Monitors a host of energy and nuclear issues from a public interest perspective
Last Shot at Saving his Favorite Boondoggle Next Year, but his Approach could Backfire, Spelling Doom for Workers who would be Involved in Project Termination and Facility Repurposing
The bogus save-MOX amendment by Senator Graham in the Senate Armed Services Committees would disallow any funds from being spent on project termination or reuse of the MOX plant.
Chair of Energy & Water Subcommittee – Senator Alexander – and Ranking Member – Senator Feinstein – stand by MOX termination; Senator Lindsey Graham rants in support of the MOX fiasco with various Inaccurate and misleading statements (hoping nobody notices),
See the “REPORT” that goes with “ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2019,” page 107:
“MOX Construction.—The Committee recommends $220,000,000 for closeout costs associated with the termination of MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility construction,
Will a permanent stop work order be issued by August 13 – 90 days after the May 14 “partial stop work order” – to halt all construction on the the failed MOX project?
“2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the Atomic Age. The Savannah River Watershed is host to 5 commercial nuclear reactors, a nuclear bomb complex, a radioactive waste dump. and 2 new reactors under construction.
blog by Tom Clements, SRS Watch, for International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), May 23, 2018 – with links to key documents
posted on IPFM website at:
http://fissilematerials.org/blog/2018/05/us_department_of_energy_t.html
Where’s the MOX termination plan?
McDermott/CB&I/Orana/Areva MOX Services documents massive amounts of material stored in warehouses via its “MOX TV.” For example, see video for February 28,
1. The State of South Carolina claims – in a May 22 letter linked here – that it will bring a lawsuit to try and save MOX,
We’ll get to see how the broken MOX spin machine is reacting to the bitter defeat of MOX termination. SRS Watch will be there to observe and comment.
SOUTH CAROLINA NUCLEAR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING
Oconee Nuclear Station
Operations Training Center,
May 21, 2018 letter to Congress on new nuclear bomb facility to make plutonium “pits” for nuclear weapons – letter led by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and signed by SRS Watch and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico
Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Feinstein:
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced last week that it plans to repurpose the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina to produce plutonium pits used in nuclear weapons.
Charleston (South Carolina) Post & Courier, front page print edition, Sunday, May 20, 2018
The article compares MOX termination to the failed construction by South Carolina Electric &
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) notes problems at the Savannah River National Laboratory – Matters not revealed by DOE and (as far as we know) not covered by local media,
– meeting looks to be closed to the public – to discuss concerns about safe operation at the Savannah River Site
“Savannah River Site Conduct of Operations Safety Management”
DOE oversight entity – Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety board – raises more question with SRS about safety of the radioactive gas “exhaust tunnel” from the H-Canyon reprocessing plant. Would the tunnel collapse under seismic stress?
see “TECHNICAL REVIEW: GROUNDWATER MONITORING AT AND
NEAR THE PLANNED SALTSTONE DISPOSAL FACILITY
(DOCKET NO. PROJ0734),” May 17, 2018 – linked here
Conclusion: “The Z Area groundwater characterization study documented a plume in SRNS-RP-2015-00902.
It was good to interact with the public about the failed SCE&G nuclear reactor construction project, the plutonium fuel (MOX) debacle at the Savannah River Site & the sketchy plans by DOE to build a new nuclear bomb plants at SRS (for production of “pits”
20 Year of Fighting this Misguided Boondoggle has Finally Paid Off for the Public!!!
Union of Concerned Scientists, May 14, 2018 new release on mismanaged MOX project termination –
MOX Boondoggle Backers Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Joe Wilson Staggered by Shameful Lo$$
With official MOX termination looming, who in Congress, DOE and MOX Services will be held accountable for MOX fraud,
The analysis of DOE facilities to manufacture the plutonium cores (pits) for nuclear weapons is due to Congress in less than a month. That report will, in part, analyze DOE sites for location of a facility to produce about 50 pits per year.
DOE aims to trade MOX debacle for nuclear weapons production
SRS Watch news release, May 10, 2018 – linked here
Initial DOE Decision Expected on New Nuclear Bomb Plant;
UPDATE of the afternoon of May 10: McDermott may now be the contractor to oversee MOX termination
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission informs CB&I AREVA MOX Services that it has received CB&I notice that ownership is changing to McDermott International,
Who will be held accountable for this massive rip-off of US
taxpayers?
Secretary of Energy Perry delivered to Congress the “waiver” – in the form of a memo on the lifecycle cost estimate of the non-MOX “dilute and dispose”
The last MOX funds for construction will be spent 30 days after delivery of this letter – on June 10, 2018. Letter linked here.
Perry sent his waiver letter on MOX construction and we wave goodbye to MOX and say good riddance.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Office of Cost Estimating and Program Evaluation (CEPE)
Surplus Plutonium Disposition Dilute and Dispose Option Independent Cost Estimate (ICE) Report
April 2018
And linked in UCS news release: Energy Department Makes the Right Decision to Kill MOX Program
May 9, 2018 alert: DOE’s 2nd COUNTDOWN relevant to SRS is about to begin – delivery to Congress of the costs analysis of MOX vs. “dilute & dispose” for disposition of surplus weapons plutonium.
Freedom of Information Act response, April 24, 2018, to SRS Watch – citing no documents found by NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NA-20) – linked here
SRS Watch news release of March 15,
Plutonium “pit” production would unnecessarily expand the nuclear weapons role of SRS and result in import of plutonium into South Carolina and produce a host of toxic waste streams likely to be dumped on site.
Will funding in Fiscal Year 2019 for termination of the badly bungled MOX project be discussed?
Energy & Water Subcommittee website linked here
Subcommittee Markup –
The funding request for Fiscal Year 2019, according to Chairman Simpson, would allow for only “a limited amount of construction at the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility” as termination details are developed and implemented.
According to the May 4, 2018 edition of the Exchange Monitor, Virginia Kay, deputy director of the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Material Disposition, said that the report would be delivered in a “Juneish”
