The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been in an operational safety pause since April 26 due to a “trend of concerns” that include deficiencies in safety, work performance, and planning, the Department of Energy said this week.
The pause covered nearly all work at the lab, except essential activities needed to maintain safe operations. A DOE spokesperson said the lab is about halfway through the pause, but there is no timeline for resumption of normal operations.
The laboratory is an applied research facility operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. Its missions include cleanup of contaminated groundwater and soil at the site; finding advanced solutions for the waste cleanup at Savannah River and other DOE facilities; and supporting the U.S. Department of Defense by helping with the SRS tritium production mission. With the latter, SRNL uses technology to get the greatest yield during tritium extractions. The gas triggers the chain reaction in nuclear weapons.
Over the past six months, the national lab has been plagued with various minor issues that resulted in no major concerns, the spokesperson said. These include an incorrect return to service of the lab’s instrument air system, which provides clean air to SRNL facilities. After routine maintenance in April, workers failed to properly bring the air system back to service.
In an April 13 report, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) detailed another issue at the lab, involving a scientist working with a solution of mercury and strontium. Once the two chemicals were mixed in a container, radiation levels spiked from 30 millirems to 14,000 millirems, far exceeding the suspension guide – how much radiation a worker should be exposed to – of 1,500 millirems. The incident did not result in any injuries to workers.
SRNL conducted a “common cause analysis for each incident has been conducted and a corrective action plan is being finalized,” the spokesperson wrote. Details of the plan were not included in the DOE response.
