GERMANTOWN, MD (August 19, 2019) – AECOM, a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, has safely completed the decontamination and demolition (D&D) of the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) nuclear facilities at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) near Niskayuna, New York. AECOM helped to eliminate the possibility of radioactive and chemical releases from the legacy Cold War facilities to the surrounding environment.
“We’re very grateful for the many men and women that successfully completed this high-hazard work under very difficult conditions,” said John Vollmer, AECOM’s president of its Management Services group. “The completion of the cleanup is a major accomplishment that not only reduces the environmental risk to the community and the State of New York, but also aids our DOE client in accelerating the momentum of its Environmental Management mission.”
“Congratulations to the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and our AECOM team on this transformational accomplishment,” said Mark Whitney, AECOM’s executive vice president and general manager of Nuclear & Environment strategic business unit. “The challenges of the SPRU project were unparalleled in the industry and following the cleanup of this land, we are thrilled that it can now be transferred back to the Office of Naval Reactors Laboratory Field Office.”
SPRU was a research project built in the early 1950’s to develop chemical processes for separating plutonium and uranium from irradiated materials for use in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. The SPRU project at KAPL consisted of two contaminated buildings totaling about 50,000 square feet, land immediately adjacent to the buildings, and approximately 27 acres of land where waste materials were managed.
Information on the SPRU project is available on the SPRU web page (http://spru.energy.gov/).
About AECOM
AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build, finance and operate critical infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations. As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and experience across our global network of experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, our work is transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $20.2 billion during fiscal year 2018. See how we deliver what others can only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.
Media Contact:
Keith Wood
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
803.502.5748
Keith.Wood@aecom.com