This grand lady celebrates her 70th birthday on November 28, 2020. On this date in 1950, President Harry Truman authorized the design, construction, and operation of what was known at the time as the Savannah River Plant. Over the years, the name changed to the Savannah River Site (SRS) but its primary purpose, to keep our nation safe, has never wavered.
The brilliance of the early SRS pioneers, who designed and built the facilities that make up SRS, can’t be overstated. With decades of work accomplished within the walls of the early reactors and canyons, these buildings continue to serve our nation. Today, the Site plays a vital role in support of national defense and United States nuclear nonproliferation efforts by safely using the very same robust facilities built in the early 1950s.
From its earliest days, the Site played a key role in winning the Cold War. Keeping environmental responsibility in the forefront, SRS is a leader in developing and deploying technologies to improve the environment and to address the legacy waste resulting from the Cold War production era.
What does the future hold? We posed that question to the Site leadership and learned that SRS will continue to be relevant for our community and our nation.
Stuart MacVean
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) President and CEO
SRS is a unique asset for our nation. Every day, approximately 6,800 SRNS employees from diverse fields and backgrounds deliver results in support of national defense and environmental stewardship missions.
The $2.3 billion annual budget invested at SRS also makes it a significant economic development engine for the CSRA. Investments in SRS and our community remain strong as demonstrated by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) announcement of its plans to invest $3 billion at SRS over the next five years for both the proposed plutonium mission and upgrades at the Site’s tritium production facilities.
In 2020, SRS celebrated the Site’s platinum anniversary. I am confident that by meeting our commitments for our DOE customer, along
with the support of our local communities, we will continue to serve
a vital role in national defense for many decades to come.
SRS employees take great pride in our community and the work that we do to make the world safer. I am excited for our future together and I hope that the citizens of Aiken are too.
Phil Breidenbach
Savannah River Remediation (SRR)
President and Project Manager
This is an historic and transformative time for SRR and the SRS Liquid Waste Program, according to SRR President and Project Manager Phil Breidenbach. SRR is the SRS liquid waste contractor.
“With the startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), all the pieces are in place to increase the rate at which we will treat high-level waste significantly and to accelerate completion of our mission, which is to eliminate the single greatest environmental risk in the state of South Carolina. I am honored that Savannah River Remediation has played — and will continue to play — a critical role in this history,” Breidenbach said.
In the year ahead, SRR plans to accelerate waste treatment as well as continue infrastructure upgrades and community and educational outreach. Specific work includes creating salt waste batches to feed SWPF for efficient operations, expanding canister double stacking demonstration in the second Glass Waste Storage Building, and initiating cell construction of Saltstone Disposal Unit 8.
Jeff Allison
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Savannah River Field Office Acting Manager
The NNSA has a long and proud history at SRS dating back to the early days of the Cold War. Today, SRS remains a critical piece of the NNSA mission. SRS is the nation’s primary source of tritium to support the nuclear stockpile and the only location for the downblending of surplus weapons-grade plutonium.
SRS is also on track to meet milestones for the proposed Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. The work that SRS conducts for NNSA is essential to our nation’s nuclear security and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
Mike Budney
Department of Energy
Savannah River Site Manager
We are proud of the SRS legacy of serving this country to carry out the important missions we are charged with safely. In looking to the future, we are uniquely positioned for remarkable risk reduction results with a complete liquid waste cleanup solution now that SWPF is operational. We will continue to look for further ways to accelerate environmental cleanup, from new and more efficient technologies to address soil and ground water remediation to the department’s recent re-interpretation of the definition of high level waste that may apply to certain wastes.
Assuring the ability to maintain the Site’s unique nuclear materials processing capabilities will continue to be a focus for the future. Growth of the Savannah River National Laboratory expertise and expanded partnerships will continue to advance national programs and research priorities.
In looking ahead, we are committed to increased support of science, technology, engineering, and math programs and building the next generation of the talented, skilled SRS team.
Our future is bright because our past record of safely and effectively serving the needs of our country provides the solid foundation for meeting the challenges ahead.
The efforts and achievements of our great generations of employees directly contribute to the successes we have enjoyed for decades. In looking back over the last 70 years, there is much to be proud of, and, in looking to the future, SRS is still going strong.
It is clear that SRS will continue to provide a vital role for our nation for decades to come. The men and women who have served, and will continue to serve, understand the importance of their obligation to our nation. They embody the spirit explained by President Truman when he said, “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
Prior to President Truman’s announcement of the Site’s selection, Aiken was best known as an agricultural community and a favorite retreat of wealthy 19th century equestrians. With the advent of SRS, Aiken has been greatly enhanced by the atomic age homesteaders who continue to come from all over the United States. You have met some of these men and women who have given to Aiken during this year-long series. They bring diversity to our area and a keen interest in being engaged in our community. We salute each of the past and present SRS employees as they continue to be a vital part of Aiken’s growth and our nation’s safety!
