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6 | SRNS TODAY | JUNE 2021 Special Edition

Dave Olson, SRNS Executive Vice President - NNSA Capital Projects, speaks at a January 2020 all-hands meeting with SRPPF and MOX Termination team members.

The team

DAVE OLSON returned to SRS in late 2018
to establish SRNS’ plutonium pit production
program, including building the team that led Starting with only five people in 2018 and growing
development of the SRPPF conceptual design to a workforce of more than 500 today, SRNS’
and CD-1 submittal. SRPPF team members were key to SRPPF
achieving the Critical Decision-1 (CD-1) approval
As SRNS Executive Vice President - NNSA milestone. Through tremendous effort and many
Capital Projects, he has responsibility for long hours, SRPPF and MOX Termination team
executing the SRPPF project and SRNS’ other members produced a high-quality CD-1 submittal
current NNSA capital projects: the Tritium package consisting of more than 4,500 separate
Finishing Facility and the Surplus Plutonium documents including: conceptual design, multiple
Disposition project. In addition, he leads the management execution plans, safety and security
Dave Olson MOX Project termination activities and the analyses, integrated schedule, cost estimate, and
Plutonium Modernization Program, which other scope alternatives for consideration. NNSA
is developing the plans for using the SRPPF to carry out the plutonium pit used these documents to conduct its formal
production mission.
independent review of the project.
His 23 years of plutonium experience began with his tenure as an operations first line With CD-1 approval, SRPPF is no longer
supervisor at SRS, continuing through assignments as project engineer, operations “proposed.” The conceptual design is accepted,
support manager, operations manager, engineering manager and ultimately, President the preliminary estimate for the schedule range
of Washington Savannah River Company. He directed the successful startup or restart is announced, and employees are now working
of nine nuclear facilities and projects in plutonium and uranium processing. on a formal project. This milestone brings SRS
Other assignments during Olson’s 39 years of nuclear operations/nuclear facility a giant step closer to producing the plutonium
engineering experience include serving as Fluor Government Group’s Global pits necessary for the nation’s nuclear deterrent,
Government Services Chief Nuclear Officer. meeting a critical national security need.