Study examining MOX plant’s future

The future of a plan to convert weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear fuel at the Savannah River Site is being “critically’’ examined as the federal government considers whether to shelve the multi-billion dollar effort, a state atomic advisory committee was told Thursday.

An independent consulting team is expected to file a report assessing the mixed oxide fuel program next month with the U.S. Department of Energy, an agency official said. After that, the DOE would decide the future of the program once envisioned as a way to safely dispose of bomb-grade plutonium, but which has become increasingly costly.

Pete Hanlon, an assistant deputy administrator with the DOE in Washington, said he hopes a decision would be made “sooner rather than later,’’ although he declined to provide a more specific date when pressed by the chairwoman of the S.C. Nuclear Advisory Council during a meeting in Columbia.

At issue is whether to continue building the mixed oxide fuel factory at the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site, a nuclear weapons complex near the Georgia border. The factory, which is nearly 70 percent complete, has cost the government about $5 billion so far. It could cost $30 billion over the life of the project, known as MOX, to make plutonium-blended fuel for nuclear power plants, according to the DOE.

“Based on the challenging budget environment, this higher rising lifecycle costs to the program, we as the stewards of taxpayer dollars need to go and critically examine the MOX approach along side other approaches that could accomplish this very important mission,’’ Hanlon said.

Construction of the MOX plant is part of a nuclear non-proliferation agreement the U.S. struck with Russia about fifteen years ago. Under the agreement, each country is supposed to get rid of 34 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium it no longer needs-- but which could fall into the hands of rogue nations. By making nuclear fuel from plutonium, the material would not be easy for terrorists to steal or for either government to use for bombs in the future.

Now, the Obama Administration is considering whether to cancel the program, in favor of other ways to meet the terms of the treaty. Not only is the program expensive, but the DOE still is looking for power companies that would use the fuel. Duke Energy, a DOE partner at one time, pulled out of the deal years ago.

Of equal concern in South Carolina is whether the state gets stuck with tons of excess plutonium that was shipped to SRS for processing. Many say the government should stand firm in its commitment to move the material off of SRS by completing the MOX plant.

Plutonium is a deadly component long used in nuclear weapons that also is toxic to the environment and human health.

“We have got to get rid of this stuff,’’ advisory panel chairwoman Karen Patterson said. “We have a cobra by the tail.’’

The MOX plant has been popular with SRS boosters as a way to create jobs as the site looks for new missions. Supporters, among them Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham,. R-S.C., say the plant should be completed – particularly because it is so far along and the government made a previous commitment.

But instead of building the MOX plant, DOE officials say another way to get rid of the plutonium may be to mix the radioactive material with other material. That makes it hard for governments – or terrorists – to turn the blend into nuclear weapons, officials say. The blended material would then be shipped to a salt cavern in New Mexico for disposal.

The process, known as down-blending, makes “it very difficult, if not impossible, to separate the plutonium out,’’ Hanlon said, referring to the threat of terrorists who might try to get the plutonium. “Then if you bury it in a salt mine, 200 feet below ground. ... is the terrorist going to get a hold of that?’’

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Study examining MOX plant’s future."