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There's a chance that it could take longer than expected to remove the Cold War-era nuclear waste from the Savannah River Site. Savannah River Mission Completion management indicated a 50% confidence level in a projected 2037 completion date in a recent meeting with Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board resident inspectors, according to a Sept. 13 report .
Savannah River Mission Completion is the contractor responsible for the removal and disposal of the nuclear waste generated as the Savannah River Site produced plutonium during the Cold War. Early voting begins in Aiken County with long lines at the Aiken County Government Center A confidence level of 50% indicates the company's management is 50% certain that the models used to predict a completion date of 2037 are accurate. The company has had problems at two facilities key to the disposal of the nuclear waste: the Salt Waste Processing Facility and the Defense Waste Processing Facility .
The Defense Waste Processing Facility handles the nuclear waste known as sludge. Aiken schools superintendent sees progress, need for improvement following state report cards Sludge comprises 8% of the volume in the 42 tanks holding Cold War-era nuclear waste but contains 92% of the radioactivity. The facility vitrifies — gets the waste hot enough until it becomes glass-like — the waste and stores the vitrified material into containers to await disposal at a future federal facility.
BBB CONSUMER TIPS: BBB warns of zombie debt Tropical Storm Helene response: Aiken County administrator discusses debris removal and complaints From horses to hardwood: Senior women's basketball team calls Aiken home Early voting begins in Aiken County with long lines at the Aiken County Government Center Midland Valley football wins three straight with commanding win over South Aiken on Saturday Halloween events Do you live in Aiken County and want to vote in the election? Here's what you need to know. Nearly 15,000 votes have already been cast in Aiken County North Augusta wide receiver chosen to represent Aiken County at Shrine Bowl in December Aiken city staff worked over 5,000 extra hours during Tropical Storm Helene recovery Savannah River Mission Completion has worked to "optimize operations" at the facility toward a goal of processing 9 million gallons per year but, current capacity is 5 million gallons per year, the resident inspectors wrote. From horses to hardwood: Senior women's basketball team calls Aiken home The Salt Waste Processing Facility handles the nuclear waste known as salt.
Salt comprises 92% of the volume of the tanks but only 8% of the radioactivity. The facility splits the salt into two types: high-level and low-level nuclear waste. High-level waste is sent to the Defense Waste Processing Facility and processed like sludge.
Low level waste is sent to the Saltstone Production Facility where it is made into a concrete-like substance and placed into a Saltstone Disposal Unit . The Department of Energy expected the Salt Waste Processing Facility to process 6 million gallons per year when it opened in 2020. However, it only processed 1.
6 million gallons during its first partial year and 2 million gallons the next year. And the Department of Energy revised its production scheduled to 4.5 million gallons per year .
However, there has been some improvement in the last couple of years. Savannah River Mission Completion recently purchased a part to reduce downtime at the facility . The company has also changed its plan to focus on the removal of radioactivity, resulting in the removal of more radioactivity in the last two years than the previous eight years, the resident inspectors said.
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