Rob Pavey of the Augusta Chronicle reports that the multi-billion dollar plant to create weapons grade based reactor fuel has run into a major problem – no customers. The DOE’s Savannah River Site already burdened with a nuclear waste legacy is now the gathering place for the return of huge amounts of weapons grade nuclear materials. The very secretive National Nuclear Security Administration has been managing the Mox plant construction project that has been challenged by cost overruns, charges of racial discrimination, fraud and numerous technical problems. Now NNSA has to find customers after a test of Mox fuel failed in a Duke Power reactor. Duke was originally a partner in the Mox plant being built by Shaw Areva for DOE but dropod out when the test mox fuel array did not behave as expected in a reactor test.
Rob Pavey of the Augusta Chronicle reports that the multi-billion dollar plant to create weapons grade based reactor fuel has run into a major problem – no customers. The DOE’s Savannah River Site already burdened with a nuclear waste legacy is now the gathering place for the return of huge amounts of weapons grade nuclear materials. The very secretive National Nuclear Security Administration has been managing the Mox plant construction project that has been challenged by cost overruns, charges of racial discrimination, fraud and numerous technical problems. Now NNSA has to find customers after a test of Mox fuel failed in a Duke Power reactor. Duke was originally a partner in the Mox plant being built by Shaw Areva for DOE but dropod out when the test mox fuel array did not behave as expected in a reactor test.
