Science & Technology News
The Savannah River National Laboratory Policy Office (as known as the EM Laboratory Policy Office (LPO)) sponsors and coordinates the involvement of national laboratories in support of the EM mission activities, in accordance with the EM National Laboratory Governance Framework for the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the charter for the EM National Laboratory Network (EMNLN). The EM LPO leads oversight and management of SRNL in partnership with the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) Office of Policy with support from the EM and NNSA Savannah River Site/Field Offices.
SRNL is a DOE EM-sponsored multi-program Federally Funded Research and Development Center currently operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. They possess core competencies in: environmental remediation and risk reduction; tritium processing, storage, and gas transfer systems; nuclear materials processing and disposition; and nuclear materials detection, characterization and assessment. SRNL’s highly trained workforce strives to put science to work to create practical and cost-effective solutions for keeping our nation safe, cleaning up nuclear waste and advancing our nation’s energy and manufacturing objectives. The unique facilities of SRNL include laboratories for the safe study and handling of radioactive materials, a field demonstration site for testing and evaluating environmental cleanup technologies, laboratories for the ultra-sensitive measurement and analysis of radioactive materials, and the nation’s only radiological crime investigation laboratory.
SRNL has played an important role in providing technical support to the DOE EM nuclear cleanup mission since the beginning of EM’s missions. Innovative approaches and methodologies developed by SRNL scientists and engineers have contributed to the successful execution of many EM mission activities.
EM National Laboratory Network (EMNLN)
In addition to SRNL, other national laboratories in the DOE complex also provide unique and complimentary expertise and capabilities to address many one-of-a-kind technical challenges of EM’s complex nuclear cleanup projects. EM has recently taken steps to link the capabilities of DOE national laboratories supporting DOE EM’s cleanup mission by strengthening historic partnerships with our cleanup sites and relationships with individual labs to take advantage of the synergies of a larger EMNLN. Currently, SRNL, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories actively participate in the EMNLN. Led by the SRNL and PNNL, the chartered EMNLN are working to address technical challenges that the EM program faces. The Network identifies and provides resources to support EM response, technical review, policy analysis and strategic planning. It also engages EM headquarters, EM site offices, contractors and others to address EM cleanup challenges and emergent needs. An example of the EMNLN engagements in EM interactions with the international community is the ongoing collaborative research and development in support of decommissioning and remediation of the Fukishima Daaichi Nuclear Power Station.