HB Line, a facility that assists the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility in processing nuclear materials, is expected to exit a reduced work phase next month as site contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) advances toward resumption of full normal operations. SRNS, the Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor, self-induced an operational safety pause on Sept. 11 on missions not needed for safety and security. The decision followed a Sept. 3 incident at HB Line in which three workers and a first-line manager stored a sample size of plutonium in a container that was not suitable for transport. The sample was scheduled to be transported to the Savannah River National Laboratory.
The incident followed several other safety-related incidents under the scope of the contractor, including a February 2015 incident in which SRNS employees workers discovered that the agitators on HB Line were down due to a January power outage. The incident went unnoticed for a month and could have resulted in inaccurate results during plutonium concentration testing.
The September incident led SRNS to freeze work at HB Line, H Canyon, the Savannah River National Lab, and other facilities. Weeks after the pause was initiated, some facilities were authorized to enter deliberate operations, in which workers pay extra attention to detail and planning. In November, HB Line became the last facility to enter deliberate operations. HB Line and H Canyon were expected to exit deliberate operations in late January, but progress has taken longer than anticipated. H Canyon was approved to exit deliberate operations on Feb. 5 and HB Line is expected to exit deliberate operations in early March, said SRNS spokeswoman Barbara Smoak, “It is important to note that while the pace of the work performed during deliberate operations is at a reduced rate, nuclear materials operations have resumed in both H Canyon and HB Line,” Smoak said.
After deliberate operations, facilities have transitioned to enhanced operations – a phase outlined in a sustainment plan authored by SRNS and Department of Energy personnel. Work in enhanced operations is closer to normal operations but contingencies have been put in place using the sustainment plan. The plan ensures ongoing focused and disciplined operations, said Smoak, and includes periodic half-day pauses and small group discussions. In addition, SRNS plans to add about 20 positions this year in the areas of procedures, training, quality assurance, and other support organizations. “SRNS has emerged from the pause as a significantly stronger company. With the changes we are incorporating, we are well positioned for success in 2016 at Savannah River,” said SRNS President & CEO Carol Johnson in a press release.
During a late January meeting, the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) asked Energy Department and SRNS officials about the expense of the safety pause. Neither could give an estimate of how much the pause has cost, but Patrick McGuire, the DOE assistant manager for nuclear material stabilization at Savannah River, said the pause and slowdown to waste processing and other SRNS missions is “costing money by not completing the work in a timely manner.”
SRNL to Recover Useful Materials From Dated Fuel Assemblies
A team of Department of Energy officials under the scope of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is recovering heavy curium and plutonium-244 from irradiated fuel targets stored at the Savannah River Site. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) near Aiken, S.C. is heading up the effort, with collaborative help from the Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.
According to SRNL, the curium and plutonium-244 in question are rare and valuable. The 65 fuel targets, or assemblies, the materials are stored inside have been on site for more than 35 years and possess more than 80 percent of the world’s stockpile of the two elements. Specifically, the plutonium can be used in high-accuracy measurements analysis. The plutonium can be used as reference material to analyze and identify other nuclear materials. The curium stored at SRS can be used to produce californium, a chemical element that can be used for oil exploration and medical research.
The effort of removing the assemblies from storage and recovering the curium and plutonium will happen over several years, Bill Swift, the nuclear materials program manager for SRNL, said in the press release. Once recovered, the material will be sent to Oak Ridge for purification and will be used to support isotope production. Richard Meehan, the director of DOE-NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Materials Integration, added that the effort will play a pivotal role in national security efforts. “Producing reference materials like plutonium-244 is vital for national safeguards and nonproliferation programs,” he said.