Page 7 - SRNS_Today_September_2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 | SRNS TODAY | 7
TEF achieves record number of operations

he SRS Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF), which provides the hydrogen isotope
needed for the nation’s nuclear deterrent, has exceeded all previous records
T for number of extractions in a single fiscal year, surpassing the number of
extractions SRS committed to complete during the year.
TEF completed seven extractions during fiscal year (FY) 2021 – the five that were
promised for FY 2021 and the first two for next fiscal year. This more than doubles
the previous record of three extractions in a single year.
Tritium is the radioactive isotope of hydrogen needed for modern nuclear weapons.
“It’s absolutely vital for our nuclear deterrent,” explained Jason Armstrong, NNSA –
Field Office Manager. “Without tritium, there wouldn’t be a nuclear stockpile, but it has
a relatively short half-life, so it has to be replenished on an ongoing basis.” SRS is the
only place in the country that provides the tritium used in the nation’s stockpile.
NNSA is the semi-autonomous agency within the DOE responsible for ensuring the
United States maintains a safe, secure and reliable nuclear stockpile.
“I’m exceptionally proud of our employees for achieving this record level of operation,”
said Mark Davis, Senior Vice President – NNSA Operations and Programs with SRNS,
the company responsible for operating and managing SRS. “They had been working
hard over the past few years to prepare for this, because they know how important it
is to the nation. Then, they had to add the measures necessary to protect themselves
and their coworkers from COVID-19 and adjusted to those.”
SRS has been providing the nation’s tritium since the 1950s, originally generated
in the Site’s now-decommissioned nuclear reactors. In the
contemporary process, rods called Tritium-Producing Burnable
Absorber Rods (TPBARs) are irradiated in reactors operated by the
“Without tritium, there Tennessee Valley Authority, then transported to SRS. There, in the
wouldn’t be a nuclear TEF, the tritium is extracted from the rods, processed, transferred
stockpile, but it has to SRS’ H Area New Manufacturing (HANM) facility, and loaded into
reservoirs for shipment to the military.
a relatively short From its startup in 2006 through 2016, TEF was only required
half-life, so it has to conduct a single extraction each year to meet Department
to be replenished on of Defense demands. Then in FY 2017, the facility’s employees
an ongoing basis.” conducted three extractions for the first time.
The facility was scheduled to conduct a minimum of five extractions
Jason Armstrong for FY 2021, marking the beginning of a multi-year increase that will
see operations grow to eight extractions per year in 2026.
Actions to be ready for the increased workload began with the
preparations for the 2017 milestone, including the start of hiring,
training and qualifying additional operators and other facility personnel. Today, TEF
has reached full operational staffing in readiness for the increasing number
of extractions.
Other preparations included bringing a second furnace online in the facility in 2019
to enhance operational flexibility and capability for the multiple annual extractions.
In late 2020, SRNS also began operating a new diffuser/stacking system for TEF’s
waste gases. The new system allows TEF to handle its own gases, rather than
having them processed along with other waste gases at HANM, increasing capacity
and decreasing waste gas.