RSCS and EnergySolutions form Joint Venture to Decommission the N.S. Savannah

SALT LAKE CITY, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Radiation Safety and Control Services Inc. (RSCS) and EnergySolutions, today announced a partnership to decommission the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship, the N.S. Savannah.

RSCS started working with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration in 2007 on Phase 1 decommissioning preparations and completed this phase in early 2021. The RSCS-EnergySolutions Joint Venture (Nuclear Ship Support Services, LLC) is now conducting Phase II and Phase III decommissioning where remediation is expected to be complete mid-2023 and License termination expected to be completed by 2025

"This ship is designed with a one-of-a-kind reactor and associated support systems," stated Jay Tarzia, Executive Director, RSCS. "The goal of the project is to safely and surgically decommission the ship, maintaining maximum ship integrity to preserve this national historic landmark. To complete this job we have assembled a world-class team with our partners EnergySolutions to achieve this goal.

"This is a unique opportunity for EnergySolutions to apply our decommissioning experience to the decommissioning efforts of the N.S. Savannah and we value our partnership with RSCS on this important project," said Ken Robuck, President and CEO of EnergySolutions. "We are confident as a team we will safely decommission the Savannah applying lessons learned from our experience at commercial reactor decommissioning projects while at the same time preserving this national treasure."

A National Historic, Nuclear Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Landmark, the N.S. Savannah was commissioned July 20, 1956 under President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace Program." The ship, originally constructed under a joint agreement between the U.S. DOT Maritime Division and the Atomic Energy Agency, is currently licensed with the NRC. An 80 MW reactor powered the ship, which weighs 9,570 tons with an overall length of 595 feet and was operated by a sixty-person crew.

Decommissioning activities include safely removing the control rod drive system, pressurizer, reactor pressure vessel, neutron shield tank, steam generators, primary system piping, reactor vessel and all primary system components. All of this material is considered low-level waste and will be safely transported and disposed of at the EnergySolutions "Clive" disposal facility located in Utah's West Desert.

Our joint team will carefully perform the decommissioning to preserve the ship for future use as a museum.

About Radiation Safety & Control Services (RSCS)

RSCS provides project management, technical, and laboratory services to the nuclear power industry, the Government, and other companies that use radioactive material. We actively manage and support nuclear and radiological operations and decommissioning projects through our specialty services and staff augmentation. Our project services, ISO/IEC accredited laboratory, and our manufacturing division provide state-of-the art solutions to our clients to improve quality and efficiency. For more information about RSCS please visit www.radsafety.com.

About EnergySolutions

EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and solutions, including nuclear operations, characterization, decommissioning, decontamination, site closure, transportation, nuclear materials management, processing, recycling, and disposition of nuclear waste, and research and engineering services across the nuclear fuel cycle. For additional information about EnergySolutions visit www.energysolutions.com.

For additional information about this announcement please contact Mark Walker at [email protected] or 801-231-9194.        

Project website www.nssavannahdecommissioning.com will be available in April to monitor project process.