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.
 

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