Workers will soon remove solar-power “plugs” from 19 soil remediation sites at the Savannah River Site (SRS), creating an annual cost savings of $90,000 as the successful soil and groundwater cleanup project comes to an end.
Office of Environmental Management
April 13, 2021
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Savannah River Nuclear Solutions engineers discuss a plan to move equipment used to close 19 soil cleanup sites to a storage location. In time, the equipment will be reused at other environmental remediation projects across the Savannah River Site. Shown from left are Will Jolin, John Bradley, and Joao Cardoso-Neto.
AIKEN, S.C. – Workers will soon remove solar-power “plugs” from 19 soil remediation sites at the Savannah River Site (SRS), creating an annual cost savings of $90,000 as the successful soil and groundwater cleanup project comes to an end.
EM contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) completed the project at an earthen pit developed in the 1950s to dispose of nonradioactive construction debris, ash, and liquid cleaning products.
Nineteen systems were installed to remove low concentrations of commonly used degreasing solvents from the soil below. Recent soil sampling demonstrated that the site no longer poses a potential threat to the environment, said Will Jolin, SRNS engineer.
“Early cleanup at this location concentrated on using aggressive methods to remove the contaminants from the subsurface and prevent them from migrating to the groundwater,” said Joao Cardoso-Neto, SRNS project manager.
Cardoso-Neto noted that those cleanup technologies required use of large electric pumps, support facilities, and monitoring equipment.
Over the years, that highly mechanized and costly method has removed large quantities of solvent; however, in recent years SRNS has transitioned to more environmentally-friendly passive units, known as microblowers.
Microblowers generate a natural vacuum to exhaust the chemical vapors from the subsurface. Each unit requires only 20 to 40 watts of solar power to run a primary component: a compact, high-speed fan. During a 10-month test, a single unit removed 234 pounds of solvent compounds from the subsurface.
The 19 microblower units have succeeded in removing the remaining trace amounts of solvent within limits set by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Approximately 1.5 acres were impacted by the cleanup and closure project near a part of the site designated as A Area.
“With the closure of this project, we can shift the resources, such as solar panels, to other areas at SRS that still require remediation,” said John Bradley, SRNS engineer.
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