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Three structural components were procured and installed by the prime contractor at the MOX Facility that did not meet the technical specifications for items relied on for safety. * In six instances, items used in the construction of TEF failed to satisfy quality standards. In one instance, operating procedures had to be modified to ensure that the problem item did not compromise safety; and, * At ISP, one component that did not meet quality standards was procured. The failure of the item could have resulted in a spill of up to 15,000 gallons of high-level radioactive waste. We concluded that these failures were attributable to inadequate attention to quality assurance at Savannah River. Departmental controls were not adequate to prevent and/or detect quality problems. Additionally, management did not effectively communicate quality assurance concerns between the several Departmental program elements operating at Savannah River. The procurement and installation of these nonconforming components resulted in cost increases. The internal control weaknesses we discovered could have permitted, without detection, the procurement and installation of safety critical components that did not meet quality assurance standards. In a worst case scenario, undetected, nonconforming components could fail and injure workers or the public. In certain instances, the Department took steps to ensure that the prime contractors at Savannah River began action to remediate nonconforming components and to strengthen policies and procedures. Accordingly, we made several recommendations designed to strengthen quality assurance at Savannah River. Finally, the matters discussed in this report provide valuable lessons learned as the Department implements the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Department will use Recovery Act stimulus funds to initiate new and to accelerate ongoing projects throughout its complex. The Department must maintain a focus on quality assurance issues to ensur

An environmental group says it will challenge the U.S. Energy Department's plan to lease 2,700 acres within Savannah River Site to a nonprofit economic development group working to lure jobs and new missions to the area. Sign up to get local news by e-mail "At this point they haven't said what the land would be used for," said Tom Clements, the Southeastern nuclear campaign coordinator with Friends of the Earth. "By leaving it vague, this is a foot in the door for missions that could be very detrimental to the states of South Carolina and Georgia."

The U.S. Energy Department will scrap a Bush administration initiative that could have brought billions of dollars in new spending-and a lot more nuclear materials- to South Carolina. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, unveiled in 2006, was a plan to reprocess spent commercial nuclear fuel to maximize its efficiency, reduce waste volume and prevent its exploitation for nuclear weapons. Two of the 11 sites proposed for such reprocessing centers are in South Carolina.

Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, has introduced a resolution urging Congress to continue with plans to use the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as a repository for high-level radioactive material. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff Greg Ryberg: State senator says the federal government needs to fulfill an obligation it made decades ago. Click photo for options The Savannah River National Laboratory needs a place to send its spent nuclear fuel, he said in a statement.

"The U.S. Government Accountability Office says the federal government should soon standardize security procedures at its nuclear facilities, including one near Augusta. Private contractors provide security at the Savannah River Site and five other federal sites that handle nuclear materials. But the GAO says their protocols vary on how to respond to attack or theft. "

"Sweden's prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has asked for explanations from a previous government on Russia's alleged release of toxic waste into Swedish waters in the Baltic sea over 15 years ago, a secret unearthed by Swedish public service televsion SVT. SVT reported on Wednesday that Russia dumped chemical weapons and radioactive waste off the shores of Gotland between 1991 and 1994. Reinfeldt's spokeswoman told the press that he "didn't know about the issue.""

Two Savannah River Site workers were discovered with traces of plutonium 238 on their clothing in November, but followup monitoring concluded they received no internal exposure. Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle "In this case, the two people had contamination on their clothing, but not on themselves," said Will Callicott, spokesman for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the site's primary contractor. "The contamination was detected through routine monitoring while exiting the work area, so the radiation detection system worked as designed." The incident occurred the week of Nov. 13 in the site's Solid Waste Management Facility, according to a report made public this month by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

Two Savannah River Site workers were discovered with traces of plutonium 238 on their clothing in November, but followup monitoring concluded they received no internal exposure. Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle "In this case, the two people had contamination on their clothing, but not on themselves," said Will Callicott, spokesman for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the site's primary contractor. "The contamination was detected through routine monitoring while exiting the work area, so the radiation detection system worked as designed." The incident occurred the week of Nov. 13 in the site's Solid Waste Management Facility, according to a report made public this month by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

Think your job has its share of headaches? Presiding over Savannah River Site's environmental and tritium programs was worth a $570,008 annual salary for one top executive-and he left after just two years. The figure was revealed in a government Web site that tracks American Recovery & Reinvestment Act spending and requires major recipients to divulge salaries of their top five officers. The federal database shows that Savannah River Nuclear Solutions-the primary management contractor for Savannah River Site-has been awarded $1,407,839,884 in stimulus dollars, in addition to its scheduled funding for regular operations at the site, for which the Fluor-led group received a five-year, $4 billion contract that took effect in 2008.

Think your job has its share of headaches? Presiding over Savannah River Site's environmental and tritium programs was worth a $570,008 annual salary for one top executive-and he left after just two years. The figure was revealed in a government Web site that tracks American Recovery & Reinvestment Act spending and requires major recipients to divulge salaries of their top five officers. The federal database shows that Savannah River Nuclear Solutions-the primary management contractor for Savannah River Site-has been awarded $1,407,839,884 in stimulus dollars, in addition to its scheduled funding for regular operations at the site, for which the Fluor-led group received a five-year, $4 billion contract that took effect in 2008.

"Stimulus funds at Savannah River Site are going to be used in spectacular fashion today, as a cooling tower is set to be demolished using 1,100 pounds of explosives. The K Cooling Tower stands 450 feet tall, weighs 24,000 tons and will be explosively imploded today around 10 a.m. The dramatic demolition will not be able to be viewed by the public or media; however, Doug Loizeaux of Controlled Demolition Inc. said that there will be six remote cameras in place to capture the event. One reason for letting the public know of the event is that S.C. Highway 125 will be closed for around 30 minutes the time of the event. American Demolition and Nuclear Decommissioning Inc. is performing all coordination and on-site activities associated with the demolition. The company is working with Controlled Demolition Inc., a company specializing in demolition, which is performing the implosion. The K Cooling Tower was constructed in 1992 to support nuclear production at the K Reactor; however, as the Cold War ended, the reactor and tower became unnecessary."

Though it is not in his congressional district, complaints have surfaced that House Majority Whip and 6th District Congressman James Clyburn is putting pressure on the Department of Energy that stimulus funds he acquired should benefit his interests. An anonymous complaint filed with the Department of Energy's Office of the Inspector General made many allegations of wrongdoing at the Savannah River Site. The whistleblower specifically outlined high-level DOE executives who the person said were using their positions to gain power and bolster their position within the department. Those same people, specifically Cynthia Anderson, DOE Environmental Management's (EM) head of the American Recovery Act Program, have allegedly demanded that Clyburn's district benefit from the funds and that his district should be the focus for events.

Though it is not in his congressional district, complaints have surfaced that House Majority Whip and 6th District Congressman James Clyburn is putting pressure on the Department of Energy that stimulus funds he acquired should benefit his interests. An anonymous complaint filed with the Department of Energy's Office of the Inspector General made many allegations of wrongdoing at the Savannah River Site. The whistleblower specifically outlined high-level DOE executives who the person said were using their positions to gain power and bolster their position within the department. Those same people, specifically Cynthia Anderson, DOE Environmental Management's (EM) head of the American Recovery Act Program, have allegedly demanded that Clyburn's district benefit from the funds and that his district should be the focus for events.

Earlier this month, a shipment off-site of seven barrels of tritium- and mercury-contaminated oil put the Savannah River Site on a fast track to remove legacy mixed waste originally scheduled for disposition in 2053. "Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," said Jacob Nims, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) project engineer. "We had plans to let all of it decay to be able to ship it off-site in the future." Decaying would have taken 10 to 50 years. Instead, funding from the Recovery Act accelerated the project as part of the cleanup that will reduce the footprint of the Site by 67 percent. In essence, the removal of the mixed waste frees space in N Area, allowing for the consolidation of the remaining waste from a total of 30,000 square feet of space to a smaller 3,600-square-foot facility in E Area. "The plan is to ship all we can from N Area and move only what is necessary into E Area to allow maximum space for all future generated waste," Nims said.

Earlier this month, a shipment off-site of seven barrels of tritium- and mercury-contaminated oil put the Savannah River Site on a fast track to remove legacy mixed waste originally scheduled for disposition in 2053. "Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," said Jacob Nims, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) project engineer. "We had plans to let all of it decay to be able to ship it off-site in the future." Decaying would have taken 10 to 50 years. Instead, funding from the Recovery Act accelerated the project as part of the cleanup that will reduce the footprint of the Site by 67 percent. In essence, the removal of the mixed waste frees space in N Area, allowing for the consolidation of the remaining waste from a total of 30,000 square feet of space to a smaller 3,600-square-foot facility in E Area. "The plan is to ship all we can from N Area and move only what is necessary into E Area to allow maximum space for all future generated waste," Nims said.