Savannah River lab receives US Energy Dept awards

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — A research lab at a former nuclear weapons complex near Aiken has won two awards from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Officials said Thursday that the Savannah River National Laboratory had been recognized with a DOE Environmental Sustainability Award for renewable technology.

Another award recognizes a Recovery Act-funded project testing technology to remove tritium from contaminated concrete and soil.

The 310-square-mile SRS complex once produced plutonium and tritium for atomic bombs. Work there is now primarily focused on environmental cleanup and research.