The University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) has secured an estimated $34 million contract extending its environmental evaluation work with the Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site in North Carolina.
SREL, a seven-decade DOE onsite partner at SRS, said its scientists will continue assessing the environmental effects of the agency’s activities at the nuclear reservation for five more years.
Olin Rhodes Jr., the laboratory director, noted that his organization has provided the agency with scientific expertise in explaining the link between legacy contaminants and ecosystem and wildlife sustainability at the site.
“SREL has been a consistently valuable partner over the past 70 years, and the return on investment to DOE and the nation has been exceptional,” noted Mike Budney, DOE’s Savannah River operations manager.
UGA, the laboratory’s parent organization, is a member of the Battelle Savannah River Alliance, a Battelle-led consortium managing SRS.