The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management and cleanup contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are using an an "innovative passive energy process" that raises the pH levels of groundwater at a former coal-fired power plant using crushed marble, a news release said.
The 310-square-mile Savannah River Site, located in Aiken, South Carolina, "focused on the production of plutonium and tritium for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons from its inception in the early 1950s until the end of the Cold War," the news release said.
“Decades of storing coal on the ground in D Area has drastically lowered the pH of the groundwater due to rainwater leaching down through the contaminated soil,” Kelsey Holcomb, project manager for the contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, said in a statement. “D Area groundwater pH levels are monitored and average around 3.5, which can be harmful to the environment. We’re taking action to eliminate this potential issue with an innovative, passive solution that will save millions of dollars versus using traditional cleanup methods, such as 'pump and treat.'”
Holcomb called the new project, "in essence, a large-scale experimental study," that involves extensive research and constantly analyzing the results.
“DOE and our environmental regulators, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Environmental Protection Agency, have been extremely supportive,” Holcomb said, according to the release. “We greatly value their teamwork, partnering to implement new and innovative solutions to protect the environment at the Savannah River Site."
