SAVANNAH, Ga. — The U.S. Department of Energy announced the successful completion of major optimizations at the Savannah River Site, significantly enhancing the processing of radioactive waste.
These upgrades at the Salt Waste Processing Facility and Defense Waste Processing Facility have doubled processing capacity and improved operational efficiency.
These facility improvements are part of ongoing efforts to accelerate the treatment of more than 30 million gallons of Cold War-era radioactive waste stored in underground tanks.
“These facility improvements represent a turning point in our cleanup mission at Savannah River Site,” Edwin Deshong, manager of the Savannah River Operations Office, said in a statement.
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Deshong said the optimizations deliver substantial cost savings to taxpayers.
At the Salt Waste Processing Facility, the installation of three innovative extended cross flow filters has effectively doubled the available surface area, boosting the processing rate and improving reliability.
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Since the new filters were restarted, the Dept. of Energy said SWPF recorded a 30-day processing record of more than 600,000 gallons in November.
With one new filter operating, SWPF processes liquid waste at a rate of 18.5 gallons per minute, meeting the mission’s throughput needs.
Meanwhile, the Dept. of Energy said the Defense Waste Processing Facility has enhanced its operations with new equipment such as a crane simulator, which will train the next generation of operators in efficient and safe movements.
The liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Mission Completion, also repurposed two 5,000-gallon holding tanks to serve as lag storage between SWPF and DWPF, enhancing operational effectiveness by allowing SWPF to continue processing even when DWPF is down for maintenance.
Both facilities have benefitted from comprehensive upgrades to their distributed control systems.
The Dept. of Energy said the overhaul included significant improvements to the software and hardware used for monitoring instrumentation and control equipment, which are crucial for transfers and facility operations.
These collective enhancements enable the Savannah River Site to process legacy tank waste at unprecedented rates.
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