The Department of Energy site at Savannah River has five shutdown reactors that were used to produce plutonium and tritium in the nuclear weapons program for more than 40 years. Currently Savannah River is being used for research on environmental restoration, technology transfer, and economic development.  Technologies for nuclear transparency are also tested there.  In particular, Los Alamos National Laboratory is fielding a remote access video system, known as NTVision.

On April 1, 1989, Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) became the prime operating contractor, and the operation was renamed as Savannah River Site (SRS).
 

Site Areas and Operations

SRS was constructed to produce basic materials used in nuclear weapons, primarily tritium and plutonium-239. Five reactors were built to produce these materials by irradiating target materials with neutrons; support facilities also were built, including two chemical separations plants, a heavy water extraction plant, a nuclear fuel and target fabrication facility, and waste management facilities.

The production process began with the manufacture of fuel and target assemblies produced from a variety of nuclear and other materials such as enriched uranium and aluminum. The assemblies were transported to the reactor, where they were loaded into the reactor core and used to produce a series of controlled nuclear reactions. During the reaction, neutrons from the fuel bombarded the target assemblies to produce the desired products.

The irradiated target assemblies and spent fuel assemblies then were moved to one of the chemical separations facilities—known as “canyons”—where the desired products were separated and waste products were processed.

After refinement, nuclear materials were shipped to other DOE sites for incorporation into nuclear weapons. SRS produced about 36 metric tons of plutonium from 1953 to 1988. SRS has adjusted to meet declining defense requirements. All five reactors are now shut down, a result of the end of the Cold War. However, recycling and reloading of tritium to maintain the nation’s supply of nuclear weapons is a continuing site mission.

Map courtesy of Savannah River Site
 
 

SRS is divided into several areas, based on production and other functions:

Reactor Areas

R-Reactor achieved operating status in December 1953 and was shut down permanently in 1964.

P-Reactor was started in February 1954 and was shutdown in August 1988 for maintenance. In February 1991, it was placed in cold standby and was to be used to provide spare parts for L-Reactor and K-Reactor. This potential use was eliminated by the subsequent permanent shutdown of L-Reactor and K-Reactor; therefore, P-Reactor has been shut down permanently.

L-Reactor achieved operating status in August 1954 and was placed in cold standby in 1968. It was restarted in October 1985, after upgrading, and was shut down for maintenance and safety upgrades in August 1988. It was placed in warm standby in December 1991 to be put into operation as a backup to K-Reactor, if necessary, but since has been shutdown permanently.

C-Reactor achieved operating status in March 1955 and was shut down in 1985 for maintenance. It was placed in cold standby in 1987, when cracking was observed in the reactor vessel. C-Reactor has been shut down permanently.

K-Reactor achieved operating status in October 1954and was shut down in August 1988 for maintenance. Initial steps to restart K-Reactor began in December 1991. Successful power ascension testing was completed in July 1992. Following ascension testing, the reactor was taken offline to allow for the tie-in of a cooling tower. The tie-in was completed, and the operating permit was issued in December 1992. In 1993, the cooling tower was tested; however, the reactor was never restarted. K-Reactor was placed in cold standby, but the official status was changed in 1996 to cold shutdown.
 

Reactor Materials Area

M-Area photo courtesy of Savannah River Site

Building 305 in M-Area is a multipurpose laboratory. It has been chosen as a test area for the remote video monitoring system developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory.  This system is known as NTVision.  The video monitoring system being tested here could be used in many types of nuclear facilities - reactors, material storage areas, or waste management - to show that operations appear to be normal, and hence, are probably safe.  In designing a video-based transparency system consideration must be given to ensuring that sensitive security information is not revealed in the video frame.  Also, explanatory information should tell the viewer what is in the field of view. That is, the viewer needs to know what "normal" is in order to gain an understanding that the facility is operating normally and safely.

The video system can be combined with other sensors to record images based on doors opening, radiation or temperature levels changing, or a variety of other circumstances.  For more information, explore other options in the System Description sections of this web site.

To see video images of interior of Building 305 click here.