Spent fuel processing efforts at the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility have resumed for the first time in three years. Heralded as the nation’s only chemical separation facility still in operation, H Canyon meets environmental management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) goals for the Department of Energy, with the spent fuel campaign being a part of the EM mission.
The campaign uses H Canyon to make low-enriched uranium (LEU) by blending highly enriched uranium (HEU) with natural uranium. Once H Canyon produces the LEU, the material is sent to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the production of commercial reactor fuel for use in the TVA reactors, according to SRS officials. H Canyon provided about 300 metric tons of LEU to the TVA from 2003 to 2011. “That quantity of uranium resulting from approximately 300 metric tons of LEU, would provide enough power for every house in the U.S. for approximately 47 days,” Patrick McGuire, DOE assistant manager for nuclear material stabilization at Savannah River, said in a press release. “It’s important to note that this process recycles spent fuel for another beneficial use, rather than disposing of it.” The second uranium process is the final of three steps at SRS needed to purify the uranium sufficiently to meet TVA standards. The two prior steps, head-end processing and first cycle, are also used to dilute the HEU. The second uranium process uses two evaporators and two mixer-settler banks to separate impurities from the uranium solution.
Site management contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions reported that spent fuel operations were halted in 2013 because the portions of the canyon that are being used for the second uranium cycle were not necessary for the materials being dispositioned during that time. Prior to restarting this cycle, the canyon went through upgrades to infrastructure and a readiness assessment to ensure a safe restart of the operation; employees also underwent training. Part of the fiscal 2015 goal for the Savannah River Site was to complete the readiness assessment to restart operations. Mike Swain, the SRNS director for EM programs, added that the effort is essential in removing spent nuclear fuel from the state of South Carolina, specifically the Aiken area, which houses a large portion of the Savannah River Site. “(Spent fuel processing) also supports nuclear non-proliferation and provides a service to the TVA and a return to the taxpayer,” Swain said in the press release.
