The Savannah River Site’s Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) on Tuesday approved a position paper opposing the Department of Energy facility’s possible receipt of 900 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Germany. The board has no authority in the matter, but its positions can be representative of the broader community on various topics. The paper, one of several approved on Tuesday, will now be posted online as the group’s official stance on the matter.
In 2012, Germany contacted the Energy Department for help in disposing of the HEU, which dates to the 1950s. The HEU was first produced in the U.S., which sent the material to several other countries for research purposes through the Atoms for Peace program launched in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The material was used in German research reactors and is not considered spent nuclear fuel. Under the program, the U.S. is supposed to take it back, even though one of the options DOE is considering is to take no action and let the material remain in Germany.
The 13-5 decision demonstrated opposition from board members who either support SRS receipt of the German HEU or believe more information is needed before DOE decides whether to accept the material. CAB member Gil Allensworth cast one of the nay votes on the position paper. He also proposed that the CAB recommend that SRS seek more information on the origin of the Atoms for Peace agreement to determine the necessity of the U.S. reclaiming the HEU. The board rejected his recommendation, though he and other community members think it raises important points. “There is an obligation for the U.S. to take the material back and there’s no better place for this material than SRS,” said Mike Johnson, executive director of the Aiken-based pro-nuclear group, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA).
Tom Clements, director of watchdog group SRS Watch, said during the meeting there is also concern about the shipment in Germany. “Stakeholders in Germany strongly oppose the shipment of this uranium,” he told the board. “They’re concerned about its transport and on how much of a concern the HEU really is since it’s already been stated that there’s no proliferation risk.”
In a press release, SRS Watch said the department has for two years been working on an environmental assessment on importing and processing the HEU. While the document was originally to be issued last month, it is now being reviewed and does not have a public release date, Clements stated, citing SRS officials.
The CAB also voted 13-5 to renew its position on the interim or long-term storage of other spent nuclear materials at SRS. The paper states that the nation’s spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste was intended to be stored at the Yucca Mountain deep geologic repository in Nevada. The Obama administration canceled that project, saying Yucca Mountain was not suited to house the waste. Last December, it formalized a “consent-based” strategy for nuclear waste disposal under which one or more permanent sites would be ready by 2048.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has released a series of reports that have indicated Yucca Mountain is a safe location to store the material.
The CAB’s position paper states “no site for a long term geologic site superior to Yucca Mountain exists and any alternative site will be technically inferior.” CAB member Larry Powell said the issue, much like the German HEU shipment, highlights the fact that the board does not want more nuclear material coming to SRS unless it poses a legitimate proliferation risk at its current location. “Before we start getting more material, we need to do develop an exit strategy to get some of this other material off-site,” he said.
DOE officials and some Savannah River Site stakeholders have cited the facility’s expertise and safety record as reasons why it has been a go-to site for storage of nuclear materials. SRS received plutonium from Switzerland in January and February, and from Japan in June.
In other action Tuesday, the board recommended establishing hiring schedules and rates in upcoming SRS contracts and means to encourage contractors to meet those benchmarks. The CAB did not suggest specific benchmarks in the recommendation, which comes after numerous reports about the need to replace the aging workforce at the site. Data from 2015 shows that the average age for an SRS employee is 54 years old and that, within the next five years, more than half of the workforce will be eligible for retirement.
The SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) has been working to address the issue. Executive Director Rick McLeod said Tuesday that the economic development group worked on getting language in the request for proposals (RFP) for the upcoming liquid waste contract at SRS. Savannah River Remediation’s contract expires in June 2017. According to the RFP for the new deal, the contractor will be evaluated on its efforts to recruit and retain an adequate workforce.
The CAB recommendation also asks that contractors routinely meet with community leaders to create quality of life incentives for younger workers and work with women’s and minority groups to diversify the workforce. McLeod said the latter item is a noble goal, but that it also depends on who’s enrolled in the required classes and programs to obtain a position at SRS. “We have been working with the local universities and colleges to create such programs and advocating to have local students prepared for these new positions,” he said.
The CAB also approved a recommendation to analyze the throughput of H Canyon, the large facility at SRS that processes plutonium and uranium. The recommendation is likely fueled by incidents such as an event detailed in a March report of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The board noted a blockage incident during uranium processing that slowed the flow of the material. The situation could have resulted in a criticality incident. The CAB wants the Energy Department to evaluate the choke points where blockage may occur during processing, and figure out the resulting cost and schedule impacts as a result of such incidents.
