Savannah River Site risks prompt Aiken resident to press council on local nuclear emergency plans

At the Feb. 24 meeting of the Aiken City Council, Dr. Rose Hayes asked city leaders to explain local planning and public preparedness for potential nuclear releases from the nearby Savannah River Site (SRS).

Hayes, who described herself as having served 20 years as a federal safety and health officer and as a former chair of the Savannah River Advisory Council's nuclear materials committee, told council she receives regular reports from the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and EPA and remains concerned about aging storage at SRS. "My reason for appearing before the council this evening is to inquire about the local agency planning for work, potential worst case scenarios involving nuclear releases," she said.

Hayes summarized several technical and regulatory points she said highlight the stakes: she told council that SRS stores "some 35,000,000 tons and gallons of waste" from past production, that more than "23,000,000 curies" had been processed by February 2022 while "some 200,000,000 curies" remain, and that earlier safety-board findings singled out Building 235-F and other facilities for remediation. She cited a Department of Energy remedial plan for Par Pond and Lower Three Runs Creek that found elevated cesium-137 and mercury in soils and fish samples and said monitoring and decay-time calculations could be required for decades.

City staff responded that the city maintains an emergency response plan that addresses nuclear facilities and that it coordinates with Aiken County Emergency Management and the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. "We have an emergency response plan for nuclear facilities in our emergency operations plan," a city official told Hayes, adding that city staff participate in annual drills with county and state partners. The official also said the city does not run public training sessions on nuclear response "coordinated by the city." When Hayes asked who to contact for the county plan, staff directed her to Paul Matthews, Aiken County Emergency Operations Director, and offered to provide the plan to her.

Council took no formal action on the presentation. Hayes requested clarity about which local agency would be responsible for implementing evacuation or sheltering orders, what staffing that agency has, and how the public would be trained or informed. City staff committed to help Hayes obtain the county plan and confirmed ongoing drill participation with county and state partners.

No council motion or vote was recorded on the issue; the exchange was recorded as a presentation and public inquiry.

Why it matters: Hayes' remarks drew attention to long-running, technical cleanup and monitoring challenges at SRS and to the local emergency-management steps that would be needed if a release ever occurred. City and county coordination affects evacuation, sheltering, distribution of potassium iodide and other protective actions and public communication during an incident.

Looking ahead: Hayes said she would follow up with city staff to obtain the county emergency plan and to ask about public outreach. The council did not direct further study or adopt new policy during the meeting.