Savannah River Site Ships Highest Volume of Transuranic Waste in 10 Years

Drums containing transuranic waste are shown in storage in the Solid Waste Management Facility at Savannah River Site in 1998, before the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant opened in 1999, left, and in 2024, right.

AIKEN, S.C. - The numbers are in, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) shipped the largest volume of its transuranic waste for disposal from the Savannah River Site (SRS) in a decade during the past fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

The Solid Waste Management Facility, which is responsible for the disposition of transuranic and other waste at SRS, achieved the significant reduction in transuranic waste working closely with EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the underground repository where the defense-generated nuclear waste is emplaced.

In the last fiscal year, the facility shipped 150 cubic meters of the waste to WIPP, about 30 cubic meters more than in fiscal year 2022, when the facility marked its second-highest total of transuranic waste shipped to WIPP in the last decade.

Over the past 10 years, EM has reduced the total volume of transuranic waste at the SRS facility by 66%, from approximately 746 cubic meters to 256 cubic meters.

Savannah River Site made U.S. Department of Energy history in 2012 when it shipped three transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on the same day, using three different shipping containers. The three trucks transporting the shipments are pictured.

The SRS facility is managed by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site's management and operations contractor.

"SRNS is committed to making the world safer, which involves ensuring that transuranic waste is properly handled, stored and dispositioned," said SRNS President and CEO Dennis Carr. "This past year's accomplishments in the Solid Waste Management Facility are a testament to this commitment and to the hard work and collaboration between WIPP and SRNS employees."

Transuranic waste typically consists of protective clothing, tools, rags, equipment and miscellaneous items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other heavy elements.

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren