Personnel from Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory participate in simulated radiation contamination and perform large drum packaging operations. (Photo by NNSA)
Experts from across the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration recently teamed up with the U.S. Army at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, to exercise the capabilities of two rapid response facilities critical to national security.
For six weeks in May and June, interagency partners practiced the operations and procedures necessary to deploy the Mobile Plutonium Facility and Mobile Uranium Facility as part of Exercise Corvina Loco, the NNSA said in a story published on its website in June.
“These two assets would allow the U.S. to package and safely remove nuclear materials quickly,” the NNSA said.
Scientist Glenn Pfennigwerth of Y-12 National Security Complex, right, explains chemical processes used in the Mobile Uranium Facility to Brig. Gen. William E. King IV, commander of the 20th CBRNE Command. (Photo by NNSA)
The exercise scenario tested the complete range of mobile procedures at the plutonium and uranium facilities: material packaging, glovebox operations, tracking, non-destructive analysis, storage, and X-ray procedures.
“The participants lent their unique capabilities to a unified response,” the NNSA said.
Corvina Loco involved approximately 100 personnel from the Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Command; Savannah River National Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Y-12 National Security Complex; Los Alamos National Laboratory; and the Nevada Nuclear Security Site. More than 18,000 training hours were performed.
The annual exercise evaluates the capabilities in different environments, the NNSA said.
“While Key West offered a sub-tropical climate, previous exercises were held in Nevada and Alaska,” the NNSA said. “By regularly deploying and exercising under real-world conditions, NNSA and its partners are able to improve processes and equipment.”
The Mobile Uranium Facility and Mobile Plutonium Facility teams assemble in front of their equipment. (Photo by NNSA)
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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