Two interconnected facilities at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina have stopped receiving nuclear materials due to growing infrastructure problems that could have significant consequences in the event of an earthquake.
A newly released report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board states that H Canyon – a nuclear materials separation facility – and HB Line – the facility on top of the canyon that helps feed material through – are not currently takin materials such as plutonium and uranium. The decision was made after Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor, noted degrading concreting walls inside the canyon.
The June 30 report did not state when DOE made the decision. The Energy Department did not respond to questions on the matter.
The failing infrastructure, combined with the risk of a radiological release while personnel handle materials at the canyon, moved DOE to halt receipts. The Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory (SRNL) will conduct tests to learn more about the viability of the concrete and issue a report by September, according to the DNFSB. Workers have been authorized to limit other operations and work with combustible materials at the canyon.
H Canyon serves multiple functions, including taking domestic and foreign materials, such as highly enriched uranium (HEU), and converts them into a less harmful form. Some of these materials are stored on site after they’re processed and others are sent to other sites for disposal or reuse. The site’s inability to accept materials at H Canyon may impede progress with the DOE’s foreign and domestic missions.
In a separate June report released by SRNS, the contractor highlighted the future of the nuclear materials program through fiscal 2031. The plan “documents the activities required to disposition the legacy and/or surplus enriched uranium and plutonium and other nuclear materials already stored or anticipated to be received.”
