Aiken Technical College Students Learn From Savannah River Site Canister

An unused stainless steel canister becomes a learning tool at Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech) in South Carolina. The canister was donated through the SRS Community Reuse Organization (CRO). Marking the occasion are, from left, SRSCRO President and CEO Robbie Bennett, Aiken Tech President Forest Mahan, Defense Waste Processing Facility Project Director Ken Wells, SRSCRO Board Chair Cal Wray, and Steven Simmons, dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education at Aiken Tech.

AIKEN, S.C. - The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) has had one of its unused stainless steel canisters become a learning tool at Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech) in South Carolina.

The 10-foot-tall by 2-foot-diameter canister comes from the Savannah River Site (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), where it is used to hold vitrified high-level radioactive waste. The canister, which weighs 1,100 pounds and is three-eighths of an inch thick, did not pass stringent pre-use quality assurance dimensional inspections required for use.

To make it into a canister, first the waste is sent from the large million-gallon waste tanks to DWPF, where the waste is mixed with a borosilicate glass and put into a high-heated melter to make molten glass. Then the mixture is poured into canisters. The glass cools and hardens in the canister, which is put into interim storage in one of two Glass Waste Storage Buildings onsite while it awaits permanent disposal in a federal repository.

DWPF is part of the liquid waste mission at SRS. Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) is the liquid waste contractor for EM.

Since the canister couldn't be used for its intended purpose, it was put into a site program for excess assets available for reuse. When no one onsite or in the DOE complex could use it, it was transferred to the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO).

The SRSCRO's region of responsibility covers the five counties of Richmond and Columbia in Georgia, and Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell in South Carolina. SRSCRO serves as the community interface organization for DOE-Savannah River Operations Office with respect to DOE-supported area economic development initiatives and other work with educational institutions. The SRSCRO is the recipient of materials from the excess program so the items can be sold to reinvest in the community.

As part of its education mission, the SRSCRO donated the canister to the Aiken Tech radiation protection technology laboratory in the Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing building.

Steven Simmons, the dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education at Aiken Tech, said that having this canister as a display item opens conversations about the long term storage and disposal of nuclear waste, including the challenges and potential solutions.

"For our students, the donation of the nuclear waste container from SRMC is more than just an addition to our radiation protection lab - it's a tangible connection to the critical work being done at the Savannah River Site," Simmons said. "This canister display will provide invaluable hands-on experience, deepening their understanding of nuclear waste disposal and its significance in safeguarding our environment."

SRSCRO President and CEO Robbie Bennett said that his organization works to improve the regional workforce by assisting in the training of local employees for the nuclear industry. This canister donation is part of that critical work.

"To support economic development around SRS, we must look for ways to better equip the local workforce for the nuclear-related jobs that are here now and are coming in the future," Bennett said. "This donation is just one more way we are fulfilling that part of our mission."

SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson said that the link from a canister to nuclear waste treatment and disposal is an important part of helping future workers understand the SRS liquid waste mission.

"Our canisters are unique. Having one at Aiken Tech helps those students see firsthand what our mission is all about." Olson said. "I hope it also leads to student inquisitiveness about the future of all things nuclear."

-Contributor: Dean Campbell