Looking forward to 2011: Savannah River Site

The Department of Energy and its contractors spent 2010 making progress on cleanup projects, racking up hours of safe work, and making plans to keep SRS viable in the future - all while dealing with the challenges of a troubled economy.

President Barack Obama announced a pay increase freeze to affect all federal employees, and last week DOE announced that it would extend the pay freeze to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Savannah River Remediation and Wackenhut Services, totaling more than 10,000 of the site's 13,000 employees.

This week, the site's major contractors reflected on the past year and turned their focus to the year ahead.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions

SRNS, the site's management and operations contractor, had a year of ups and downs.

Progress was made on projects like the demolition of K Reactor Cooling Tower, the closure of M Area, and more than 2,000 cleanup milestones achieved. Ninety-six shipments of transuranic waste were shipped off-site, and the Savannah River National Laboratory named Dr. Terry Michalske its new director. SRNS hopes to grow the lab by 30 percent in 2011.

SRNS was one of two contractors on-site in 2010 to receive citations for 2009 workplace injuries.

DOE withheld $3.08 million from the SRNS contract, and no further injuries have occurred.

SRNS ended the year with the announcement of 1,400 layoffs, with a voluntary separation period in which 328 employees participated. About 1,100 employees will face layoffs in 2011.

SRNS President and CEO Garry Flowers said that SRNS is doing more work than has been done at SRS in a long time, and the layoffs were necessary for SRNS' health and competitiveness.

"This isn't a money issue," Flowers said. "I'm doing this because we need to right-size the workforce because there are inefficiencies out there. As you complete scopes of work and you become more efficient, you have better infrastructure, so you need less people now to do the work. "

SRNS partnered with two companies - Hyperion Power Inc. and GE Hitachi - to bring small modular nuclear reactor technology to a future energy complex at SRS, and another partnership is expected in early 2011.

Flowers' goals for the future energy initiatives in 2011 are to put a site on SRS property where early testing can be done, to begin work in the SRNL, to bring in private sector dollars and to have partnered vendors bring offices to the area.

"The future is not going to look like the past, because the Cold War is over; those missions are completed, and now you're cleaning up the legacy waste," said Flowers. "These technologies potentially can solve a big problem with the energy challenges the nation is going to have."

SRNS now consists of approximately 6,500 employees, including approximately 1,400 ARRA workers.

Savannah River Remediation

SRR, the site's liquid waste contractor, completed its first year at the site in July and was recognized by DOE's Office of Environmental Management as a leader for its safety record.

In 2010, SRR construction employees logged 23 million safe work hours, according to Operations & Deputy Project Manager Dave Olson. SRR, charged with the task of closing 22 high-level waste tanks within eight years, began 2010 with four tanks in some stage of the closure process and ended the year with 15 in the process.

SRR plans to have four of the 15 tanks "very close to being operationally closed," in 2011, Olson said.

Bubbler technology to be used at the Defense Waste Processing Facility will allow SRR to process more waste and close more tanks faster, Olson said, and Small Column Ion Exchange (SCIX) technology will make progress toward implementation in 2011. SCIX would allow for 2.5 million gallons of waste per year to be processed, compared to approximately 1 million gallons per year.

SRR's $200 million in ARRA funding will run out at the end of 2011, and SRR's base budget will pick up funding of projects started by ARRA.

SRR currently employs 2,417 people, 367 of whom are ARRA workers. Olson said SRR's recognition for safety is a result of SRR's workers.

We're only as good as our employees and their ability to perform," said Olson.

Mixed-oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX)

The MOX facility at SRS, which aims to convert 34-metric tons of weapon-grade plutonium to MOX fuel for use in commercial power reactors, is at approximately 62 percent completion of the manufacturing building.

In 2010, MOX continued work on design and construction, delivered 73 tanks to be used at the facility and achieved Gold LEED certification for its administration building. Construction also began on the Technical Support Building, and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission performance review found the project's progress satisfactory in late 2010.

Looking ahead to 2011, MOX plans to begin installation of the roof and electrical systems in the main process building and to fabricate, assemble and test approximately $100 million of complex process equipment, which includes completing 26 glovebox systems that will allow workers to safely handle materials used during the fuel fabrication process.

"Additional progress will be made on the installation of process piping, electrical infrastructure and the technical support facility," said Shaw Areva MOX Services President and CEO Kelly Trice. "In every phase of the construction process, our focus on safety is our top priority."

Currently, the MOX project employs 2,022 workers.

Contact Anna Dolianitis at adolianitis@aikenstandard.com.