The Energy Department has awarded $5 million to five institutions to focus on workforce development and the goal of developing 50 plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site. Among the institutions are two University of South Carolina campuses and Augusta University.

The environmental impact of plutonium pit production will be assessed at the Savannah River Site, said the Energy Department. The National Nuclear Security Administration will assess the production of 50 pits per year.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has asked Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to keep a Japanese plutonium shipment from arriving at the Savannah River Site. In a letter to Moniz, Haley told him to either stop or reroute the shipment, which contains 331 kilograms of plutonium.

The Energy Department has solicited ideas on the design of saltstone disposal units, which will store low-activity waste grout at South Carolina's Savannah River Site. "The goal of this inquiry is to ascertain from industry experts the most cost-effective and timely way to design and construct SDUs with sufficient capacity to maintain uninterrupted liquid waste processing at SRS," the department said.

Disposing of weapons-grade plutonium at a New Mexico repository rather than converting it into mixed-oxide fuel at the Savannah River Site could save the U.S. $400 million per year, according to an unreleased study ordered by the Energy Department. The program's budget would have to be increased from $400 million to at least $700 million to be successful, the study said.