1000th Employee Hired under the Recovery Act to Accelerate Cleanup at Savannah River Site

AIKEN, S.C. – The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) announced today it has hired 1000 new employees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Frankie Hutto, a lifetime resident of Williston, South Carolina with 25 years of experience driving trucks and operating heavy equipment, was the 1000th new employee hired to help accelerate the cleanup work at SRS.

Hutto was already excited about his first day on the job at SRS, but it was made even sweeter when he met with site personnel to receive his security badge on Tuesday, August 18th and found out he was the 1000th new employee.

“I had been out of work for two months, and at age 53, I was worried about not being offered a job at the site,” said Hutto. “But it worked out great, and I’m pleased to be here.”

“Frankie has spent the last 13 years driving gasoline tankers,” said Donnie Abbott, Hutto’s supervisor. “He’s qualified and licensed to drive any truck we’ve got out here and he has a good head on his shoulders. Like many of new Recovery Act workers, Frankie will be a big help in speeding up the cleanup at Savannah River Site.”

Under the Recovery Act, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has been able to help many local residents get back to work. The $1.6 billion economic stimulus package at SRS is expected to accelerate the environmental cleanup activities at SRS, saving or creating up to 3,000 jobs and reducing the site’s operational footprint by about 40 percent.

SRS cleanup efforts currently include work on 17 projects across the 310 square mile Department of Energy site. Most of this work is related to the safe and permanent closure or demolition of over 100 buildings and structures and the cleanup of over 50 contaminated areas.

Additional information on the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the Savannah River Site, can be found at http://www.em.doe.gov or
http://www.srs.gov. Follow SRS news on twitter also: www.twitter.com/SRSNews.

Frankie Hutto, the 1000th employee hired since the recent receipt of $1.6B in Recovery Act money at SRS, receives his site security badge.