SRS starts nonproliferation project with Japanese research reactor fuel

The H Canyon Chemical Separations Facility at Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., began dissolving nuclear material from a Japanese research reactor, according to an agency press release.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency sent plutonium fuel, or Fast Critical Assembly fuel, from the reactor to the Savannah River Site. The Japanese agency also sent funding. The exchange was part of a pledge between Japan and the United States to remove any separated plutonium and enriched uranium from the reactor, the press release said.

According to Janice Lawson, senior vice president of Environmental Management Operations for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the Fast Critical Assembly fuel is different from material that H Canyon usually dissolves. The project “follows years of preparation by multiple site contractors and involved replacement of an electrolytic dissolver and its support equipment to process Japan’s Fast Critical Assembly fuel,” the release said.

“We appreciate the employees of H Canyon, K Area, Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Mission Completion and Centerra for their partnership and commitment to this nonproliferation mission,” Virginia Kay, director of the Office of Plutonium Disposition for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in the release. 

“Preventing nuclear weapons proliferation and reducing the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism around the world are key U.S. national security strategic objectives. The startup of this mission is a testament to the ability of SRS to handle the nation’s critical nuclear materials challenges,” Kay said.