Press Releases

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), and U.S. Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today jointly announced an additional $10 million in funding to dismantle the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) in southern Washington County, Arkansas. 

SEFOR was decommissioned as a 20-megawat sodium-cooled nuclear test reactor in 1974. The University of Arkansas took possession of the facility in 1975 and has served as caretaker of the site. In previous fiscal years, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the University of Arkansas funding to begin the dismantling of SEFOR, and the first phase of the cleanup was completed in September 2017. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which passed on March 23, 2018, provided crucial final funding to complete the effort to decommission and dismantle SEFOR.

University of Arkansas Chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz: “The funding we have received for fully decommissioning this project would have neither been possible nor happened without the efforts and hard work by Rep. Steve Womack, Sen. John Boozman, and their collective staff members. Finalizing this project was a long time coming, and I can think of no better example of public servants who put the needs and safety of their constituents at a higher priority than Rep. Womack and Sen. Boozman — a decades-old problem will now be eliminated and that will benefit the University and the State of Arkansas for generations to come.”

U.S. Senator John Boozman: “Completing the cleanup of SEFOR has been a longtime priority for the University of Arkansas, and I’ve worked to support this goal. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have long advocated for federal funding to decommission SEFOR in a safe and responsible manner. I’m pleased to have helped secure the resources needed to finish the cleanup.”

U.S. Representative Steve Womack: “Decommissioning and dismantling SEFOR has been a top priority for the University of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas communities. I am pleased DOE has committed the resources sufficient to accelerate completion of this long overdue project. I will continue to monitor the diligent SEFOR cleanup efforts.”

Congressman Steve Womack has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget and is a member of the House Appropriations defense, military construction-veterans affairs, and labor-health and human services subcommittees.

womack.house.gov  

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