AIKEN, S.C. – Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) employees at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) recently completed placing the HB Line facility in a reversible Safe Shutdown status, which will result in a cost avoidance of approximately $40 million a year starting in 2021, compared to 2016 during peak plutonium feedstock mission operations.

In February 2018, SRNS received a letter of direction from DOE directing the contractor to proceed with placing HB Line in Safe Shutdown status while preserving its capabilities for future use.

“The principal scope of the Layup Plan involved three key tasks: de-inventorying and flushing facility product and cold chemical lines, which included anion exchange column resin removal, a complex task; dispositioning legacy plutonium and uranium materials stored and previously used within the facility; and laying-up support systems no longer needed,” said HB Line Facility Manager Nick Miller.

Additional scope in the multi-year long effort included:  altering the security posture of the facility to include Human Reliability Program de-enrollment and reduction in the amount of protective force personnel needed; implementing a revision to the facility’s technical safety requirements to reduce facility minimum staffing requirements; and assimilating the H Canyon (chemical processing facility located underneath HB Line) and HB Line organizations, all of which were reflective of the current plant conditions and aimed at reducing the future overall facility cost through the reduction in expenses related to maintenance, surveillance and utilities.