.50 16.9 78.2 141.1 100 100 100 12.5 5.0 0.30 1.50 16.9 9.8 7.1

1S 2S 5A/5B 8A 12A/12B

30B
48A/X 48F 48G

30
48 48 48

2,277
21,030 27,030 26,840

1,540
14,219 18,276 18,148

5.0
4.5 4.5 1.0

77
640 822 181

48Y
48H/HX/OM

48
48

27,560
27,030

18,634
18,276

4.5
1.0

839
183

For criticality safety, the cylinder diameter is decreased as the uranium enrichment increases
* The UF6 Manual, USEC-651, Rev. 8, January 1999, page 6

Most-Used UF6 Cylinder Types

Type 48Y Cylinder 48 inch diameter
Used for natural and depleted uranium Holds 12,500 kgs of UF6 (8,450 kgs U) A 48Y cylinder filled with natural uranium contains 60.1 kgs of 235U.

Type 30B Cylinder 30 inch diameter

LEU is shipped in 30B cylinders in the form of UF6 from enrichment plants to fabrication plants to make reactor fuel. Holds 2,270 kgs of UF6 (1,540 kgs U) A 30B cylinder filled with 4% enriched uranium contains 61.6 kgs of 235U.

New 48Y Cylinders

30B Cylinder

UF6 Cylinder Commerce

Thirteen countries have enrichment production capabilities or nearcapabilities (including Argentina, Brazil, Iran, India, and Pakistan). Eight countries (China, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) provide toll enrichment services and supply enriched UF6 to the commercial nuclear reactor market. Enrichment capacity is projected to increase by 20% world-wide in the next 5-10 years, commensurate with reactor construction plans and a shift to higher fuel burn-ups (requiring higher fuel enrichment) 90% of the worlds enrichment capacity and civil nuclear commerce exists in the nuclear weapon states; 10% in NNWS. Based on current plans, the world share of enrichment capacity in NNWSs will double from 10% to 20%. Potential expansion of UF6 conversion in NNWSs (e.g., Kazakhstan)
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Illustrative Worldwide Cylinder Numbers and Flows

Cylinder Shipments per Year

Type 48Y 9,100 cyl/year Type 30B 6,600 cyl/year (~8,400 kgs U/cyl) (~1,500 kgs U/cyl)
UF6 storage yard with cylinders containing depleted 6 uranium tails from the enrichment process
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UF6 Cylinders and Enrichment

UF6 is direct feed material to enrichment plants and is used to produce LEU for reactor power fuel; in addition UF6 can be enriched to produce HEU for nuclear explosives. HEU production requires: 1. 2. An operating enrichment cascade, designed for HEU production or sufficiently flexible for such, and UF6 feed material.

3. At 90% enrichment one SQ = 27.5 kg Uranium The theft or diversion of UF6 will become increasingly attractive to States and perhaps even sub-national groups as the capability to enrich uranium becomes more broadly available. The A.Q. Khan network has disseminated centrifuge enrichment information and the barrier to developing enrichment capabilities continues to be lowered.
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Enriching LEU (4.0% 235U) to produce HEU

Illustrative 1000 Machine Cascade
A 30B Cylinder filled with 1,540 kgs of 4.0% enriched uranium contains 61.6 kgs of 235U
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31

Product 90% 235U 56.7 kgs 2.04 SQs 3.3 months/SQ

30B Cylinder

Feed 4% 1,540 kgs

90

80

40

30

20

100

Centrifuges/stage

30B or 48Y Cylinder

Tails 0.71% NatU 1,483 kgs

8

10

70

60

50

Cascade stages

Takes four 5A cylinders to hold 56.7 kgs of HEU.

Type 5A (5 Diameter) Cylinders are used for HEU

HEU requires containers that have a critically safe geometry A 5A cylinder holds up to 24.95 kgs of UF6 (16.8 kgs U) Isotopic Content Limit: 100% 235U

One 5A cylinder filled with 90% 235U contains 0.6 SQs of uranium*. Two cylinders contain 1.2 SQs 36
Gross Weight 110 lbs

* A significant quantity (SQ) of uranium is the approximate amount of nuclear material in respect of which, taking into account any conversion process involved, the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded.

At 90% enrichment one SQ = 27.5 kg Uranium

Enriching Natural Uranium (0.71% 235U) to Produce HEU

Illustrative Enrichment Cascade
Product 90% 235U 43.4 kgs 1.56 SQs 13.9 months/SQ

4.0% 235U

A 48Y Cylinder filled with 8,450 kilograms of natural uranium contains 60.1 kgs 235U

0.71% 235U

Takes three 5A type cylinders to hold 43 kgs of HEU

48Y Cylinder

Feed 8,450 kgs 0.71% NatU

48Y Cylinder 48Y Cylinder

Tails 8,407 kgs 0.25% Depleted U 10

Enrichment Timeline
Illustrative Operational Centrifuge Cascade: ~ 1000 machines, ~ 5 SWU/machine/yr

Filled 30B and 48Y cylinders are IAEA indirect use material. Indirect use material consists of 75 kilograms of 235U enriched to < 20%. The IAEA detection time for indirect use material is one year.

Time required to enrich LEU and NatU in filled 30B and 48Y UF6 cylinders
UF6 Cylinder Type 30B 48Y Uranium kg 1,540 8,452 Feed
235

U%

Cascade SWU/yr 5000 5000

Product kg/yr 100.6 24.0

SQs/yr 3.62 0.86

Months/SQ* 3.3 13.9

4.0 0.711

UF6 Cylinder Identification Problems For Both Operators and Inspectors

Identification Problems
UF6 cylinders do not have unique identifiers Identification labels are not consistent across manufacturers Labels are subject to harsh conditions and can be difficult to read Cylinders often have multiple labels and IDs and can be confusing Automated methods do not exist to read and identify cylinders Significant effort is spent locating and verifying cylinders.

Cylinders with multiple IDs and difficult to read labels

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UF6 Cylinders - Multiple Labels

* P. Friend, Urenco, D. Lockwood, DOE/NNSA, and D. Hurt, IAEA, A concept for a world-wide system of identification of UF6 cylinders, 50th Annual Meeting of the INMM, Tucson, Arizona, July 2009.

Cylinder Shipments and Timely Reporting

Shipments from one site to another can take several months and involve a variety of transportation modes and handling of cylinders and overpacks.
Cylinder shipments typically have few problems but unusual events have occurred. In unusual cases, when a shipping problem occurs and nuclear material is involved there is detailed follow up and reporting to regulatory agencies.

Implementation of a cylinder monitoring system would aid resolution of problems and enhance safeguards (e.g., timeliness of detection) and security oversight (e.g. locations and status of cylinders).
SHIPS DO GO MISSING Last year the Russian-manned cargo ship had vanished in the Atlantic and was finally located after over a month near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa, according to French and Russian officials, some 2,000 miles from its intended port.*
*BBC News, Russia Finds Missing Cargo Ship, August 17, 2009

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Solving the UF6 Cylinder Identification Problem

Industry* is proposing formation of an international working group to:
Develop a global, unique identification (UID) number system for UF6 cylinders Develop a method of attaching tamper indicating UID on cylinders Develop technology to read cylinders Gain international agreement Implement UID for existing stocks Incorporate UID on newly manufactured cylinders Incorporate into ANSI N14.1 and ISO 7195 standards

The industry* proposal is limited to UIDs and does not include considerations necessary for cylinder monitoring
* P. Friend, Urenco, D. Lockwood, DOE/NNSA, and D. Hurt, IAEA, A concept for a world-wide system of identification of UF6 cylinders, 50th Annual Meeting of the INMM, Tucson, Arizona, July 2009.

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Identifying UF6 Cylinders

UIDs that enable electronic identification will reduce time and effort in locating cylinders plus decreasing personnel radiation exposure to the benefit of industry and safeguards personnel.

A small number of cylinders (< 20,000) will need to be monitored. EZPass routinely monitors and automatically deducts charges for millions of cars passing toll points each year.

A cylinder monitoring system can be slowly implemented and scaled up over time.

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Beyond Cylinder Identification What is needed to Monitor Cylinders?

1. Each UF6 cylinder will require a unique identifier (UID). 2. Permanently attach the UID with an integral container to each cylinder The container would securely hold monitoring electronics. 1. Establish a global cylinder monitoring organization 2. Implement a central registry database of cylinder UIDs 3. Develop robust monitoring and tracking technologies 4. Gain international agreement to implement cylinder monitoring
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Universal Cylinder Identification

Global cylinder monitoring will require implementing universal identification labels and registration of cylinders

Cylinder UIDs will benefit both Industry and Safeguards Enable automated location, identification and verification of cylinder labels. Safeguard inspections could integrate UIDs into IAEA and State systems to verify shipper/receiver records and correlate cylinders with UF6 content. Expanding UIDs to include monitoring capabilities could provide additional cylinder information such as the location, weight, UF6 content, seals status, etc.
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Cylinder Registration and Monitoring Benefits

Reduce the risk of diversion by States and theft by sub national groups. Assure positive identification of cylinders and provide timely verification of shipments between shipper and receiver sites; Reduce personnel effort and improve safeguards and industrial efficiency by automating inventory taking and transit matching; Enhance safeguards effectiveness through more timely detection of diversion and discourage the use of unregistered cylinders to conceal undeclared production of enriched uranium; and Augment IAEA State level assessments and support global information analysis in verification of UF6 commerce and cylinder shipments between States.
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Conclusions and Recommendations Steps to develop and implement a global cylinder monitoring system:
Participate with industry in an international working group work to define and implement cylinder UIDs that will benefit both industry and safeguards and; Gain agreement to fabricate a container on each cylinder to hold a monitoring system; Demonstrate reliable monitoring methods to read, locate and track cylinders; and Work toward implementation of cylinder monitoring.

An effective cylinder monitoring system will require:

Cylinder UIDs with a monitoring container that is tamper indicating; A cylinder UID registration database; A global cylinder monitoring organization; Robust monitoring technology to track and provide cylinder information Encryption and other protection to preclude hacking and unauthorized access of the monitoring system; and Analysis capabilities to verify cylinder locations, shipments and to identify anomalies for inspection follow-up.
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Seeking Industry Advice and Approaches to the Implementation of Cylinder Monitoring

Questions
What are the perceptions and concerns of the UF6 industry on the impact to operations? How might cylinder monitoring benefit industry? What are implications of UIDs, cylinder registry, and tracking cylinders for users of NMMSS? Other?

End

What is Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6)?

A white crystalline solid at room temperature.

UF6 is stored and transported in solid form. UF6 sublimes (converts from a solid to a gas) at operating pressures below about 21.9 psia (1.48 atm) UF6 gas is feed material to uranium enrichment plants and to conversion/ fuel fabrication plants, and is used at over 40 commercial nuclear sites world-wide.
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Table B.3. Number of UF 6 cylinders to support nuclear fuel requirements by countrya Nuclear reactors Country MWe Belgium Canada China France Germany Japan Netherlands Russia UK U.S. South Ko rea Spain Sweden Ukraine Kazakhstan Othersb Tota l 33,941 6,794 895 8,511 0 8,189 53,950 9,113 5,728 12,652 8,587 20,339 46,236 485 21,743 11,035 3,365 2,199 MTU NatU 1,011 1,665 1,396 3,332 7,569 MT RGU 133 219 184 439 997 0 443 290 Conversion fa cilities Number 48Y feed cylinders 0 1,479 178 1,953 0 0 0 2,213 710 1,657 0 0 0 0 SWU/ year 0 0 1,200 10,800 1,800 1,050 3,600 20,000 4,200 11,300 Enrichment facilities Number Number 48Y feed 48Y tails cylinders cylinders 0 0 203 1,824 304 177 608 3,378 709 1,909 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 176 1584 264 154 528 2933 616 1657 0 0 0 0 0 0 7,912 Number 30B product cylinders 0 0 147 1318 219 128 440 2442 513 1379 0 0 0 0 0 0 6586 Fuel fabrication Number 30B product cylinders 487 0 260 532 422 1,087 0 1,312 214 2,532 260 195 390 0 1,299 0 8,990

63,473 10,527 1,387

UF6 Cylinders Shipments per year by Country and Facility

100,845 18,918 2,492 17,716 7,448 9,016 13,168 3,109 1,398 1,418 1,914 409 184 187 252

371,927 64,615

Note: Enrichment plants in NWSs are highlighted in bold. a World fuel fabrication capacity is only 75% utilized and is estimated to have a capacity to process 8,900 30B cylinders filled with RGU. Enrichment output is lower and estimated to provide 6,586 product cylinders per year. b Argentina (1005 MWe), Armenia (408 MWe), Brazil (1966 MWe), Bulgaria (3760 MWe), Czech Republic (1760 MWe), F inland (2400 MWe), Hungary (1840 MWe), India (3180 MWe), Lithuania (3000 MWe), Mexico (1350 MWe), Pakistan (462 MWe), Romania (708 MWe), Slovakia (2580 MWe), Slovenia (664 MWe), South Africa (1930 MWe), Switzerland (3200 MWe), Taiwan (5146 MWe).

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Table B.1. Current global enrichment plant capacity

Country Argentina Brazil Brazil China China China France Germany India India Iran Iran Japan Netherlands Pakistan Plant name/location Pilcaniyeu Aramar Resende Heping Lanzhou Shaanxi, Hanzhong Georges Besse I, Tricastin Gronau BARC, Trombay Rattehalli Rare Materials Plant, Mysore Natanz PFEP Natanz FEP Rokkasho Almelo KRL Kahuta Urals ElectroChemical Combine, Novouralsk Siberian Chemical Combine, Seversk Zelenogorsk ElectroChemical Plant Angarsk ElectroChemical Combine Paducah Portsmouth Owner/Operator CNEA Brazilian Navy, CNEN INB CNNC CNNC CNNC Eurodif Urenco DAE IREL/DAE AEOI AEOI JNFL Urenco PAEC Plant type Gaseous diffusion Centrifuge Centrifuge Gaseous diffusion Centrifuge Centrifuge Gaseous diffusion Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge Operational status Standby 20,000 SWU/year Operating Operating/under construction Operating Operating Operating Operating Operating Operating pilot plant Operating 4,00010,000 SWU/year Operating (pilot) Operating/under construction Operating Operating Operating 15,00020,000 SWU/year Operating Operating Operating Capacity (SWU/year) 0 9,000 120,000 200,000 500,000 500,000 10,800,000 1,800,000 0 10,000 0 250,000 1,050,000 3,600,000 20,000

Global Enrichment Plants and SWU capacity

Russia Russia Russia

Rosatom Rosatom Rosatom

Centrifuge Centrifuge Centrifuge

9,800,000 2,800,000 5,800,000

Russia

Rosatom Urenco USEC USEC

Centrifuge Centrifuge Gaseous diffusion Gaseous diffusion

Operating Operating Operating Standby 7,400,000 SWU/year

1,600,000 4,200,000 11,300,000 0

United Kingdom Capenhurst United States United States

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