DOE decision on SRS wastes awaited

A U.S. Department of Energy decision on the Savannah River Site's liquid waste operations could come as early as the end of the month, new Washington Savannah River Co. President Steve Piccolo said Monday.

WSRC and its parent company, URS Washington Division, transitioned the site's management operations to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in early August. However, WSRC still has a 2,200-person workforce at SRS for the liquid waste operation.

"We have a heritage of safety," Piccolo told Rotary Club of Aiken members. "We're not only the best in class, we're the best in the DOE complex. For six years we've received the State of Excellence, the highest award that DOE acknowledges. ... We've gone 30 months without a lost-time injury in the liquid waste operation."

Currently, four tanks are on schedule for closure by 2010, which Piccolo said is years ahead of the Federal Facilities Agreement. All four tanks are getting a final cleaning with separate chemical and mechanical processes. When he previously worked at the site five years ago, said Piccolo, acid (chemical) cleaning was not scheduled. However, new technology has now made such processes practical.

SRS' liquid waste will be part of the used fuel sent to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, if that facility ever gets the go-ahead. After 17 years of congressional and regulatory debate and legal challenges, said Piccolo, the National Regulatory Commission now has about three years to respond to DOE's construction application.

When asked which presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama, would be the most supportive of SRS, Piccolo said with a resigned smile that's why he likes to avoid speeches.

"I don't see any immediate changes from either candidate in terms of cleanup in 2009," he said. "My personal opinion is that with McCain, the future of nuclear technology will advance faster. ... In terms of missions at SRS, McCain also would be more proactive to what we're doing and would have more of an impact. But who can have any impact now with this financial crisis?"

The greater Aiken community has always supported SRS and that won't change, said Piccolo.

"Is there a nuclear renaissance coming? Absolutely," he said. "Nobody can stop it from happening as long as the industry maintains its safety record."

Contact Rob Novit at

rnovit@aikenstandard.com.