Savannah River Site (USDOE)

Overview

The Savannah River Site is a large federal facility in Aiken, South Carolina, built in the early 1950s to produce tritium and plutonium-239 for nuclear weapons. Defense production ended in 1988, and the site now supports nuclear materials production for space, medical, industrial, and research purposes. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1989, and physical cleanup work is still underway today.

Contamination is widespread across the site and affects soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, buildings, fish tissue, and other media. Radionuclides including cesium-137, strontium-90, tritium, plutonium isotopes, and uranium isotopes are found across numerous areas. Volatile organic compounds such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and benzene contaminate groundwater at multiple locations. Heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium are present in soil and groundwater. Pesticides such as DDT, dieldrin, and chlordane, along with PCBs, dioxins, and asbestos, round out a broad list of contaminants of concern. EPA has determined these substances pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy owns and operates the site and is responsible for remediation. EPA serves as the lead regulatory agency under CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. A Federal Facility Agreement signed in 1993 among EPA, the Department of Energy, and South Carolina's environmental agency governs cleanup. The site is divided into 99 operable units. Cleanup technologies in use include groundwater extraction and treatment, soil vapor extraction, excavation, capping, bioremediation, monitored natural attenuation, and institutional controls. As of the end of fiscal year 2017, 408 of 515 units in the Environmental Compliance and Area Completion Projects were complete, with 10 in the remediation phase. Some operable units have remedial actions estimated to continue through 2027 and 2028.

EPA assessments indicate human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable exposure pathways exist at this time. However, the status of contaminated groundwater migration has not yet been determined due to insufficient data. Construction is not complete across the entire site, and cleanup goals have not been fully achieved for all current and future land uses. A Five-Year Review was completed on November 17, 2025, to assess whether the cleanup remedy continues to protect human health and the environment.

Community members can engage through the site's Citizens Advisory Board, which holds formal meetings every other month, with committee meetings in the intervening months. EPA participates as a liaison at these meetings. All CAB materials are available on the SRS CAB website. Site documents are also accessible at public information repositories at the University of South Carolina in both Aiken and Columbia. Questions can be directed to the EPA staff assigned to the site.