Crane Removal Contract Awarded to Accelerate Decommissioning of Two Savannah River Site Reactors Through the Recovery Act

Aiken, S.C.) – A contract to dismantle gantry cranes atop two old plutonium reactors at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) has been awarded by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the Site's management and operations contractor. The work will remove significant parts of the external super structures of the government facility’s P- and R-Reactors. Combined with other decontamination and decommissioning activities, the two reactors will be eliminated as environmental concern through the Recovery Act.

“The successful decommissioning of these reactors will represent a major achievement of the Recovery Act at SRS,” said Jeffrey M. Allison, DOE's Savannah River Operations Office Manager.

The contract was awarded to the low bidder, Bierlein Field Services, Inc. of Midland, MI, The $2 million contract anticipates that the gantry cranes will be removed, cut into smaller sections and delivered to a landfill for permanent disposal by the end of May next year. Bierlein plans to utilize the services of Southway Crane, a small business from Columbia, S.C. and with an office in Augusta, Ga. during the dismantling process. Bierlein also intends to hire up to seven people during the two-month effort.

The R-Reactor began production of plutonium at SRS in 1953 and was shut down in 1964. The P-Reactor in began production of plutonium in 1954 and was shut down in 1988. Both where used to support America’s nuclear defense during the Cold War ear.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS) is the management and operations contractor at the site and is responsible for the P-and R-Reactors decontamination and decommissioning projects that are part of the $1.6 billion Recovery Act allocation for SRS.

For more information about the SRS Recovery Act Project, please visit www.srs.gov/recovery and for contracts awarded visit www.srs.gov/recovery/procurement-contracts.