News-Record.com

The article on the Army wanting to set up light-infantry training grounds at the Savannah River Site and National Laboratory ("Army looks to S.C. nuclear site for training in total darkness," Dec. 24, page B4) suggested that the reservation occupies only 310 acres in South Carolina. In fact, the Savannah River Site is spread out over 310 square miles and encompasses portions of Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties. The site was built during the 1950s to generate and refine nuclear materials for deployment in nuclear weapons.

As the Associated Press story indicated, the original production facilities, such as reactors and heavy-water separations, waste storage tanks and analytical laboratories for nuclear materials, occupy about 10 percent of the area, leaving the majority of the land available for alternative uses. However, given the highly sensitive and secure nature of this site, the uses are extremely restricted. It is debatable whether the Army should be allowed to conduct training operations under such conditions.

Continued research into alternative forms of energy (e.g., hydrogen), safe disposal of radioactive waste and the ecological effects of ionizing radiation and heavy elements seem to be more desirable uses of this unusual chunk of land.

James L. Wilmer
Stokesdale