[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64104-64106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30237]




[[Page 64103]]

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Part II





Department of Energy





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Request for Expressions of Interest for Tritium Production; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 239 / Wednesday, December 13, 1995 / 
Notices  
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[[Page 64104]]


DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Request for Expressions of Interest for Tritium Production

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Request for expressions of interest.

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SUMMARY: Tritium is an essential material in all nuclear weapons in the 
U.S. nuclear stockpile. Because the U.S. is not currently producing 
tritium, development of a new tritium supply will be essential for 
maintaining the U.S. nuclear deterrent. The Department of Energy's 
preferred strategy for acquiring new supplies of tritium is to pursue 
the two most promising production alternatives: (1) use of one or more 
existing Commercial Light Water Reactors (CLWRs); and (2) to design, 
build and test critical components of an Accelerator-Produced Tritium 
(APT) system to be used for tritium production. By this Notice, DOE is 
requesting expressions of interest concerning DOE's possible 
acquisition of one or more CLWRs, or acquisition of irradiation 
services from CLWRs, for the production of tritium. In addition, this 
request will solicit interest regarding the future potential use of 
mixed oxide fuel from surplus weapons plutonium either coincident with 
or separate from tritium production. The use of mixed oxide fuel is not 
part of DOE's preferred strategy for acquiring new supplies of tritium 
and no firm decisions have been made regarding the use of such fuel. 
Nevertheless, DOE is seeking to ascertain industry interest in the 
possible use of mixed oxide fuel for disposal of surplus weapons 
plutonium.

DATES: Initial expressions of interest should be submitted on or before 
January 29, 1996. Supplementary information regarding the expressions 
of interest should be submitted on or before February 26, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information, and submittal of initial and 
supplemental expressions of interest (original plus five (5) copies, 
citing this Notice), should be directed to: Stephen M. Sohinki, 
Director, Office of Reconfiguration, DP-25, United States Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington D.C. 20585, Attention: 
Tritium EOI, Telephone: (202) 586-0838.
    Answers to questions that, in DOE's judgment, are of general 
interest and applicability to all potential respondents will be made 
available for review in DOE's Public Reading Room at DOE Headquarters 
in Washington, D.C.

I. Purpose

A. Dual Path Strategy for Tritium Supply

    Tritium, an essential material in U.S. nuclear weapons, decays at a 
rate of approximately five percent per year (12.3 year half life). The 
U.S. is not currently producing tritium. Resumption of tritium 
production will be essential for maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons 
stockpile and the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Tritium could be required as 
early as 2005 should the START II treaty not be ratified and 
implemented according to its terms. If the START II treaty is ratified 
and implemented as written tritium would be required in 2011.
    DOE distributed its Tritium Supply and Recycling Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement in October, 1995, in which it announced 
its preferred ``dual path'' strategy for acquiring a new supply of 
tritium. That strategy is to begin work on the two most promising 
production alternatives: (1) to procure an option or options to 
purchase or lease one or more existing CLWRs or procure CLWR 
irradiation services for tritium production; and (2) to design, build 
and test critical components of an APT system for tritium production. A 
decision to implement the DOE's preferred dual path strategy for 
tritium production, based upon the Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement and related cost, schedule and technical analyses, was 
announced in a Record of Decision issued on December 5, 1995.
    The CLWR and APT options present very different approaches and pose 
fundamentally different technical and institutional issues that must be 
evaluated to provide a basis for selection. During the next three 
years, DOE will be undertaking the research and analyses necessary to 
provide the technical, economic and regulatory bases for the selection 
of the primary and backup technology approaches by 1998. If the CLWR 
option is not selected as the primary source of tritium, however, DOE 
intends to go forward with some form of the CLWR option as a backup for 
the APT, as a contingency for U.S. national defense requirements.

B. Tritium Target Development

    To produce tritium in a reactor, tritium target rods must be 
inserted into the reactor to capture neutrons and generate tritium. A 
lithium-aluminate, getter-barrier target design for use in a CLWR is 
currently under development. Tritium is produced via neutron capture in 
the lithium and the tritium generated is captured in a Zircaloy getter. 
The target rod outer cladding is stainless steel which has an aluminide 
inner coating to prevent tritium release. DOE's target development has 
focused on PWR technology, with target dimensions sized so that the 
target can be placed in either burnable poison or fuel rod locations. 
Following irradiation, target rods would be removed from the reactor as 
part of the refueling process and shipped to DOE's Savannah River Site 
where the tritium would be extracted. Depending on production 
requirements, between 2000 to 5000 target rods would be needed per fuel 
cycle. A single reactor or multiple reactors could be utilized. Target 
development work to date indicates that reactor fuel enrichment need 
not exceed five (5) percent.
    DOE's target development work has progressed to the point that it 
is now appropriate to evaluate potential reactor candidates for the 
production mission.

C. Acquisition of Option

    DOE is interested in acquiring one or more options to purchase or 
lease an existing commercial reactor or reactors, or to procure 
irradiation services from one or more such reactors. To accomplish this 
DOE will consider different types of options, as described in detail 
below. To facilitate assessing the feasibility of these options, DOE is 
requesting expressions of interest.
    This Request for Expressions of Interest is not intended to be a 
solicitation for proposals, and it is not anticipated that an award 
will be made based on the expressions of interest received. Depending 
on the nature of the responses received and subsequent determinations 
by DOE, a formal solicitation for competitive proposals may be issued 
in the future, and awards may be made based upon an evaluation of 
proposals received pursuant to the evaluation criteria as stated in the 
solicitation. However, DOE may utilize the information received in 
response to this request to take any other action as authorized by law 
to fulfill the government's requirements for the production of tritium, 
and potential disposition of surplus weapons plutonium, including a 
noncompetitive process.
    For the information of potential respondents, a preliminary 
procurement schedule is provided as an appendix to this Notice. The 
preliminary schedule provided in the appendix is tentative and depends 
upon a number of factors, including the nature of the responses to this 
Request, meetings which may be conducted with respondents, and the need 
for and schedule of necessary technical studies and analyses. 

[[Page 64105]]
Respondents are encouraged to provide comments on the schedule so that 
DOE may be made aware of any concerns and attempt to alleviate them to 
the extent consistent with programmatic requirements.

D. Potential Use of Mixed Oxide Fuel From Surplus Weapons Plutonium

    DOE is currently examining options for the disposal of surplus 
weapons plutonium and is preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PEIS) on storage and disposition of weapons-usable fissile 
materials, scheduled for completion in late 1996. However, to 
facilitate the Department's ongoing efforts to assess the feasibility 
of disposal of surplus weapons plutonium through the use of mixed oxide 
fuel in existing light water reactors, the Department is taking the 
opportunity of this request for expressions of interest to solicit 
information regarding the general level of industry interest in the 
potential future use of mixed oxide fuel from surplus weapons plutonium 
either coincident with (multipurpose) or separate from tritium 
production. A reactor operator need not be interested in use of mixed 
oxide fuel, however, in order to respond to the request for expressions 
of interest for tritium production.

II. Areas of DOE Interest

    DOE is considering acquiring in 1997 or 1998 one or more options 
to:
     Purchase or lease an operating reactor or reactors, 
including options to purchase a complete facility, purchase a reactor 
without any power-generating systems, obtain a long-term lease of a 
facility or part of a facility or other similar arrangements, or 
purchase an uncompleted reactor or reactors; or
     Purchase target irradiation services, including all 
possibilities ranging from obtaining all tritium from a single reactor 
to using several reactors (the number of reactors to be utilized would 
depend, among other things, on the quantity of tritium required). An 
option to purchase irradiation services may also include an option to 
purchase the reactor or reactors being utilized to provide the 
services.
    These options would be exercised after all necessary regulatory 
approvals have been obtained.
    DOE may also desire an option to conduct irradiation and other 
testing of a Lead Test Assembly (LTA) target as a prelude to tritium 
production. Follow-on tritium production may be accomplished in the 
same reactor or reactors that were used for irradiation of the LTA, or 
in a different reactor or reactors. Reactors to be considered may need 
to be available for testing of tritium targets not later than July, 
1997, and for mission use in about 2003, and would need to have 
sufficient remaining useful life to meet mission needs. Candidate 
reactors should have licenses with expiration dates of 2020 or later.
    DOE's target development work has focused on targets for use in 
pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Although tritium targets could be 
developed for use in boiling water reactors (BWRs), significant 
additional development work would likely be required at substantial 
additional cost. DOE does not plan to develop such targets, given 
existing budget constraints and the need to complete target development 
and qualification in the required time frame. However, DOE has not 
ruled out the use of BWRs and would be interested in expressions of 
interest with respect to both the use of BWR plants and to the 
development of BWR tritium targets.
    In addition to the above, if the option of using existing light 
water reactors were to be selected for the disposition of surplus 
weapons plutonium when the DOE completes its Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) on storage and disposition of weapons-usable 
fissile materials in late 1996, DOE would intend to embark on a mixed 
oxide fuel (MOX) test and demonstration program including regulatory 
review and testing of lead test assemblies. Thus, DOE requests that 
respondents indicate their interest, if any, in participating in such a 
potential test program.
    Respondents should provide information that is as accurate as 
possible, but information provided will not be considered as binding 
nor all inclusive.
    Respondents are requested to provide expressions of interest in two 
parts over a 75 day response period:
     Initial expressions of interest due at the end of the 
first 45 day response period; and
     Supplementary information due 30 days after submission of 
initial expressions of interest.
    Respondents are requested to provide the following information in 
their initial expressions of interest:
     The reactor(s) it may wish to sell, lease, or offer for 
irradiation services.
     The reactor(s) age, location, specifications, operating 
schedule (including the anticipated refueling/outage schedule) and 
capacity factor for each year of operation.
    Respondents are requested to provide as much of the following 
supplementary information as is feasible 30 days after the due date for 
initial expressions of interest:
     Proposed arrangements by which DOE would use the reactor 
or reactors to produce tritium, including a non-binding price estimate 
(or estimated range of prices), for each arrangement contemplated by 
respondent, assuming that DOE would begin tritium production in 2005. 
Discuss important variables that could affect the price or other terms 
of the arrangements.
     Equity- and debt-structure of owner(s)/co-owners, and 
approvals that would be needed and requirements (terms/conditions) that 
must be met before the respondent can enter into an agreement with DOE.
     Potential issues involving decontamination and 
decommissioning, or other technical or cost issues.
     Interest and issues concerning the potential use of mixed 
oxide fuel from surplus weapons plutonium.
     Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license requirements, 
Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure requirements and 
requirements of other federal, state or local regulatory authorities.
     The complete operating history of the reactor(s), and 
respondent's experience in operating the reactor(s).
     The NRC enforcement history with respect to the 
reactor(s).
     Major maintenance actions taken in the last 10 years and 
actions expected in the next 15 years for the reactor(s) and their 
actual or estimated costs, as appropriate.
     Any other issues specifically related to the particular 
reactor(s), fuel type or assumptions, facility or services identified 
in the response.
     Any additional information or other requirements necessary 
for developing a complete response to a future solicitation by DOE for 
the use of CLWRs to produce tritium, including the potential use of 
mixed oxide fuel from surplus weapons plutonium either coincident with 
or separate from the production of tritium.

III. Expressions of Interest Format

    There is no minimum length for expressions of interest. Maximum 
aggregate length is fifty (50) pages for both initial and supplementary 
responses, including enclosures or attachments. It is left to the 
respondent to determine how best to use the fifty (50) page maximum. It 
would, however, facilitate review if initial and supplementary 
expressions of interest are divided into sections that correspond to 
the categories of information identified in Section II., above. 

[[Page 64106]]


Proprietary Information

    If the initial or supplementary expression of interest contains 
information that is privileged or confidential and which the respondent 
does not want disclosed to the public, the respondent should place the 
following notice on the expression of interest:

    The information contained in pages ______ of this Expression of 
Interest has been submitted in confidence and contains trade secrets 
or commercial or financial information that is confidential or 
privileged, and such information should be used or disclosed by the 
Government or its contractors, only for purposes of consideration of 
this Expression of Interest. This restriction does not limit the 
Government's right to use or disclose other information obtained 
without proprietary restrictions from any source, including other 
information provided by the respondent.

Submission

    Each submittal should consist of one original and five (5) 
photocopies. DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated 
with the preparation or submission of expressions of interest in 
response to this Notice. DOE reserves the right to respond, or not 
respond to all or any portion of any expression of interest submitted 
in response to this Notice. DOE intends to conduct a public meeting 
regarding this notice 30 days from the date of its publication. 
Following receipt of initial or supplementary responses, DOE may also 
conduct one or more scoping meetings with all respondents to 
disseminate additional information on this effort, and may also conduct 
meetings with individual respondents for clarification of their 
responses or to obtain additional information.

    Issued in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 1995.
Hazel R. O'Leary,
Secretary.

               Appendix--Preliminary Procurement Schedule               
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                Activity                         Completion date        
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Receipt of Initial Responses...........  Jan. 19, 1996.                 
Receipt of Supplemental Information....  Feb. 20, 1996.                 
Complete Review of EOIs................  Mar. 15, 1996.                 
Issue Request for Proposals............  Jun. 1, 1996.                  
Proposals Due Date.....................  Sep. 1, 1996.                  
Evaluate Proposal's and Select           Dec. 1, 1996.                  
 Competitive Range.                                                     
Conduct Discussions and Request and      Apr. 1, 1997.                  
 Receive Best and Final Offers.                                         
Make Conditional Selection.............  Jun. 1, 1997.                  
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[FR Doc. 95-30237 Filed 12-12-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P