| SRS' future a mixed bag First reports were that the newly designated Savannah River National Laboratory came up empty in Congress' humongous $388 billion omnibus spending bill - a disastrous setback that would have stalled upgrading the science center and restricted it from competing for new research dollars. But in the classic Strom Thurmond tradition of overcoming odds to get things done in Washington for the benefit of both the nation and home state constituents, South Carolina's new senior U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham led the effort to pry open opportunities in the bill that will allow the U.S. Department of Energy to spend up to $15 million next year on the lab and to assign new research projects there. Of course, that doesn't mean DOE bureaucrats will take those options, but if they don't, they'll be hearing from Graham and other prominent members of our two-state legislative delegation. "I will make sure DOE invests in the lab to get it going," says Graham. "There will be money dedicated to make sure it will be staffed, manned and ready to work." Development of the national science lab is crucially important to the country, and especially our region. The 90 scientists already stationed there mark the largest hydrogen research team in the nation. They're coordinating their work with next-generation automobile science at Clemson University and fuel cell research at the University of South Carolina. The expectation is that the lab will play a key role in transitioning SRS from the nuclear weapons factory that it was during the Cold War era when it employed more than 30,000 people to a leaner operation that would still employ thousands, combining future weapons work with research in fields such as hydrogen fuel. "It's the incubator for what's to come," says Graham, "the intellectual engine for an economy that will be based on private investment, not just federal dollars." It is indeed an opportunity that deserves top priority status for all our elected officials and economic development teams. Another project SRS supporters hoped would bring 1,500 jobs - the modern pit facility to build new nuclear triggers - has been put on hold with only a $7 million allocation, just enough to keep research going. Uncertainty about how many triggers need to be built is what's stalling development. Congress won't invest hundreds of millions into a project until the Energy agency knows how much of the product it needs. The news is mixed on SRS' mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility, which would be designed to convert plutonium from nuclear waste into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, providing about 500 long-term jobs. The bill provides $300 million for the project to get started in May. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's part of a nuclear non-proliferation pact with Russia, some of the details of which have not yet been finalized - which will likely result in further delays. The short-term future for SRS still is a mixed bag; hopefully the long-term outlook will be more optimistic.
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