As we celebrate National Nuclear Science Week, it is timely to reflect on the contributions the Savannah River Site has made to the region and the Nation over more than a half century and to look to its future as a continued leader in nuclear technology.
SRS was created at a critical time in our Nation's history. The Cold War had chilled relations between the world's Superpowers. D�tente was fragile. Tensions were high. The threat of nuclear war was ever present. We had to be innovative and diligent in maintaining our superiority in nuclear technology to keep our foes at bay and protect the Free World.
By the early 1990s - more than four decades after SRS began operation - the Soviet Union had dissolved and its threat diminished. It was clear to the world that U.S. nuclear technology was indeed superior and could serve as a deterrent to any other nation's ambition to launch a broad nuclear attack.
Today, SRS accomplishments continue to stand at the core of our nation's nuclear deterrent. Our employees are continuing a 60-year heritage of national service through their work on environmental stewardship and national security. At the same time, we are working to position the site and the surrounding communities for new missions in environmental stewardship, national security, and clean energy through our Enterprise SRS strategic vision. With the Savannah River National Laboratory as the engine for our vision, we are putting our nuclear knowledge to work solving our Nation's challenges.
SRS will also be at the forefront of supporting innovative new clean energy sources that can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels. One example is the Small Modular Reactor (SMR), part of a generation of new nuclear power plants that can provide a flexible, cost-effective energy alternative.
SRS is engaging multiple SMR manufacturers in both conventional light water and advanced designs. These reactors are designed to provide a sustainable power source that is safe, clean, and cost-efficient. DOE, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, our management and operations contractor, and SRNL are building new partnerships that will accelerate deployment of small modular reactors to advance clean energy technologies, a key initiative of the Enterprise SRS strategic vision.
The SMR initiative focuses on the development, NRC licensing, construction and operation of first of a kind reactors at SRS. The Site provides the opportunity for various SMRs to utilize SRS assets, to include utilities, support systems and services, and, most notably, the Site's nuclear trained workforce.
As it has for decades, all of our work will continue to benefit the economy of our local region through job creation, local spending and by leveraging our Federal missions to attract additional, related private investment to this area. This effort will be enhanced by continuation of the solid support the community has demonstrated for SRS and nuclear missions for more than 60 years.
In Fiscal Year 2010, SRS spent nearly $1.2 billion within the five counties surrounding the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Georgia. These expenditures positively impact local economies in Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties in South Carolina and Richmond (Augusta) and Columbia counties in Georgia.
A recent study commissioned by the SRS Community Reuse Organization revealed that for every worker hired by SRS from the five-county area, an additional 1.5 additional jobs are created in the region.
Studies show that even more workers will be needed to support deployment of nuclear technology in the future. The Nuclear Workforce Initiative spearheaded by the SRS Community Reuse Organization projects that nearly 10,000 new workers will be needed to support regional nuclear projects, including those at SRS, over the next ten years.
Some of these jobs will be created as existing workers retire and we embark on new paths of national service supporting national security, environmental and clean energy initiatives. These future paths are highlighted in our recent "Enterprise SRS" vision document.
This vision points the way toward turning liabilities into assets as we reduce the environmental legacy of nuclear materials and radioactive waste at SRS. At the same time, we will accelerate the deployment of nuclear technologies through public and private partnerships aimed at solving critical nuclear material storage, processing and disposition challenges.
And we will never lose sight of the necessity of enhancing our national security by providing customized solutions to global nuclear nonproliferation. SRS is not a closure site. It is a national asset and the actions we are taking today will ensure its position for the future.
The Savannah River Site has a rich history. Through innovative application of the Savannah River Site's unique assets and continual development of a qualified talent pool, we can look forward to a bright future as well.
[The author, Dr. David Moody, is Manager of the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site. This article is part of a five-part series published in observance of National Nuclear Science Week January 23-27.]
