Defense

National Nuclear Security Administration Support

SRNS carries out SRS’ work supporting two of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) core missions: Stockpile Support and Nonproliferation.

Stockpile Support

The purpose for establishing SRS in the 1950s was to support the nation’s nuclear defense. Today, the Site continues to fulfill that purpose by maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile through application of unparalleled science, technology, engineering and manufacturing

Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE)

As it has since its earliest years, SRS carries out crucial missions related to tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen necessary to the modern nuclear stockpile. SRTE is the nation’s only facility for extracting, recycling, purifying and reloading tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is a key element of modern nuclear weapons.

Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF)

A plutonium pit is a critical component of every nuclear weapon. The United States’ current capability to produce them is very limited. In 2018, the Nuclear Weapons Council endorsed the National Nuclear Security Administration’s approach for supplying plutonium pits to meet stockpile requirements: a two-site strategy with Savannah River Site’s SRPPF, along with Los Alamos National Laboratory, producing no fewer than 80 pits per year.

Nonproliferation

SRNS’ nuclear materials expertise and capabilities make SRS a valued contributor to NNSA’s mission to prevent nuclear weapon proliferation and reduce the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism around the world