The National Nuclear Security Administration says it has authorized the start-up of the new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.
NNSA officials said the opening of the "ultra-secure" warehouse facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex — near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee — marks a major milestone in its efforts to create a modern, 21st century nuclear security enterprise.
The $549 million facility is the Y-12's largest construction project in more than 40 years. It is designed to consolidate enriched uranium storage into a single state-of-the-art facility that reduces operating costs and improves security, efficiency and operations, officials said.
Officials said the enriched uranium to be stored at the facility will be used for "maintaining the U.S. nuclear deterrent and as source of fuel for the Naval Reactors program." Other uses of the material include down-blended fuel for commercial, research or medical isotope production reactors.
The National Security Administration is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.
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