Steps for ‘Rectifying Past Sins’ to Delay Restart of A-Plant

WASHINGTON — Energy Department officials, declaring a need to “rectify past sins” in the operation of atomic reactors, today announced that the introduction of new safety procedures would delay restarting the Savannah River Plant, which produces nuclear weapons materials.

Energy undersecretary Joseph Salgado also gave assurances that plutonium and tritium supplies are adequate to ensure that existing nuclear weapons would not degrade or be cannibalized to assure a continued strategic deterrent.

The three aging reactors at Savannah River in Aiken, S.C., have been shut down for safety considerations. Construction of new reactors to produce nuclear weapons materials is not expected to start until the early 1990s.

Start-Up Ordered

Salgado, addressing a midday news conference, said that Energy Department officials have ordered engineers at the Savannah River plant to start up the K-reactor in December during a four-week phased operation that should bring it close to full steam in early January.

Department officials have also decided to postpone restarting the plant’s P-reactor, which experienced problems in August.

In congressional testimony on Sept. 30, Salgado said the P-reactor could be restarted within 45 days, but department officials now have decided that it should not be brought back into operation until late 1989, he said.

The third facility at the plant, the L-reactor, is scheduled to be restarted in the first three months of next year, he said.

Off to Slow Start

All three reactors will be started slowly, using what deputy assistant energy secretary Richard W. Starostecki described as a “phased” operation designed to test and assess each step before the reactor is brought to full power.

New operating procedures are needed to ensure safety at Savannah River, which has come under renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill after internal memoranda detailing operating problems since the plant opened in the early 1950s, said Salgado, Starostecki and other Energy Department officials.

“We have a moral obligation to rectify past sins,” Salgado told the news conference.

An Energy Department statement issued after the news conference said that “three Savannah River reactors are the nation’s only source of the tritium needed for the nation’s nuclear deterrent.” Plutonium, also produced by the reactors, has a longer half-life than tritium, and therefore does not pose as critical a problem.

Routine Maintenance

“At present, all three reactors are out of service for routine maintenance and accelerated safety upgrades,” the statement said.

“The department is implementing a comprehensive program at the Savannah River plant to enable the facility to resume production of tritium within acceptable margins of safety.”

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said President Reagan had been briefed by his national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Colin Powell, on the Savannah River situation and related matters and is satisfied.

Lax security at weapons labs, Page 15.