Decommissioning historic former nuclear plant on Fort Belvoir

Photo By Christopher Gardner | Undated file photo shows U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy personnel in the control room of the former SM-1 nuclear power plant at Fort Belvoir. In addition to providing power to Fort Belvoir while active, the facility also served as a training facility for nuclear technicians from all branches before being deactivated in 1973 and partially decommissioned.  

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

01.25.2019

Story by Christopher Gardner 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District

April 8, 1957, Fort Belvoir was the site of a very unique and historic milestone in America — its recently completed nuclear power plant, known as SM-1, was the first of its kind to connect to the commercial power grid.

Developed by the Army as part of a movement to harness atomic energy for peaceful purposes, SM-1, which stands for Stationary Medium Power Plant 1, was the Army’s first functioning nuclear power plant and served as the basis for the development of more reactor facilities in the following years.

SM-1 provided partial power to Fort Belvoir but was primarily used as a training facility for nuclear power plant technicians from all military branches before being deactivated and partially decommissioned in the early 1970s — with the majority of the site’s radioactivity removed.

Now, 45 years later, plans are in development for the facility to be fully decommissioned and dismantled. A team of experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working closely with Fort Belvoir staff on these plans, in accordance with regulations by the Army Reactor Office.

Baltimore District is home to the Corps of Engineers’ Regional Radiological Center of Expertise and is leading the way on this project. In addition to the work on Fort Belvoir, Baltimore District’s team is also managing the decommissioning of the Army’s other two remaining deactivated nuclear reactors — one on Fort Greely, Alaska, and the STURGIS floating nuclear power plant in Texas.

“Baltimore District’s expert team brings decades of experience working on a broad array of projects around the world and just recently and safely completed the decommissioning of the MH-1A on the STURGIS barge in Galveston,” said Baltimore District Project Manager Brenda Barber. “The team is really excited to build on that record of success as planning moves forward for the SM-1 decommissioning on Belvoir.”

The initial decommissioning effort of SM-1 in 1974 consisted of the removal of the nuclear fuel and shipment of the radioactive waste, minor decontamination, sealing of the reactor pressure vessel, and installment of appropriate security, warning signs and monitoring devices.

Since this time, the facility has remained in safe storage while much of the remaining radioactivity has been allowed to decay. Baltimore District has conducted quarterly monitoring to ensure the site does not pose any hazards to the surrounding installation tenants, the community or the environment.

The majority of SM-1’s remaining low-level radioactivity is activated metals and the components of the former reactor system, which are all secured within the walls of the facility's containment vessel. This greatly reduces any potential risks to human health or the environment.

During the final decommissioning effort, the work will be completed in containment, and all waste will be properly packaged in compliance with Department of Transportation protocols prior to leaving the containment area(s). The facility itself will also be dismantled, and the site will be restored for future use by the installation.

“This is likely not what people think of when they think of radiological work,” said Barber. “There are no drums of liquid waste, no controls rods, or anything like that. With the activated metals and large pieces of the old reactor, there’s also minimal risk of any sort of a ‘release’ into the air or a ‘spill’ of waste during the project.”

Barber also noted that in addition to all Army regulations, the project will follow applicable local, state and federal safety regulations.

“The safety and health of the installation, the local community and our workers are paramount to the success of our project,” said Barber. “We will be using proven controls and precautions to address safety and other engineering details during all stages of the decommissioning work.”

The final decommissioning of SM-1 is still in the planning stages, with physical construction on site not expected to begin until 2020. Baltimore District and Fort Belvoir are planning to host public information sessions to gather feedback during the planning process.

• Date Taken: 01.25.2019
• Date Posted: 01.25.2019 11:11
• Story ID: 308221
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US