An agreement has been reached on treating more than 36 million gallons of radioactive and toxic liquid waste stored in aging Savannah River Site tanks.
The U.S. Department of Energy and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced the
agreement Tuesday, according to a DOE news release. Under the agreement, SRS will process the liquid waste starting this year through 2022 to mitigate the delay in startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility.
"DHEC's responsibility is to protect the environment and public health in South Carolina, and this agreement furthers our goal of maximized waste treatment on a timely schedule to lower the risk for the state," said DHEC Director Catherine Heigel. "We appreciate the DOE working with us to make important progress toward ensuring the long-term safety and health of
South Carolinians."
In June, DOE completed construction of the processing facility,
which will significantly increase processing rates in the effort to empty and close 43 remaining radioactive liquid waste tanks at SRS, the release stated. To date, DOE has closed eight High Level Waste tanks at SRS.
DOE agreed to a new timeline for treating the waste at the processing facility and committed to additional technological investments rather than litigate over penalties for missed deadlines, the DOE news release stated. The agreement paves the way for large-scale treatment to move forward without the delay and expense of litigation, furthering progress on tank
closure and risk reduction.
"This agreement underscores our continued commitment to
furthering the Department of Energy's environmental cleanup mission at Savannah River Site and reaffirms our good working relationship with South Carolina," said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. "We look forward to our ongoing collaborative work with South Carolina to identify and execute beneficial near-term and long-term environmental solutions in the state, advance new environmental science and technology at the Savannah River National Laboratory, and carry-out critical nuclear security
missions."
