The U.S. Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is looking for potential buyers of 52 railcars previously used to transport uranium-contaminated soil.
Expressions of interest are sought by 11:59 a.m. on Oct. 14 for the government surplus gondola railcars, manufactured in 1998 and 1999 by Thrall Car Manufacturing, now part of Trinity Industries. The Energy Department posted a procurement notice online Oct. 4.
The railcars contain localized areas of fixed depleted uranium contamination and will be sold “as is,” the Energy Department said. The cars have not been used in 10 years and will likely need brake work and other minor repairs in order to comply with current U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) standards.
The Savannah River Site has 52 railcars originally bought by DOE to support the Fernald Closure Project in southwest Ohio in 1998. The railcars transported 1.5 million tons of low-level radioactive waste to the EnergySolutions disposal facility in Clive, Utah, said a DOE spokesperson. Fernald made uranium metal products for the U.S. military until 1989.
After the Energy Department and contractor Fluor finished Fernald’s remediation in 2006, the railcars were cleaned to DOT rail standards, but not fully decontaminated. Half the railcars were sent to the Savannah River Site in 2006 for possible future missions, and the others are located at DOE’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the agency spokesperson said.
Potential buyers would be responsible for the repairs. In addition, the prospective purchasers must show they hold a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license for transport of radioactive material.
The contact person is DOE Contracting Officer Marie Garvin, at [email protected].
