SRS offering tours in 2010 1/4/2010 7:53 PM By MIKE GELLATLY Staff writer
In 2010, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions will once again be offering a limited number of Savannah River Site tours for the public.
Twenty-three public tours of SRS, providing openings for 1,150 people, will be conducted throughout the year with the visits starting in a matter of days.
All tours will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Center for Hydrogen Research, 301 Gateway Drive, located off Highway 278, near the northern boundary of the site. The tours last approximately four hours.
Those visiting SRS will board a bus and be driven from the Center for Hydrogen Research through SRS on a route designed to follow the process that was used to produce tritium and plutonium for the nation's defense. Some of the areas that will be seen on the tour include the Savannah River National Laboratory; M Area, where the nuclear production process started at SRS; F Area, one of the site's two chemical separations areas that historically recovered plutonium-239 and uranium-238; S Area, home of the Defense Waste Processing Facility; Ellenton, one of six towns and several small communities that had to be relocated to make way for the Savannah River Site; and the Savannah River National Laboratory.
The Department of Energy hosted 14 public tours in 2009 to gauge the interest of area residents regarding Site history, current work activities and future missions at SRS. There was great public demand for the spots to look around the secure federal site.
All tours are free of charge, and each will accommodate 50 participants. Seats are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participants in 2009 registered for the tours online and completed survey forms following their tour. Registration for this year's dates will be handled in a similar way.
"We were pleased at the high level of interest to tour the Site," said Clif Webb, vice president of public affairs at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. "In less than 24 hours, 700 seats were reserved. Survey results from the 2009 tours confirmed the time was right to resume a limited number of tours each year at SRS for the public."
Site tours provide the opportunity for those interested in SRS to better understand the Department of Energy's facilities and workers that changed the face of Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale counties, nearby cities and helped win the Cold War.
To register, visit www5.hanford.gov/SRSTours/
Tour Dates:
Tuesday, Jan. 19
Wednesday, Jan. 27
Tuesday, Feb. 9;
Thursday, Feb. 25
Tuesday, March 9
Thursday, March 25
Tuesday April 13
Thursday, April 29
Tuesday, May 11
Thursday, May 20
Tuesday, June 8
Thursday, June 24
Thursday, July 8
Thursday, July 22
Tuesday, Aug. 3
Thursday, August 19
Thursday, Sept. 2
Tuesday, Sept. 21
Tuesday, Oct. 5
Thursday, Oct. 21
Tuesday, Nov. 2
Wednesday, Nov. 17
Thursday, Dec. 2
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