The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina has confirmed six more cases of COVID-19 since Thursday, while the Hanford Site in Washington state on Sunday reported another case among its workforce.
The Savannah River Site operations office website now lists a total of 42 cases of COVID-19 among roughly 11,000 personnel. Twenty-eight of those employees have recovered and been cleared to return to work. As of Thursday, the SRS coronavirus summary listed 36 confirmed infections with 23 approved to resume work.
The SRS website did not post any details about the latest cases – such as when they tested positive or how many work at DOE Office of Environmental Management or the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the complex near the border with Georgia.
The latest confirmed infection at Hanford is the 16th COVID-19 case at the former plutonium production complex, which also has a roughly 11,000-person workforce focused on environmental remediation. Cleaning under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines has been completed at the section of the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility where the individual worked.
The Hanford Site did not include any details about the individual.
Last Thursday, the Energy Department confirmed 37 “active” COVID-19 cases at the 16 nuclear cleanup sites overseen by its Office of Environmental Management.
Provided that 37 does not include the six additional cases at SRS, as well as the single cases reported since then at Hanford and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, the overall active cases could be up to 45.
The DOE nuclear cleanup office has not responded to prior inquiries for a rundown of COVID-19 confirmed cases per site. Anecdotal information from sources indicates SRS and Hanford account for more than half of the cases among the Environmental Management complex.
