SRS, WIPP Collaborate to Create Next-Generation Waste Shipment Equipment

AIKEN, S.C. — A new fixture for loading and unloading transuranic waste shipping containers will be used across the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup complex after employees of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico visited the Savannah River Site (SRS) to test the equipment.

Funded by SRS, the fixture, called an Adjustable Center of Gravity Lifting Fixture-Next Generation, is used to balance unbalanced loads caused by transuranic waste containers with different weights being loaded or unloaded into the shipping containers. The waste is sent to WIPP, the nation's only deep geologic repository for nuclear waste, for permanent disposal.

“The old style of the fixture has been in use across the complex for decades,” said Trey Black, Solid Waste engineer with SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). “Because of its age, replacement parts are now difficult to find or obsolete.”

During their visit, the WIPP employees tested the capability of the next-generation fixture. The results were positive, enabling WIPP to certify use of the equipment and build additional fixtures for use across the complex.

“SRNS employees are constantly looking for new, improved and more efficient ways to get work done,” said Janice Lawson, SRNS senior vice president of Environmental Management Operations. “We are proud of playing a role in improving transuranic waste loading and unloading operations across the complex.”

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren