Savannah River Mission Completion in Aiken names new president

Savannah River Mission Completion, the liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site, has named Thomas Burns Jr. the new president and program manager for the company.

Burns takes over for Dave Olson, who is retiring from the project effective June 6, according to a news release. Olson has been the SRMC president and program manager since the company won the contract more than three years ago. Olson also served as president of the former SRS liquid waste contractor from 2011 to 2013.

Olson said that he is proud of all the accomplishments that have been reached on the mission to treat and dispose of the high-activity radioactive waste at SRS, the release stated.

According to the release, Under Olson’s leadership, SRMC has:

• Worked more than 21 million hours without injury that’s caused a missed workday;
• Ensured all facilities are operating safely, with disciplined operations, and with greater efficiency and processed more than 6 million gallons of salt waste; and
• Met five key regulatory milestones to remove waste from and clean tanks to ready them for operational closure.

“My time on this project work has been a great opportunity to help make a difference in a nationally significant environmental clean-up program,” Olson said in the release. “While I have enjoyed my tenure as president, I look forward to spending more time with my family.”

Burns brings more than 25 years of nuclear and engineering experience to the team in the management, design and construction and operation of complex nuclear material processing and waste disposition facilities, according to the release.

“Dave Olson has set the table for us moving forward,” Burns said in the release. “We all owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for the work he has done to establish this new contract successfully.”

Burns added that he wants to see the liquid waste work continue to safely accelerate.

“We are in the business of immobilizing liquid waste to protect people, the plant, and the environment,” Burns said in the release. “SRMC is the international model for the work we do, how to conduct it safely, and how to ensure the government gets the best value for the funding. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our employees to execute our mission with excellence.”

Burns currently serves as the chief engineer for SRMC, a position he has held for more than three years. In this role, he provided solution-based engineering to support field execution. Prior to this role, he served as the chief engineer for the BWXT’s Technical Services Group, providing overall technical leadership to the broad BWXT nuclear portfolio, the release stated.

Before joining BWXT, Burns served as a senior vice president for Parsons Corp., where he was the deputy project manager and director of engineering for the SRS Salt Waste Processing Facility Project, the final key SRS facility needed to process and dispose of the legacy nuclear waste.

Burns earned his Ph.D., master’s, and bachelor’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia.

SRMC comprises parent company BWX Technologies, Inc. with partners Amentum and Fluor. Its team brings the capabilities necessary to accelerate cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site through safe nuclear operations, optimized and integrated mission execution and strong corporate governance, the release stated.