2021 SRS Annual Environmental Report Released

2021 SRS Annual Environmental Report Released

AIKEN, S.C., Sept. 30, 2022 – Each year, the Savannah River Site (SRS) prepares its Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) following U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requirements. The site releases this report on the last day of the DOE fiscal year, to give the public and SRS stakeholders detailed information about environmental conditions at SRS for the previous calendar year.

In 2021, SRS continued to safely operate and accomplish its missions while maintaining a record of environmental excellence and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As in previous years, the site met federal and state standards, designed to protect the public, environment and site workers.

The report also summarizes SRS’s environmental data; environmental sustainability performance; compliance with applicable DOE, federal and state regulations; and remediation and surveillance monitoring programs.

SRS has monitored environmental conditions since the site was built in the early 1950s and has published an ASER since 1959.

Management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS) collects more than 10,000 monitoring samples annually found both on and off site including air, water, soil, sediment, food products, freshwater fish, seafood, wildlife, plants and trees. Samples are collected from neighboring cities, towns and counties found in Georgia and South Carolina.

SRS has kept a comprehensive environmental monitoring program for over 70 years:

• Evaluating radiological and nonradiological constituents results show that SRS operations do not cause undue harm to our community.
• Annual dose from SRS operations is less than one millirem.
• SRS continues to protect, monitor, remediate and conserve groundwater at SRS.
• SRS continues to employ innovative, cost-effective technologies to reduce the site’s environmental footprint.

“This report gives tangible data to site stakeholders about SRS operations and the effects of those operations on the environment,” said Michael D. Budney, Manager of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. “We are committed to protecting our environment through continuous monitoring, surveillance and improvement of our processes.”

This publication also supports SRS’s educational and community outreach programs and serves to educate a broad cross-section of the population on important programs at the site. The 2021 ASER is available online at: http://www.srs.gov/general/pubs/ERsum/index.html.

Media Contacts:

Monte Volk
U.S. Department of Energy
(803) 952-8283, [email protected]

Fallan Flatow
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
(803) 952-7338, [email protected]