Area F : Plutonium Extraction Plant

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F Area Operations

The current mission of this project is to provide long-term surveillance for F Canyon, FB Line and 235-F, also known as the F Area Materials Storage (FAMS) facility. All three facilities were once components of one of the site’s chemical processing areas. FAMS was most recently used for nuclear materials management and storage, although all stored materials have now been shipped to another facility at SRS

Historically, F Canyon operations recovered plutonium-239 (Pu-239) and uranium-238 (U-238) by a chemical separation process after dissolving aluminum-based irradiated fuel slugs or rods from the site’s production reactors and other test and research reactors.Pu-239 was produced to support the nuclear weapons stockpile. Depleted U-238, in an oxide (solid) form, was recovered as a by-product and remains stored at SRS. No new production of plutonium is needed because of the reduction in the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.


www.srs.gov/general/programs/farea/index.htm