The future of the Savannah River Site is "very bright," according to U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who toured the Site on Thursday and Friday.
That future, Perry said, includes new and different missions at SRS. He said he's been working with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to introduce just that.
"We talked about expanding the mission, if you will," Perry said. "Sen. Graham and I are talking about a number of ways in which to do that."
Graham said "the president chose wisely" when he nominated the former Texas governor to the U.S. Department of Energy helm.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., believes the in-progress Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility…
"He's not a status-quo guy," Graham said of Perry. "I want to do with energy what we did with taxes."
On Friday, during a Perry-hosted SRS employee town hall at the Savannah River National Laboratory, the energy secretary said SRS has always been nationally vital.
"Being able to be on site, to really be able to understand … that's powerful stuff," Perry said.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke before U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. Graham addressed SRS employees for about three minutes before leaving.
Keeping SRS healthy, though, he continued, requires some forward-looking considerations – not just Cold War nostalgia.
Perry said there are a number of projects "coming up." He mentioned the ash basin project first, a long-term task that aims to clean up and consolidate decades of coal ash and contaminated soil into a synthetically capped, environmentally remediated mound. The DOE estimates 400,000 cubic yards of ash will be consolidated by project end.
Perry's plutonium pit perspective
Perry also said President Donald Trump is "committed" to the "modernization of our nuclear fleet."
That modernization requires plutonium pits. Plutonium pits, often referred to as nuclear weapon triggers or cores, haven't been produced since 2011. The National Nuclear Security Administration – a semiautonomous agency in charge of nuclear nonproliferation and the upkeep of the nation's nuclear arsenal – wants to change that.
During a regularly scheduled Aiken City Council meeting Jan. 8, the Council approved a resolution "supporting and encouraging" the DOE and NNS…
The grapefruit-sized pits were exclusively produced at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Prior to that, pits were produced at the now-disgraced Rocky Flats Plant outside of Denver.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, in leaked documents, has stated interest in moving pit production to SRS. Doing so would cost billions – a maximum of $5.4 billion – and would take at least seven years. Reworking Los Alamos for ramped-up and future pit production would cost upward of $7.5 billion, according to the NNSA.
The cities of Aiken, North Augusta and New Ellenton have all sponsored local pit production. Aiken County has, too. As have the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization and the South Carolina Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council.
Perry said discussion about relocating pit production is healthy. So is the widespread support.
"I know there's conversations about it occurring here," Perry said. "Those are good conversations."
At conservative estimate, pit production at SRS would bring 800 perpetual jobs. If nuclear deterrents are needed, so are pits.
Halfway through his speech, Perry said Trump personally charged him with updating American nuclear armaments.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said he wants to make nuclear cool again. He also said he wants to expand Savannah River Site's future.
"He said, 'I want to make sure we have the most modern, up-to-date nuclear program in the world,'" Perry said. "And it will be because of people like you that that occurs."
The energy secretary said the "potential growth" at SRS and the national lab is "substantial." He said he has worked with U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Graham to figure out what projects best suit the South Carolina nuclear anchor: "What are the things they do and do well?" Perry said, describing his SRS-centric thought process.
SRS, SRNL maturation
SRNL growth could be spurred by a potential spent nuclear fuel repatriation project the DOE has given the environmental go-ahead. That mission would require at least $50 million and four years of facilities and technology upgrades at the Site. An SRS spokesperson has previously said that sort of investment means more jobs.
Last year, the DOE issued a statement that said in-limbo plans to bring 900 kilograms of highly enriched uranium across the Atlantic Ocean, past Charleston and into SRS for processing would have little effect on the resources in and around the mission.
The nuclear material was sent to Germany for research and education purposes under the Atoms for Peace program.
The South Carolina governor's nuclear advisory team has formalized its support for both bringing plutonium pit production to the Savannah Rive…
Once the 900 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, all of which is embedded in graphite spheres, reaches SRS, the material needs to be processed. DOE documents specifically mention H-Canyon, a hardened nuclear separations plant at SRS, as the best destination.
"German fuel reprocessing," Perry said, "there's some really interesting things we could do together."
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster's nuclear advisory council supports the spent nuclear fuel take-back. The NNSA has expressed interest because it falls under its nonproliferation directive.
SRS has "potential" beyond cleanup and environmental management missions given the workforce's intellect, Perry said. SRS is an ongoing cleanup site that DOE Environmental Management is actively involved with.
