ML20062J141
| ML20062J141 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/18/1991 |
| From: | Bernero R NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20062B079 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-93-82 NUDOCS 9103280053 | |
| Download: ML20062J141 (7) | |
Text
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[ g( f,,,g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION w AsmNGTON, D. C. 20555 r
MAR 181991
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MEMORANDUM FOR: James M. Taylor Executive Director for Operations Robert M. Bernero, Director FROM:
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) LICENSING OF SUSJECT:
MILITARY USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM (DU)
The Middle East conflict raises timely questions about the issue of NRC's These questions regulatory jurisdiction over U.S. military use of DU abroad.
were highlighted by an incident that arose on the front line in Saudi Arabia, involving a tank fire containing DU ammunition. The tank was subsequently returned to the U.S., where it (or its DU-contaminated components) will be prepared for disposal. To address this regulatory jurisdictional issue, the Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) staff conducted a review of NMSS licensing procedures, the current types of licenses for DU for military use, current license conditions on military DU licenses, Office of General Counsel (0GC) views on NRC jurisdiction over U.S. Armed Forces bases abroad, and NRC Based upon this review, the staff concludes waste-disposal requirements.
that NRC regulations and licensing procedures do not extend to, nor hamper, the military use of DU abroad.
A.
Military Uses of DU Currently, military applications of DU include ordnance application for various munitions, armor for tanks, and, to a limited extent, ballast describes the properties of DU.
for missiles.
Currently, describes various commercial and military applications of DU.
NRC licenses the U.S. Army's use of DU at specific locations in the The license conditions on the U.S. Army licenses U.S. (see Enclosure 3).
are limited to radiation safety requirements and do not preclude DU use in military action abroad.
Department of the Navy and Department of the Air Force uses of DU are covered under their master materials licenses, which are broad-scope and not limited to DU.
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NRC Jurisdiction NRC has no jurisdiction over material exported from the U.S. (except as provided in NRC physical protection regulations in 10 CFR Part 73).
The material overseas that U.S. military forces possess is presently subject to military regulatory stipulations regarding its use.
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f Mr. James M. Taylor C.
Disposal of DU Based on discussions with the Army, it is the staff's understanding that i
some DU waste will be returned to the United States from Saud Under 10 CFR Part 61, depleted uranium is, and Kuwait for disposal.
Accordingly, OU waste is by definition, Class A radioactive waste. theoretically acceptable fo operating low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities.
The military might need to negotiate with the appropri
)
However, to our knowledge, such a disposal issue has not yet arisen.
An NRC specific import license would not be required l
OGC has reviewed this paper and has no legal objection.
My staff and I are I trust that this information will be helpful to you.available to meet
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- av Robert M. Bernero, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosures:
As stated
PROPERTIES OF DEPLETED URANIUM Uranium Chemically, depleted uranium (00) is identical to natural uranium.
is silver-white, lustrous, dense radioactive metal, gith an atomic weight of 19.01 + 0.02 at 25 C.
Uranium melts at 238.g29andaspecificggavityofUranium is a reactive metal and exists in two 1132 C and boils at 3818 C.
oxidation states - +4 and +6.
The general chemical character is that of a It oxidizes slowly strong reducing agent, particularly in aqueous systems.It first assumes a golden yellow in air at room temperatures.
becomes black, as oxidation proceeds for several days.
U-238 (99.275 Natural uranium is primarily composed of three isotopes:
percent), U-235 (0.72 percent), and U-234 (0.0057 percent).
In 00, the isotope composition is approximately U-238 (99.75 percent), U-235 (0.25 percent), and U-234 (0.000037 percent).
DU is considered a low activity radioactive material (e.g., approximately 2.5 metric tons of DU are equal to approximately 1 curie of radioactive material.) The principal radiation emissions from OU are alpha and beta The specific activities of DU, including the particles and ganma rays.
decay type, half-life, and component energy levels of those nuclides that contribute most significantly to radiation dose, are listed in Table 1.
The non-uranium isotopes listed in Table 1, are daughter decay products.
Table 1.
Radiation from Principal DU Nuclides Alpha Energy Beta Energy Gamma Energy Nuclide Decay Half-life (MeV)
(MeV)
(MeV)*
0.048 U-238 Alpha 4.51 x IOS yr 4.19 0.074 -0.38
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U-235 Alpha 7.10 x los yr 4.18 - 4.56 0.051 U-234 Alpha 2.50 X 10 yr 4.717 (28%)
5 4.768 (72%)
0.10 (35%)
0.029 - 0.091 Th-234 Beta 24.1 days
<0.30 0.017 - 0.31 Th-231 Beta 25.6 hr
- 2. 31(< 90%)
0.043 - 1.83 Pa-234 IT*(1%)
1.8 min 1.50(<9%)
0.043 - 1.83 Beta (99%)
others 1
- Isomeric transition to PA-234, which decays with 6.6-hour half-life to U-234.
PRESENT AND PAST USES OF DEPLETED URANIUM 2 i
COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS Ballu3t and Counterweights Depleted uranium (DU) has been used in ballast and counterweight applications.
1 In addition to its high density characteristic, DU can be readily fabricated into very large components by melting and casting.
The mechanical properties i
of DU also permit its use as a structural material. The use of DU as a counterweight is listed as " Unimportant quantities of tource material," in 4
Balancing Control Services on Aircraft DU is used to balance the weight of an aircraft control surface (i.e., rudder, aileron, elevator) around its hinge points. This requires a dense material as a counterweight, because of space limitations, particularly in the case of high-DU performance jet aircraft, with their relatively thir. wings and empennage.
counterweights for this application are produced in a variety of shapes and sizes and can weigh from a few ounces to several hundred pounds. Counterweight usage on the larger aircraft can total several hundred pounds.
1 Balancing and Vibration Damping on Aircraft In addition to use as specific control surface counterweight, DU has been used i
for structurbi vibration dampir,9, for weights on leading edges of helicopter rotors, and for counterweighting items other than control surface on
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aircraft.
4 Machinery Ballast and Counterweights i
DU has been used as balance weights for drill collars, tool holders, momentum wheels, and crankshaf ts, to enhance vibration damping during the mWining of wor k pieces, and to apply greater pressure on drill bit edges, tt, increasing drilling rates. DU is also used in certain testing mat.e
.3 and on some large crushing machinery.
f Gyrorotors and Other Electromechanical Counterweights J
DU is used in a number of electromechanical devices where high density material is required for ginbal weights and similar applications.
It has also been used for the rim of gyrorotors, where its density is important, and bnause certain of its alloys are compatible with the other gyroconstruction materials.
- Sea U. S. Army Armament, Munitions, and Chemical Command " Environmental Overview for Depleted Uranium," October 1985.
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Radiation Shielding i
The high density of DU and, in certain applications, the high atomic number, It has make DU a nearly ideal gamma and X-radiation shielding material.
been used in radiation shields of all sizes, ranging from those weighing a DU is currently used in areas where lower few ounces to multi-ton shields.
density and less expensive shielding materials are not feasible; typical The use of DU in among these are the small isotope radiography devices.
large shields has been limited to areas where weight or space limitations are critical.
Use of DU as Catalyst The plastics industry uses DU as a catalyst for the production of Successful research on the direct catalytic oxidation of acrylonitrile.
propylene and ammonia, to form acrylonitrile, led to the first bismuth phosphomolybdate catalyst developed for commercial use in 1960.
Miscellaneous Uses DU has been used in glass and ceramics to produce brilliant colors, in X-ray tubes for producing hard X-rays of short wave length at a high efficiency, and Other uses for DU compounds in electrodes as a source of ultraviolet light.
include analytical reagents, radiation sources in metering devices, as silk mordants, as electrodes in an ionic centrifuge, as metallographic aid in electron. microscope work for shadow casting, in insect repellents, and as DU salts in combating certain tropical diseases.
MILITARY APPLICATIONS 3
Ballast for Missiles
., a limited extent, in the missile airframe, in a way DU has been useo.,
similar to that d: maibed for commerc ai l aircraft. DU has also been used for payload simulation, on test and practice reentry vehicles, in conjunction with the space program.
Ordnance Applications These DU projectiles are DU alloys are well-suited for various munitions.
formed into slender rods, often tipped with hard tungsten alloys, called The high sectional density provided by the small contact area penetrators.
and high mass of urtnium generates very large kinetic energy transfer to the Included in these munitions impacted surface to maximize penetration. In addition to the excellent AP are the armor piercing (AP) projectiles.
characteristics, the DU penetrator changes to a highly pyrophoric state after breaking up into small particles on target impact. DU is being used by the Army, Navy, and Air Force for ordnance applications.
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3-Armor for Tanks DU high-density characteristics, and the fact that it can be readily f abricated into very large components by melting and casting, make it ideal for armor-plating in tanks.
Research and Development Research and development on DU is conducted at several Army installations with facilities for machining, melting, pouring, and casting, as well as at outdoor test ranges, in support of various Army programs, including production acceptance tests of DU munitions.
Presently, the Army conducts tests against sof t and hard targets under Nuclear It has outdoor impact areas for soft-Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses.
impact testing and containment enclosures for testing against projectiles fired from guns against armor targets.
Field Testing and Training Development and acceptance of Army DU ammunition is presently conducted on a
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lot-by-lot basis. Acceptance testing includes armor penetration, dispersion, and metal-parts integrity tests.
DU munitions are not used for training exercises.
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DEPARTMENT OF ARMY SOURCE MATERIAL LICENSES FOR MILITAkY APPLICATIONS OF DEPLETED URANIUM (1) SUB-1435, " Department of the Army, U.S. Army Jefferson Proving Ground, j
Madison, IN MAJOR USE:
Projectiles testing (2) 50B-734, " Department of the Army, White Sands Missile Range, White Sands, New Mexico i
Ballast in small missile systems 'and projectiles testing MAJOR USE:
(3) 50B-834, " Department of the Army, Commander U.S. Army Combat Systems j
Test Activity, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD*
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MAJOR USE:
Projectile testing j
(4) SMB-1411, " Department of the Army, Commander Yuma Proving Ground, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona
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MAJOR USE:
Projectiles testing l
(5) SUB-1536, " Department of the Army, Warren, MI MAJOR USE: Manufacture and use of Abrams M1 Series Tank Turrets i
i (6) SUC-1380, " Department of the Army, HQ, U.S. Army Armament Munitions and Chemical Command, Rock Island, IL*
MAJOR USE:
Receipt, storage, and transfer of military device containing j
depleted uranium components
- Licenses for Numbers 3 and 6 are attached as examples.
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