The first transfer of radioactive liquid waste from an underground waste tank to a “mega-volume” facility – Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) 6 – has been completed at the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS). About 8500 gallons (32,175 litres) of decontaminated salt solution (DSS), a low-level radioactive waste, has been placed in the newly-constructed 32.8 million gallon disposal unit.
World Nuclear News 11th Oct 2018 read more »
The federal government won a court victory Tuesday that could lead to the shutdown of a nuclear construction project that is billions of dollars over-budget and years from completion at the Savannah River Site near Aiken. In an afternoon ruling, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that had halted the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to quit building the mixed oxide fuel factory after a decade of construction. The ruling Tuesday sets aside a June 7 preliminary injunction that had stopped government plans to halt construction. The decision was a blow to advocates of the plant in South Carolina. Key politicians have pushed to keep building the project — known as MOX — because it will be a jobs provider and a way to get rid of surplus plutonium at the Savannah River Site weapons complex near Aiken. At one point, as many as 2,000 jobs were touted for the project.
Greenville News 10th Oct 2018 read more »