AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) recently shipped five, standard waste boxes of transuranic waste to the...
August 16, 2018
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AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) recently shipped five, standard waste boxes of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, continuing its mission to ship materials out of South Carolina.
“We are pleased to be making more shipments to WIPP,” said Mike Budney DOE-Savannah River manager. “This has been an important mission for SRS and our employees are committed to ensuring safe, secure and efficient removal of transuranic waste from the state.”
In 1999, DOE opened WIPP, a geologic repository near Carlsbad, N.M. and SRS made over 1,650 shipments totaling more than 10,600 cubic meters of transuranic waste before shipments to WIPP were suspended in 2014. WIPP began accepting waste again in 2017 and since then, SRS has made 10 shipments.
“Before WIPP began accepting shipments again, they issued new, more stringent criteria for waste certification,” said Kerri Crawford, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions solid waste programs manager. “For our legacy waste that had already been packaged, characterized and certified, we took the time needed for a thorough review to ensure the waste was acceptable under the new criteria. Since shipments have resumed, we have been able to ship 86 cubic meters of waste to WIPP and continue preparations to ship more.”
The term transuranic means those elements with an atomic number greater than that of uranium (92). These wastes typically consist of protective clothing, tools, rags, equipment and miscellaneous items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor-led company with Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, including the Savannah River National Laboratory, located near Aiken, South Carolina.
Primary Media Contacts:
Lindsey MonBarren
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
(803) 952-8053, lindsey.monbarren@srs.gov
DOE Media Contact:
Monte Volk
U.S. Department of Energy
(803) 952-8283, monte.volk@srs.gov