The National Nuclear Security Administration is one step closer to producing plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site.
Workers recently completed the installation of a temporary heating, ventilating and air conditioning system in the building that will house the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions announced Tuesday morning.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is the contractor responsible for management and operations of the Savannah River Site. The company is a partnership between Fluor and Huntington Ingalls Industries. SRNS has managed the Savannah River Site since August 2008.
The Savannah River Site is a 310-square mile Department of Energy owned facility located around 20 miles south of Aiken. It produced plutonium and tritium during the Cold War. Production of tritium and cleanup of the nuclear waste generated during the production of plutonium is ongoing.
“We are working steadfastly to accelerate work and accomplish milestones like this to meet schedule requirements for the ... pit production mission,” Savannah River Nuclear Solutions President and CEO Dennis Carr said in a news release.
The building, 226-F, in which the temporary system was installed was originally constructed to serve as the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The federal government planned to convert weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for use in commercial nuclear reactors. However, the facility was plagued by cost overruns and delays. It was ultimately canceled in 2016.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous part of the Department of Energy responsible for the production of nuclear weapon materials, announced in 2018 that it planned to convert the abandoned facility into a plutonium pit production facility.
The system provides a "suitable work environment" for workers inside of the building during South Carolina's hot and humid summers, the news release adds.
It includes 30-ton and 50-ton rooftop units, as well as installation of indoor portable HVAC units, exhaust fans, portable indoor air curtains and internal ductwork to distribute the new cooling system, the news release continues. It adds the system will be phased out once a permanent system is installed.
The Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility will produce 50 plutonium pits per year when completed in the mid-2030s.
