Global infrastructure firm AECOM 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.  In this challenging project, AECOM helped eliminate the possibility of radioactive and chemical releases from the legacy Cold War facilities to the surrounding environment.

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.  The removal of hazardous materials at this site will allow the Department of Energy (DOE) to move forward with its Environmental Management mission.