Open AccessFinal Report - Independent Verification Survey Activities at the Seperations Process Research Unit Sites, Niskayuna, New York
Author(s) -
Evan M. Harpenau
Publication year - 2011
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/1015765
Subject(s) - plutonium , nuclear decommissioning , uranium , environmental science , glovebox , hanford site , transuranium element , enriched uranium , waste management , radiochemistry , radioactive waste , engineering , chemistry , materials science , metallurgy , mechanical engineering
The Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) complex located on the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) site in Niskayuna, New York, was constructed in the late 1940s to research the chemical separation of plutonium and uranium (Figure A-1). SPRU operated as a laboratory scale research facility between February 1950 and October 1953. The research activities ceased following the successful development of the reduction oxidation and plutonium/uranium extraction processes. The oxidation and extraction processes were subsequently developed for large scale use by the Hanford and Savannah River sites (aRc 2008a). Decommissioning of the SPRU facilities began in October 1953 and continued through the 1990s