SRS/SRNL Visit July 17-19, 2018 Photos, SRNL-FM-2018-00023, July 19, 2018
Aiken, South Carolina, July 17 – 19, 2018
STEM students and staff from Florida International University (FIU) visited the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina on July 17-19, 2018. The FIU STEM students, known as DOE Fellows, participate in a unique workforce development program sponsored and funded by the U.S. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). Six DOE Fellows who are spending their summer at DOE Headquarters in Washington, DC, travelled to SRS to be a part of this visit, joining the five DOE Fellows interning at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).
A tour of the site was organized by DOE HQ and facilitated by Savannah River National Lab to familiarize the Fellows with the lab, its history, and its purpose during and after the Cold War nuclear proliferation era. One captivating portion of the tour included the only mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility in the U.S. While the majority of the site was constructed in just under 5 years, the MOX facility has been in development for over 20 years. A result of an international nuclear nonproliferation agreement with Russia, the MOX facility will be used to convert legacy weapons-grade plutonium into fuel suitable for commercial power reactors, a real-world example of how policy affects results.
The site tour also included a “cold” (non-radioactive) demonstration of a technology being investigated at FIU in collaboration with scientists and engineers at SRNL. DOE Fellows Joshua Nunez and Tristan Simoes-Ponce assisted with the intumescent coating technology research and pre-testing at FIU, which will be deployed during a hot (radioactive) demonstration at the SRS 235-F PuFF facility. Witnessing the results of their research being applied in a real world environment was a rewarding experience and highlighted the operational difficulties of deploying environmental technologies in the field.
The Fellows also visited other SRS areas such as the P Reactor, F Area, and the Aiken County Applied Research Center campus. While unable to tour the tank farms due to drills being performed at the same time, SRNL scientists provided presentations on site environmental restoration activities and the robotic systems that are currently being used or developed for the tank farms. Topics included the virtual-reality projects that SRNL is working on, including a virtual environment that details gloveboxes, and a virtual-reality system for workers to learn how to disassemble various mechanical items and reassemble them, using a pen to simulate the hand and a virtual-reality headset for the visuals. In return, the FIU students, along with their SRNL and DOE summer mentors, shared their summer research projects during presentations to SRS and DOE officials. Overall the Fellows found the tour and presentations very interesting and were able to gain a good understanding for both the hands-on and policy side of the site operations.
FIU students and staff, with University of Texas – Austin, University of Puerto Rico students and DOE EM HQ and SRNL colleagues outside of SRS 235-F
Touring the SRS 235-F Plutonium Fuel Form (PuFF) Facility Operator Station Base
SRS 235-F Plutonium Fuel Form (PuFF) Facility Operator Station Base
SRNL (J. Nicholson) describing the fixative application at the SRS 235-F Process Cell Mock-up & Training Facility to FIU students
Demonstration of fixative application at the SRS 235-F Process Cell Mock-up & Training Facility
Demonstrating the fixative sprayer in the SRS 235-F Process Cell Mock-up & Training Facility
FIU DOE Fellow students (Tristan Simoes-Ponce and Joshua Nunez) briefing on the fixative and intumescent coating research
FIU student briefing on the incombustible fixative demonstration at SRNL
EM Office of Technology Development representative (JP Pabon) interacting with FIU students during briefings
SRS 235-F Process Cell Mock-up & Training Facility
FIU student interns at the Aiken County Applied Research Center campus
FIU, UT-Austin and University of Puerto Rico student interns in front of the SRS P-Reactor
Tags: Internships