UA nuclear site cleanup funded by $10.5 million grant
by October 17, 2016 10:21 am 203 views
The University of Arkansas will continue cleaning up a deactivated nuclear reactor test site located 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville, with the help of a $10.5 million U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, or SEFOR, was built in 1968 and deactivated in 1974. Its nuclear fuel and coolant were removed at that time.
The UA took ownership of the building a year later, using it as a research tool for its graduate students. In 1986, it stopped using the facility and the school acted as caretaker for the property during the past 30 years, while seeking funding to properly and safely clean up the site.
The DOE grant, awarded Sept. 27, will fund the second phase of a site demolition and cleanup process that started in 2009 with a $1.9 million grant.
Next steps and a start date for the project will be announced during a UA press conference Wednesday (Oct. 19) at 2:30 p.m. in Davis Hall on the UA campus. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, will speak at the event.
A third phase of the cleanup is planned, but plans have not been made public on how long the second phase will take.
All three phases are estimated to cost about $28 million, according to the UA.