The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, has completed all field activities associated with the decommissioning and dismantlement of the former SM-1 nuclear power plant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, marking the conclusion of a complex environmental and radiological engineering mission underway since 2020.
SM-1 was the Army’s first nuclear reactor and the first facility in the United States to supply nuclear-generated power to the commercial grid for a sustained period. The plant was deactivated in 1973 and placed in safe storage. The Baltimore District started to plan for final decommissioning in 2014 and received a Decommissioning Permit in 2020 based on those planning documents. Field activities began in 2021.
Project work included site preparation; removal of non-radioactive hazards; safe removal, transportation, and disposal of radioactive materials and equipment; structural dismantlement and debris removal; and full site remediation and restoration. The footprint of the former plant has been restored to a clean, graded, and seeded landscape.
“This team set out to execute a complex mission methodically, protect the installation and the National Capital Region through every phase, and deliver a lasting result worthy of the Army’s trust,” said Col. Francis B. Pera, Baltimore District commander and district engineer. “It’s a credit to the health physicists, engineers, project managers, field personnel, and contractor workforce who executed this mission day after day.”
The project drew upon the Baltimore District’s Radiological Health Physics Regional Center of Expertise, which provides technical and radiation-safety support for USACE and partner federal agencies conducting radiological work. The SM-1 team applied the specialized capability and experience gained from prior projects, including the 2019 decommissioning of the MH-1A on the STURGIS vessel, a mobile reactor plant.
SM-1 began operations in 1957 as part of the Army Nuclear Power Program. In addition to supporting Fort Belvoir, the facility helped establish pioneering operating data and experience that informed military and commercial nuclear power development, and its completed decommissioning now helps the Army understand the full lifecycle of nuclear power.
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Baltimore District delivers vital engineering solutions in collaboration with its partners to serve and strengthen the Nation, energize the economy, and reduce disaster risks. Headquartered near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Baltimore District provides design, engineering, construction, environmental, and real estate expertise to various important projects and customers. This support spans five states, the District of Columbia, overseas, and the Susquehanna, Potomac, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. These civil and military missions and diverse engineering services support communities and warfighters while addressing the ever-growing list of emerging national security requirements and ultimately protecting the Nation.