The Savannah River Site has not yet been submitted a request to restrict airspace to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after about a month of workers spotting drones flying above key areas of the Department of Energy facility. A 10th sighting occurred Friday when workers witnessed an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flying over the site’s K Area, where excess plutonium is stored. Before then, drone sightings occurred on June 19 and multiple other days in the month. There was also one sighting on July 5.
On July 15, SRS spokesman Jim Giusti said officials were going through the process of establishing a no-fly zone over the site. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said that, as of Monday, the agency has not received a request to restrict airspace above the Savannah River Site. SRS officials did not respond by press time Monday to a request for an update on the situation. Bergen previously said restricting airspace can take anywhere from 20 months to several years, “depending on environmental and aeronautical analysis that is required.”
Though no laws are being broken, SRS officials say the drones present a security risk because no one knows who is responsible for them. Nuclear watchdog SRS Watch has flown over the site multiple times in the past to capture pictures for public consumption. Tom Clements, the organization’s director, said he was approached by the FBI, but that he is not involved in the recent drone flights. SRS Manager Jack Craig said this week that DOE officials are working internally to prepare the request, which would apply to SRS and other NNSA sites.
SRS won’t provide more details on its process for requesting a no-fly zone due to the sensitivity of the issue. Drones, which can be used to take photographs or video, have been seen flying over the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, which is being constructed to convert 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel; over H Area, where nuclear materials are processed; and over E Area, where low-level waste and transuranic waste is stored.
