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The pits of the first nuclear weapons were solid, with an urchin neutron initiator in their center. The Gadget and Fat Man used pits made of 6.2 kg of solid hot pressed plutonium-gallium alloy (at 400 °C and 200 MPa in steel dies – 750 °F and 29,000 psi) half-spheres of 9.2 cm (3.6 in) diameter, with a 2.5 cm (1 in) internal cavity for the initiator.
An Institute for Defense Analyses report written before 2008 estimated a “future pit production requirement of 125 per year, with a surge capability of 200." [ 11 ] The need for pit production is a complex issue, with the government and the military arguing that refurbishment and replacement capabilities are needed.
On September 11, 1957, a plutonium fire occurred in one of the gloveboxes used to handle radioactive materials, igniting the combustible rubber gloves and plexiglas windows of the box. Metallic plutonium is a fire hazard and pyrophoric; under the right conditions it may ignite in air at room temperature. The accident resulted in the ...
Feb. 19—Los Alamos National Laboratory reached what federal officials say is a key milestone in developing its first plutonium pit that can be placed in a nuclear warhead as it seeks to produce ...
A DOE presentation from 2020 showed the agency expected to produce about 2,000 containers of waste per year at Los Alamos during pit production by 2026, and that between the lab and Savannah River ...
Apr. 22—The head of U.S. Strategic Command in rounds of congressional testimony this week described renewed plutonium pit production efforts as vital to the nation's nuclear arsenal and, as a ...
The plant began in 1949 with the purpose of on-site production of plutonium metal in a form suitable for weapons at Hanford. [1] [2] It also participated in programs to recycle plutonium. One of the projects was the use of mixed plutonium-oxide uranium-oxide (MOX) fuel in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF).
Oct. 25—The deadline for a federal agency and a nationwide group of anti-nuclear organizations to agree on remedies in a lawsuit tied to plans for plutonium pit production has been extended ...