Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was founded as Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) in the early 1950s. The lab was established at Savannah River Plant (SRP) by E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (“DuPont”), which built and ran the site under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission, to support the production of materials for the nation’s…
Savannah River National Laboratory’s (SRNL’s) roots date back to the early 1950s as Savannah River Laboratory (SRL). Career opportunities for women were limited in SRL’s first few decades. Roles were largely confined to clerical, administrative, and laboratory technician positions. Through grit and determination, women began to break down barriers and advance their careers. Several courageous…
Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) visited Savannah River Site (SRS) February 27-29 to participate in fieldwork for the Advanced Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Systems (ALTEMIS) project. ALTEMIS uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to strategically use parameter sensors at contaminated sites. This reduces the number of monitoring wells required…
Savannah River National Laboratory’s (SRNL) Global Security Directorate (GSD) Mobile Plutonium Facility (MPF) is deploying an innovative safety robot. Boston Dynamics’s Spot is a four-legged, dog-like robot monitoring device that will provide operational awareness for the Mobile Plutonium Facility (MPF) team and reduce human exposure to radiation and other hazards. This initiative decision comes after…
Each month throughout 2024, as SRNL celebrates its 20th anniversary as a national laboratory, historical photographs, media headlines and other visual nostalgia from SRNL’s history will be featured. While the emphasis will be on the last 20 years, SRNL’s history during its antecedent years will also be highlighted, including Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) from the…
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the United States placed heavy restrictions on exports to that country, as well as Belarus. Now, two years after the conflict began, a surge in export license applications for American-made, medical-related items are being requested from the countries. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) International Trade Administration,…
The movie Oppenheimer reminded most viewers of the dawn of the atomic age and the boundary-breaking nuclear science necessary to harness the power of nuclear fission. For others in the nuclear field, it serves as a reminder of the innovation needed to disposition nuclear waste. At Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) researchers are building on…
Historically, the daily operation of facilities at Savannah River Site (SRS), including several nuclear reactors, materials separations facilities, river water pumps and sprawling infrastructure, required a tremendous amount of energy. Most of the electricity was provided by several coal-burning powerhouses scattered throughout SRS. This produced approximately 1.8 million cubic yards of coal ash, which is…
CubeSats are a common low orbit nanosatellite used by schools, hobbyists, and universities to collect atmospheric data, fill communication gaps, provide GPS locations, and perform several types of scientific research. Designs published online are often imperfect and most nanosatellites are not fit for space use, a problem Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) summer intern Olivia Belian…
Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) opened its storefront within the Junior Achievement (JA) of Georgia Discovery Center of the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) in Evans, Georgia, on Thursday, Jan. 11. Junior Achievement Discovery Centers blend key components of education to create state-of-the-art learning facilities where students apply concepts they learn in the classroom in…
Decades of plutonium production at Savannah River Site (SRS) resulted in millions of gallons of high-level waste. Over the years, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has played a vital scientific role in developing ways to safely process this waste. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at SRS has made tremendous progress processing the “sludge” waste…
Scientists at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) help organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by researching and developing new monitoring and treaty verification tools to ensure the absence of noncompliance. A mass spectrometer is one device monitoring agencies use to determine a nuclear material’s intended use. The process for this analysis currently takes…