“Meeting 7: Disposal of Surplus Plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
Study in Progress: Public Meeting
Topics: Nuclear and Radiation Studies Nuclear and Radioactive Waste Management
May 2,
Blog
“McDermott and CB&I Stockholders Approve Proposed Combination” – company news release of May 2, 2018
How will the “combination” of McDermott and Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&) impact things at the MOX debacle, where CB&I Project Services Group is struggling with high worker turnover rates,
As Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Project-Termination Countdown Begins, More Problems with Project Revealed by DOE via FOIA Responses to Savannah River Site Watch
DOE Confirms Award Fee for MOX Services has been Terminated Starting with FY 2017; Annual Report on MOX Plant Not Delivered to Congress by February 15, as Legally Required,
“Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility—753% Over Baseline Budget”
Why haven’t fiscal conservatives rallied earlier to kill this chronic abuse of taxpayers?
in “Nuke Agency Needs Budget Accountability —
Just like the Pentagon,
Wish we were there – protest in Germany on April 28, 2018 against shipment of German highly radioactive spent fuel – stored now at Juelich – to SRS, or to a facility in Ahaus, Germany.
The “dump on SRS option” may still officially be on the table but it’s looking more and more like it’s dead.
What’s up concerning preparation of plutonium oxide – from nuclear weapons “pits” – for disposition of plutonium as waste?
Report by Los Alamos National lab: “ARIES Oxide Production Program at LANL,” February 2015, for the Government Accountability Office audit – presentation linked here
“SCE&G Nuclear Reactor Construction Fiasco Overshadows Parallel Failure of DOE’s Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Project at the Savannah River Site; New Nuclear Bomb Project Coming to SRS?”
Article in Spring 2018 edition of the Congaree Chronicle, South Carolina Sierra Club newsletter
Chronicle linked here (and here: https://tinyurl.com/y9esdzd4) see page 18 for article above;
Friends of the Earth, with SRS Watch staff support, has begun running ads on the SCE&G’s VC Summer nuclear reactor debacle.
See the April 26th hard copy of The State, Columbia, SC, or the April 27th edition of the Charleston (South Carolina) Post & Courier.
Digital adds, slightly different from the print ad are also being run –
In letter to SRS Watch, the new DOE site clean-up boss, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White, acknowledges the importance of hearing the views of the “local communities surrounding SRS”, congratulates SRS Watch for our work and looks forward to working together.
See April 26, 2018 letter to SRS Watch linked here.
DOE news release of March 30, 2018:
Anne Marie White Sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management
Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB), in report released on April 24, 2018, concludes that a undetected fire in the Solid Waste Management Facility could exceed the 2-hour response time, potentially posing a risk of higher radiation doses to workers
“Fire Detection and Response Time at the Solid Waste Management Facility at the Savannah River Site” – “Staff Issue Report” linked here
“Conclusion. The Board’s staff review team concluded that SWMF cannot adequately protect the assumption of a two-hour fire department response.
All Hail the Mothership! Nuclear Ship Savannah
“NUCLEAR SHIP SAVANNAH – ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT 15 TO REVISE
THE LICENSE TO ALLOW DISMANTLEMENT AND DISPOSAL”
In an April 23, 2018 letter and safety evaluation, the U.S.
“Was the 2007 law that jumpstarted S.C. nuclear project unconstitutional? Attorneys ask circuit judge to decide”
Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier, April 20, 2018
Article on US disposition of surplus weapons plutonium, with SRS Watch – has some errors in it and High Flyer was not credited with MOX plant photo
“America’s nuclear headache: old plutonium with nowhere to go”
Reuters, April 20, 2018
U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission, April 20, 2018 – assessment of DOE’s monitoring of environmental leaks from the high-level nuclear waste tanks at SRS.
The tanks and the highly radioactive waste in them are the biggest environmental threat at the site. See: “TECHNICAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORTS FOR F-AREA [FTF] AND H-AREA TANK FARM [HTF] FACILITIES”
Friends of the Earth (with SRS Watch staff support) and Sierra Club in article on news event on Dominion Energy’s performance in Virginia
“Critics Warn SC Legislators Against Dominion, Citing Actions in Virginia”
Free Times, Columbia, South Carolina weekly, April 18, 2018
Attention MOX workers, April 12, 2018
Please let us know what expectations you have as the MOX project enters the termination phase. As we don’t hear a single politician or DOE manager speaking up for you,
Combined News Posts March & April 2018
Friends of the Earth (with SRS Watch staff support) mentioned in article on how Dominion Energy – which wants to take over SCANA/SCE&G – is not such a good actor back home in Virginia:
“Utility trying to buy SCANA draws fire for its influence,
Radioactive Mouse Found in High-Level Radioactive Waste Tank Area at Savannah River Site; Mouse Reported to have Radioactive Surface Contamination More than 10 Times Levels in Regulations
Radioactive Mouse Incident Rises to Level of being only “Occurrence” Reported in SRS “Quarterly Legacy Contamination Report, January 2018 Through March 2018”
Columbia, South Carolina – A mouse contaminated with a high level of radioactive material was found in a building located in the midst of tanks storing highly radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site,
NRC Confirms that it No Longer has Resident Inspector at Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Plant, Claiming Lack of Work; Admission Comes as Pro-MOX Senator States MOX Completion Far Below Earlier Claims
Memo on Needed “Rework” at MOX Plant Obtained via FOIA Request, Gives Hint at Extent of Construction Problems and Who Might Pay – Rework and Contractor Performance Merit Investigation
Columbia,
Congressional Funding Keeps Bungled MOX Project at Shut-Down Funding Level, Accepts Defense Committee Language for Conditions to Terminate MOX, Pursue Alternative and Remove Plutonium from S. Carolina
Columbia, SC – The budget deal revealed by Congress keeps the troubled plutonium fuel (MOX) project at the Savannah River Site on life support and, in a significant new move,
ALERT TO MOX CRAFT WORKERS!
The spending agreement – linked in the SRS Watch news release below – allows Secretary Perry to terminate the MOX boondoggle 30 days after DOE has met the requirements for termination.
DOE Reveals it has No Plans to Receive Plutonium or Weapon-Grade Uranium (“Special Nuclear Material”) or Nuclear Weapons from North Korea, in Surprise Response to FOIA Request
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Response to SRS Watch linked here
Is Response Accurate or is there No Formal DOE Plan for Fate of N.
DOE Posts NNSA Budget Request, Confirms Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Fiasco “Final Termination” at Savannah River Site in 2021, Focus on “Dilute & Dispose” for Plutonium Disposition
Budget Request States Plans is to Ramp up Dilute & Dispose to Remove “1 metric ton (MT) of Plutonium from the State of South Carolina” and Dispose of 34 Metric Tons
National Nuclear Security Administration Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2019:
https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/02/f49/DOE-FY2019-Budget-Volume-1.pdf
Columbia,
Combined News Posts February 2018
Is operation of the H-Canyon reprocessing plant safe as long as it remains a question if the radiation exhaust tunnel can perform its safety function?
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for February 23,
SRS Documents Debunk its Own Hyped Up “Drone Scare of 2016”
Does this SRS photo look like a drone to you? If so, please call the Savannah River Site and apply for a security job.
SRS Watch news,
SRS Watch Congratulates Trump Administration for Sticking with Sound Policy to Terminate Plutonium MOX Construction Fiasco at Savannah River Site
SRS Watch news release linked here
—– Friends of the Earth 2013 – Oink! youtube video on MOX fiasco – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2PTwods3Y4
New Aerial Photos of Our 3 New-Nuclear Construction Debacles Released: MOX, Vogtle, VC Summer
February 5, 2018, Columbia, S.C. – New aerial photos of the three U.S. nuclear construction fiascos located in South Carolina or on the border have been released.
This Cool Cat Smells a Stinky MOX Rat
President Trump: RELEASE THE MOX MEMO!!!!
It’s February 2, 2018 and it’s time to release the memo outlining how the the plutonium MOX project at SRS failed and can never be made to work!
Combined News Posts January 2018 & December 2017
South Carolina Public Service Commission Spanks South Carolina Electric & Gas and Dominion- Request for “Expedited Hearing” in VC Summer Nuclear Debacle is Denied
On January 31, 2018,
Picture SRS Watch Director Wins Conservation Award
Tom Clements, the director of Savannah River Site Watch and senior adviser with Friends of the Earth, was presented the “Conservationist of the Year” award by the South Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club at its annual awards banquet in Columbia,