02/11/2020

Safety

Cleanup

Nuclear Materials Operations

Defense Programs

Waste Management

SRNS HOME

Cleanup

Since approximately 2003, extensive cleanup and closure work has been completed at SRS under a concept known as Area Completion, which streamlines and accelerates the cleanup process. Excess facilities are removed and soil and groundwater remediation work is performed in an integrated fashion with the full support of DOE, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Complete geographic areas that once housed industrial facilities are closed one by one.

In February 2009, over $1 billion was funneled to Area Completion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The goal was to accelerate cleanup and put Americans to work to achieve tangible cleanup progress over a 30-month period. Through this money, about 2,200 jobs were created or retained, and millions of dollars worth of contracts were issued to outside businesses, most of them local.

SRS marked its first area closure in 2006 when T Area, the site’s first operational industrial area, was closed. In August 2010, the completion of cleanup work at M Area was the first at SRS to be completed with the help of ARRA funding. Work was part of the investment at SRS to accelerate cleanup and reduce the Site’s footprint by 67 percent by the end of FY2011 and by 75 percent by December 2012. The cleanup included demolition work and substantial soil and groundwater remediation, which was originally scheduled for completion in November 2011.  The SRS goal is to complete all areas within three to five years after liquid waste operations are complete.

Most ARRA work is related to SRNS’s safe and permanent closure of over 100 structures. Plans also include cleanup of over 50 contaminated areas. Projects include closure of four geographic areas—D, M, P and R—by the end of September 2011.

Soil and groundwater remediation is closely integrated with deactivation and decommissioning work, often beginning while facility disposition is still taking place. From capping waste sites to installing and operating groundwater treatment units, field remediation work is a top priority. Field work includes closure of inactive seepage basins, rubble pits and disposal facilities. Groundwater cleanup systems operate in nearly every Site area.

To date, over 280 buildings, covering more than 2.5 million square feet, have been demolished, significantly reducing the Site’s footprint and eliminating expensive maintenance costs. And, 400 of SRS’s 515 waste units have been completed, with more than 3,400 cleanup milestones safely met.

DOE, contractor and regulatory representatives and SRS employees celebrate the completion of the M Area closure project - the closure was completed two years ahead of schedule.