Page 6 - SRNS_Today_June_2021

6 | SRNS T ODA Y | JUNE 2021
6 | SRNS TODAY | JUNE 2021

Storage space

SRS completes construction of pads for

CCO drums, aiding in material removal

C onstruction has been completed and the first drum has been placed on the K Area characterization
and storage pad, an accomplishment that will support the removal of plutonium from the state of
South Carolina.
The pad was constructed to provide three separate functions in one building to support plutonium removal:
interim storage, characterization and shipping. After plutonium is downblended by being mixed with a
multicomponent adulterant in the Site’s K Area Complex glovebox, it is packaged in Criticality Control
Overpack (CCO) drums and stored on the pad until it is characterized and is ready to be received at the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico for final disposition. The pad also contains the equipment
to load drums into larger shipping containers on the shipping transport vehicle.
“Initially the pad will add the
capacity to store over 3,800 CCO
drums while awaiting shipment,”
said SRNS K Area Characterization
and Storage Pad Project Manager
Geoff Hendrick. “The first shipment
is planned for the third quarter of
Fiscal Year 2022.”
In the past, all waste being shipped
to WIPP was characterized in the
SRS Solid Waste Management
Facility (SWMF), located several
miles away from K Area. A
large piece of characterization K Area operators James Adams, Gage McIntosh, Charles Proveaux and Austin
equipment was transferred from Eubanks help deliver the first CCO drum to the newly constructed characterization
SWMF to the pad in December and storage pad.
2020 to prepare for the
characterization process. Additional characterization equipment has also been procured and installed onto
the pad. This equipment will be used by WIPP contractors to verify and validate that the waste within each
container matches the documentation provided by SRS and that it does not contain any WIPP-prohibited
items before shipment out of the state.
“By being able to store, characterize and ship the material directly from the pad, we are eliminating the
step of sending the material to SWMF to verify the material is safe to ship. With the pad in operation, that
same verification can now be done in the area where the material is packaged and stored. This saves time
and resources and allows for more efficient mission execution,” Hendrick said.

Along with the characterization and storage pad construction, K Area is also undergoing extensive facility
modifications and equipment upgrades to expand plutonium downblend operations.
“Despite many unavoidable challenges throughout the project, such as weather delays and a global
pandemic, the SRNS project team remained committed to completing the K Area characterization
and storage pad construction safely and within cost and schedule constraints. This focus was clearly
demonstrated by the Project Manager. This new storage facility is an important step in progressing the
nonproliferation mission of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Bill
Wabbersen, NNSA’s Office of Materials Management & Minimization said. “This impressive project is just
one of the ways SRS helps make the world safer.”