Fort Belvoir SM-1 Decommissioning and Dismantlement
As managing partner of A2D, APTIM is decommissioning and dismantling the SM-1 Reactor Facility at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, remediating the site for future unrestricted use while protecting worker and community safety.
To complete the SM-1 Reactor project, APTIM’s Nuclear Decommissioning team will have:
- Removed and disposed of the primary and secondary system components including the reactor pressure vessel, reactor coolant pumps, pressurizer, condenser, turbine, and generator via 100+ critical crane lifts
- Safely shipped and disposed of ~60 million pounds of waste off site to an approved radiological waste disposal facility over ~1.5 million miles by road and rail
- Excavated, packaged, shipped, and disposed of ~19,000 cubic yards of radiologically contaminated soil
- Demolished, size reduced, packaged, shipped, and disposed of ~11,000 cubic yards of radiologically contaminated reinforced concrete, steel, and other miscellaneous debris
- Instituted a soil reuse initiative, with assistance from the US Army Corps of Engineers to reuse ~4,500 cubic yards of soil as clean backfill, eliminating ~300 over-the-road shipments and 60 rail shipments to radiological waste disposal facility, significantly reducing carbon emissions and transportation risks
- Instituted a reinforced concrete debris survey and release initiative, with assistance from the US Army Corps of Engineers, aimed at disposing ~6M lbs as non-impacted debris at a local landfill, eliminating ~200 over-the-road shipments to radiological waste disposal facility (located 1,700 miles from the project site)
Project History
The SM-1 reactor facility was a single-loop, 10 megawatt-thermal, pressurized water reactor. Located on the shore of Guntson Cove in Virginia, it provided power to Fort Belvoir and was the first nuclear power reactor to provide sustained power to a commercial electrical grid in the US.
A2D (managed by APTIM) was tasked by the US Army Corps of Engineers with decommissioning and dismantling the SM-1 Reactor Facility and all associated infrastructure and impacted soils. The scope of work also includes a Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual Final Status Survey to release the site for future unrestricted use.
Services Provided
The APTIM team provided planning, permitting, design, construction management, and engineering for the following phases:
- Project Planning
- Site Characterization
- Structural, Civil & Electrical Engineering Services
- Structures, Systems & Components Demolition
- Contaminated Soil Excavation
- MARSSIM And MARSAME Final Status Surveys
- Regulatory Permitting
- Waste Management, Transportation & Disposal
- Final Site Restoration
Learn more about APTIM’s nuclear decommissioning services.
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