Public meeting Wednesday on removal of Belvoir nuclear reactor

On Wednesday evening the Army Corps of Engineers will hold its second public meeting on the upcoming project to remove a long inactive nuclear reactor from Fort Belvoir.

The meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in room 221 of the Gerry Hyland Government Center (see map). The first hour of the meeting will be an open house/poster session, and the formal presentation and question-and-answer period will start at 7:30 p.m.

Two information meetings will also be held on Tuesday on Fort Belvoir.

Background

The SM-1 nuclear reactor on Fort Belvoir has been inactive since 1973. During deactivation the plant’s nuclear fuel and control rods were removed and the reactor vessel was sealed, according to the Corps of Engineers. Some structures and equipment associated with the plant were also removed from the site.

But the reactor facility and some smaller buildings/structures remain on the property, including a 100-foot water intake pier that was used to pull river water from Gunston Cove to cool steam exhaust from the plant’s steam turbine system. The Corps of Engineers goal is to remove everything associated with the plant from the site and dispose of it elsewhere, and then clean the site up so it can be returned to the Army.

The Corps of Engineers released its environmental assessment of the project in December. The assessment determined that removing the remaining SM-1 structures and cleaning the site posed a “less than significant” threat to the environment (read more here).

The Corps of Engineers estimates that it will take five years to complete the project. More information on the project can be found on the Corps of Engineers website.