The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management completed the first shipment of downblended surplus plutonium transuranic (TRU) material from K-Area at the Savannah River Site to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in December.

This shipment marks a milestone as the first shipment to include defense TRU material from NNSA’s Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program. After plutonium is downblended at SRS, it becomes TRU material by definition and can be permanently disposed at WIPP.

The milestone is the culmination of years of planning, which have always kept the safety of the workforce, public, and environment top of mind. This shipment is the latest step toward The Department’s effort to fulfill its August 2020 agreement to remove surplus plutonium from the state of South Carolina. 

“NNSA remains committed to nuclear nonproliferation, security, and risk reduction.” said Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Jill Hruby. “We are proud to demonstrate our firm commitment to these missions, and we appreciate the relationship with the states of South Carolina and New Mexico.”

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