CHAPTER I

                  FORECASTING NUCLEAR MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

1.  GENERAL.  The production, processing, procurement, storage, and disposal
    of nuclear materials usually involve the expenditure of large sums of
    money and long lead times.  Advance information that affects these
    activities can be used to plan the future complex configuration, obtain
    required authorization and funding, optimize facility operations, and
    minimize costs.  The objective of the nuclear materials forecasting
    system is to develop information that will be used to accomplish these
    objectives.  Forecasts identify and quantify:  the need for new nuclear
    material for program use; the return of unneeded usable and unusable
    nuclear materials (such as scrap and spent fuel) for processing,
    storage, disposition as waste or discard for future disposition as
    waste; the transfers of nuclear materials between projects; nuclear
    material losses that result from processing, irradiation, decay,
    testing, and discards; and projected inventories.  The field offices are
    responsible for preparation of the nuclear material forecasts.

2.  PREPARATION AND TIMING OF FORECASTS.

    a.   Field Offices annually, by 2-15, shall provide Headquarters program
         organizations and the Office of Nuclear Weapons Management with a
         forecast prepared in accordance with Attachment I-1 for each
         existing, authorized, and contemplated user project having or
         needing nuclear materials during the current and next 11 fiscal
         years.  Forecasts are applicable to weapon and nonweapon research
         and development projects, and production and nonproduction reactor
         user projects.  Forecasts should be based on Headquarters guidance
         and reflect program requirements that are firm or highly probable.
         The Oak Ridge Operations Office forecasts shall include enriched
         uranium  that will be provided by DOE to foreign and domestic
         customers during the next two fiscal years.

    b.   Headquarters Programs.

         (1)  Headquarters programs annually, by 11-1, shall provide
              guidance to the field offices for nuclear material
              requirements forecast preparation.  Guidance should consider
              planned operations, deployment, or testing activities
              involving nuclear materials.

         (2)  Headquarters programs shall review and evaluate the forecasts
              for their respective programs that have been prepared by field
              offices and annually, by 3-1, provide the Office of Nuclear
              Weapons Management with a consolidated copy of their approved
              forecast with appropriate comments.

    c.   Office of Nuclear Weapons Management will consolidate DOE-wide
         nuclear material forecasts and annually, by 4-1, provide the
         applicable field offices with summaries of forecast withdrawals and
         returns for use in preparing their materials management plans
         (Chapter II).  In addition, the Office of Nuclear Weapons
         Management will use the approved forecasts for issuing applicable
         nuclear material allotments (Chapter IV), and for preparing the DOE
         Materials Management Plan.