by Dr. Rose O Hayes
March 27, 2023

I am concerned about the proposed Savannah River Site (SRS) lab building, and additional parking facility, in downtown Aiken.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SRS operations already have a large presence downtown. The old Post Office building at Park and Laurens is occupied by the main DOE/SRS contractor (Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, or SRNS). Another main DOE/SRS contractor, a spin off from AECOM called Amentum, is located on the Newberry Street mall. These are huge international firms. Such companies do not shrink, they expand.

The U.S. government’s proposal to locate a “nuclear lab/training center/administrative building” and parking garage in the heart of our small downtown is emblematic of that growth pattern. With that addition, federal government contractors also become the largest inextricably related business complex in our small downtown. These facilities, their architecture, and the nature of their business are a poor match with the unique southern belle character and look so popular with and enjoyed by Aiken residents and thousands of visitors each year. The growing presence of federal-government-business buildings in the midst of our small privately owned businesses harkens a significant change in the future profile and activities along Laurens Street and its crossing avenues, Park and Richland.

In addition, adding to the downtown federal worker and federal contract worker population will increase street traffic and require enlarged roadways for ingress and egress, supplementary traffic signals, etc. Whiskey Road is almost at maximum capacity now and years of planning have not resolved the traffic flow problem there. It will get decidedly worse if an SRS lab/training/admin center is added to the mix. Expanded infrastructures will also be required such as water and sewage systems. These modifications will have to be paid for by the taxpayers who are already footing the bill for the failed Pascalis Project.

Questions also remain about the tax and private interest dollars that have already been sunk into the failed Pascalis project. In order to have a clear understanding of the city’s $9.6 million debt for that cancelled plan, and why it was necessary, an audit should be conducted by an outside firm. Trying to follow the twists and turns the Pascalis planning took is like trying to chase a snake through brush. An audit would be in keeping with the mayor’s commitment to transparency and helpful in future planning as “lessons learned”.

Aikenites should be more concerned about the fact that the old leaking tanks and cleanup work on the edge of town at SRS are still not cleaned up, under the auspice of the major contractors, SRNS and Amentum. SRS remains a Superfund site on the PSL list (government priorities list ). The sites on the PSL list are areas contaminated with substances hazardous to the public. In addition, because of all the nuclear waste waiting to be cleaned up at SRS, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control (SCDHEC) designated it as the major health and environment hazard in the state. Unfortunately, the former federal focus and commitment to clean up SRS has waned in favor of new processing campaigns involving imported foreign and domestic radioactive materials that produce more nuclear waste that has no place to go. Aiken needs the government/SRS to continue decontaminating the Superfund site, not expanding nuclear interests in the heart of our city.

The recent plutonium settlement monies, millions of which will be those tax payer dollars associated with the proposed SRS downtown lab, are state funds and must go to state political bodies (cities, towns, universities, counties, school districts, etc.) and not to any contractors. Since that money was a settlement due to the U.S. government’s failure to remove plutonium and other radioactive materials from SRS on a committed schedule (decades overdue), it should be repurposed to the cleanup mission. The critical need to continue the cleanup mission is highlighted by the recently released SRS plan indicating requirements to remediate cesium 137 detected in the site’s ponds, canal systems, creek banks and fish. The creek, Lower Three Runs, leads into the Savannah River. In humans, cesium 137 can cause skin burns, tumors and death.

And lastly, why is it necessary “to grow” Aiken’s downtown? It’s current state, popularity, and place for the community to enjoy is a model for success when compared to other small cities. Bringing in corporate-sized businesses will only detract from the charm that increasingly attracts people who come to enjoy and participate in it. Corporate office buildings will inevitably overshadow that alluring charm. Big business growth should occur on the edges of the town where space and parking is not an issue.

Universities with significant internship programs provide students with hands-on training at facilities where they are being trained to work. That suggests that the most advantageous location for the new SRS lab would should be the SRS site.

It’s time for Aikenites to decide if and how they want our downtown to grow, and speak out. Someone once said, “Things are run by those who show up.” A lot of people are saying they don’t speak out or show up because the officials no longer listen. Well, if enough of us show up and/or speak out often enough, we will be heard. Will Rogers said, “You get the government you deserve.” And, there are always the voting polls.

Dr. Rose O. Hayes, former member of the SRS CAB and chair of the Nuclear Materials Committee