Staff Reports
WC Monitor
1/29/2016

Neither the Department of Energy nor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) has come up with a dollar value for the cost of last year’s SRNS operational safety pause on all nonessential missions. SRNS, the Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor, initiated the safety pause in September after a plutonium sample headed to the Savannah River National Laboratory was improperly stored in a container that was not fit for transport. The incident, among others cited by SRNS President and CEO Carol Johnson, led the company to initiate the safety pause.

SRNS reported that it ended the pause on Nov. 23 and that many of the facilities had exited deliberate operations – a phase after the pause in which workers pay extra attention to detail and planning. The pause and slowdown to waste processing and other SRNS missions is "costing money by not completing the work in a timely manner," DOE official Pat McGuire said on Monday. His comments followed input from several SRS Citizens Advisory Board members who said the taxpayers are taking a hit due to the carelessness of a few workers. "These are costs that we’re going to have to bear because of a small group of people," said CAB member Gil Allensworth.

During the safety pause, work was suspended in areas such as the national lab, spent fuel and waste storage, and others that are unnecessary to maintain safety and security. As of now, only H Canyon, the site’s chemical separations plant, and HB Line, the facility that assists the canyon in chemical processing, are still in deliberate operations. Both are expected to exit the phase in the near future.

Jimmy Winkler, a senior technical adviser for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, said SRNS will implement several safety practices moving forward. Those include conducting short operational pauses each month to reassess safety standards and work, using a self-assessment program to periodically review performance, and reviews of actions by SRNS senior management.