Site work begins on nuclear weapons stockpile facility at Aiken

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The Savannah River Site is marking the start of site preparation for the new Tritium Finishing Facility within the Savannah River Tritium Enterprise.

SRTE is the only facility in the nation capable of preparing tritium for the nuclear weapons stockpile and the facility is critical to this enduring mission, according to a Savannah River site news release.

The facility will replace H Area Old Manufacturing, a facility built in the 1950s, the release stated. H Area has been in continuous operation since construction and is considered the workhorse of tritium reservoir processing activities.

H Area hosts reservoir finishing, assembly, inspection and packaging processes, which are the last steps in meeting mission deliverables, the release stated.

This site prep phase of the project will clear the area for construction of the new facility, including demolition of one warehouse, according to the release.

The entire project scope also includes demolition of two additional warehouses and construction of three buildings — one a Hazard Category 2 nuclear facility, one a radiological facility, and one replacement warehouse.