Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the Fluor-led prime contractor at Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., said this week crews have started constructing gloveboxes to make the explosive fissile cores of nuclear weapons.
“Gloveboxes will be a key component of pit production operations within the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF),” Dennis Carr, CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), said in the Tuesday press release. “The early procurement and fabrication of these gloveboxes is critical to delivering completion of this project for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) by the early 2030s.”
NNSA employees use gloveboxes to craft and shape plutonium pits while remaining protected from radioactive exposure.
The release also said SRPPF will require 2,100 employees once it is operational. In a hearing last week, James McConnell, acting principal deputy administrator for NNSA, said the design for the pit facility should be 90% complete by 2026.
In a Wednesday online public comment forum to scope input for a draft programmatic environmental impact statement on pit production, NNSA confirmed that, until a record of decision is issued from the environmental review, it is enjoined from installing classified equipment or introducing nuclear material at the Savannah River plant. The record of decision from the environmental review should be published in 2027, NNSA said Wednesday.
Savannah River will make cores for the W93 warheads for eventual Naval ballistic missile requirements.
