Plutonium reprocessing Energy Department suspends work on controversial plutonium reprocessing project
The Obama administration has decided to put on hold its plans to complete construction on a South Carolina reprocessing facility which would convert nuclear weapon-grade plutonium into reactor fuel. The suspension of work on the project is part of the fiscal 2015 budget plan the administration unveiled Tuesday. The project has been hobbled by delays and massive cost-overruns, and experts says security and safety concerns have not been adequately addressed.
The Savannah River waste reprocessing plant // Source: gwu.edu
The Obama administration has decided to put on hold its plans to complete construction on a South Carolina reprocessing facility which would convert nuclear weapon-grade plutonium into reactor fuel. The suspension of work on the project is part of the fiscal 2015 budget plan the administration unveiled Tuesday.
The facility, some arts of which are already built, would convert plutonium into mixed-oxide fuel. “A review of this approach has determined that the MOX fuel approach is significantly more expensive than planned and it is not viable within the FY 2015 funding levels,” said a summary of the Energy Department budget proposal, released by the White House.
“The Department of Energy is developing alternative approaches to plutonium disposition and will engage with stakeholder to determine a viable alternative,” the statement continued. “As a result, the MOX project will be placed in cold standby while an alternative approach is determined.”
Critics of the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site applauded the decision.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) welcomed the Department of Energy’s (DOE) decision to halt work on the project while it examines an alternative way to dispose of surplus plutonium from nuclear weapons programs.
UCS notes that it has long been concerned about the MOX program’s security and safety risks, in addition to its massive cost, now estimated at $30 billion (see “Cost of plutonium disposal facility skyrockets,” HSNW, 25 February 2014).
“Converting this plutonium to a form that would be harder to steal or reuse in nuclear weapons is an essential long-term goal,” said Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist in the UCS Global Security Program. “But the MOX strategy would have greatly increased near-term risks by making it easier for terrorists to steal plutonium during processing, transport or storage at reactors.”
In addition, Lyman said using plutonium-based fuel in nuclear reactors would increase the risk of a serious nuclear reactor accident.
“The DOE has already wasted billions on this risky project. It’s time to pursue a cheaper and safer alternative,” said Lyman, a physicist. “Congress should follow the administration’s lead and terminate this ill-advised program.”
