SRS facility surpasses reprocessing milestone

November 20, 2024, 9:33AMRadwaste Solutions
The Salt Waste Processing Facility recently surpassed a production milestone by processing more than 10 million gallons of high-level waste at the Savannah River Site. (Photo: DOE)

The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has processed more than 10 million gallons of liquid radioactive waste in its Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has announced.

NNSA workforce initiative reaches out to universities

November 6, 2024, 9:31AMNuclear News
SRNS’s Erika Baeza-Wisdom gives an overview of SRNS pit production to UTEP students. (Photo: SRNS)

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the managing and operating contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are partnering with multiple universities to develop next-generation technology and personnel pipelines to advance the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s two-site pit production mission.

Thousands attend SRS College Night event

October 16, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News
Participants visited the Augusta Convention Center to meet with representatives of hundreds of colleges and universities. (Photo: SRS)

More than 4,700 attendees recently filled the Augusta Convention Center in Georgia in search of higher education and career opportunities during the Savannah River Site Central Savannah River Area College Night. The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is in South Carolina.

Japanese fuel disposition mission starts at Savannah River Site

October 15, 2024, 3:00PMRadwaste Solutions

Employees at the H Canyon Chemical Separations Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina recently began the dissolution of nuclear material from a Japanese research reactor, leading to its safe disposal.

From remediation to production: The DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative

September 20, 2024, 3:10PMRadwaste Solutions
Idaho National Laboratory employees consult on a microgrid at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground. Two solar projects were selected for development on INL land. (Photo: INL)

On July 28, 2023, the Department of Energy launched its Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, an effort to repurpose underutilized DOE-owned property—portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program—into the sites of clean-energy generation.

Savannah River turns to drones for inspecting waste tanks

September 4, 2024, 9:31AMRadwaste Solutions
SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Mission Completion will use drones equipped with cameras to inspect the cleaning status of waste tanks at the site. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management will begin using drones for the first time to internally inspect radioactive liquid waste tanks at the department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Inspections were previously done using magnetic wall-crawling robots.

2024 Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship is awarded

August 29, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

Holston

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) and the charitable educational organization Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA) have announced that Micah Holston, a student at Kennesaw State University, is the winner of the 2024 Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship.

The $5,000 scholarship is sponsored by SRMC, the liquid waste contractor for the Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site.

The winner: Holston, a senior from Marietta, Ga., is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics and political science with minors in nuclear engineering, math, and international affairs. CNTA executive director Allison Hamilton Molnar said the organization is proud to award this scholarship to such a deserving student.

SRS partnership’s mission is to dissolve spent fuel

August 19, 2024, 3:03PMRadwaste Solutions
A mock-up model at SRNL was used to demonstrate a full-scale jet cleanout system to remove undissolved material from the H Canyon electrolytic dissolver. (Photo: DOE)

A collaboration between Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is making progress toward processing non-aluminum spent nuclear fuel (NASNF) as part of the site’s accelerated basin de-inventory mission. SRNL is the managing and operating contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

Artesian well water passively cleans contaminated Savannah River water

August 19, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
The D Area Groundwater Treatability Study project team assesses artesian flow into injection well at the Savannah River Site. (Photo: SRNS)

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the management and operations contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, announced that it has injected more than 100 million gallons of clean artesian well water to neutralize shallow groundwater contamination underneath 33 acres of a former coal storage yard and the associated runoff basin at the site in South Carolina. According to Ashley Shull, senior scientist for the project, “100 million gallons is nine times more water than [is] contained in the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.”

After months of troubleshooting, SRS system gets a new component

July 31, 2024, 3:47PMRadwaste Solutions
The original 1950s-era condenser is lifted out of the GPE system by a 100-ton crane at SRS's H Canyon chemical separations facility. (Photo: DOE)

Workers at the Savannah River Site have recently completed the replacement of a piece of equipment that the Department of Energy said in a July 31 press release is “essential for operations in the site’s H Canyon chemical separations capable facility.”

SRS repurposing MOX fuel facility for national defense goal

July 29, 2024, 12:06PMNuclear News
Aecon-Wachs workers performed the D&R of equipment and commodities from the plutonium processing facility at SRS. ( Photo: SRS)

A major milestone has been reached in the construction of a plutonium pit production facility at the Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, S.C.

After 18 months of work involving local trade unions, the dismantlement and removal (D&R) of commodities and equipment throughout the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF), previously installed by the Mixed Oxide (MOX) project, was completed in June 2024, the Department of Energy reported on July 24.

NPR focuses on SRS recruitment and training

July 2, 2024, 3:11PMNuclear News
SRS Apprenticeship Program graduates Terrence Tillman (far right) and Shanterra Hughes share their recent apprenticeship experiences with NPR host David Brancaccio (center) and NPR sound engineer Rebekah Wineman. (Photo: DOE)

A new radio series on National Public Radio’s “Marketplace Morning Report” recently highlighted career opportunities and job training at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.

To listen to the radio segment, click here.

Simulated radiological release tests SRS response teams

June 26, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear News
SRS firefighters responded to a staged scene outside of K Area’s Criticality Control Overpack pad. The firefighters followed an Incident Action Plan to maximize the safety of responders and role-playing victims for effective extraction. (Photo: DOE/SRNS)

Earlier this month, nearly 250 personnel at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina took part in an annual exercise to test preparedness for a radiological release and contamination emergency.

Major concrete work completed on Savannah River disposal unit

June 13, 2024, 12:00PMRadwaste Solutions
All major concrete placements have been completed on Saltstone Disposal Unit 10, the latest megavolume disposal unit being built at the Savannah River Site. This aerial view shows the final roof section being installed on the unit. (Photo: DOE-EM)

With the placement of 25 wall sections, 208 support columns, and 7 roof sections, work crews have completed all major concrete placements for the megavolume Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) 10 at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.

Savannah River Site's one-of-a-kind transporter makes pit stop

May 30, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
The Savannah River Site’s shielded canister transporter. (Photo: DOE)

The large vehicle used to transport highly radioactive canisters at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site has completed a pit stop to ensure the continued movement of the site’s radioactive liquid waste work.

Savannah River contractor receives NSC safety awards

May 20, 2024, 9:33AMRadwaste Solutions
SRMC operators demonstrate procedure compliance during a job at the Savannah River Site’s Saltstone Production Facility. SRMC recently won national awards for demonstrating a commitment to working safely. (Photo: SRMC)

Department of Energy cleanup contractor Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) has garnered national recognition for its commitment to safety, recently receiving three awards from the National Safety Council: the Occupational Excellence Award, the Perfect Record Award, and the Superior Safety Performance Award.

SRMC funds STEM scholarships for Voorhees University

April 5, 2024, 12:01PMRadwaste Solutions
SRMC’s Dave Olson (left) presents a $10,000 check to Voorhees University president Ronnie Hopkins. (Photo: SRMS)

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the liquid waste contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, recently presented a $10,000 check to Voorhees University to fund science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) scholarships.