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, waste, abuse, mismanagement, wasteful spending and lack of proper oversight?
“Trump administration axes project to generate power from plutonium” – Reuters, May 13, 2018 – article linked here
Articles with SRS Watch on the MOX boondoogle & pit issue:
1. “Billions of dollars later, Energy Department pulls plug on partly built nuclear fuel plant”
Washington Post, May 11, 2018 – article linked here
2. “Los Alamos would lose some future bomb production under new Trump administration plan”
Center for Public Integrity, May 11, 2018 – article linked here
3. “Will scrapping atomic fuel plant actually bring jobs to SC?”
The State, Columbia, SC, May 10, 2018 – article linked here
4. “Plan recommends Savannah River Site and Los Alamos for pit production; MOX facility would be repurposed”
Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle, May 10, 2018 – article linked here
NNSA news release of late on the afternoon of Thursday, May 10:
National Nuclear Security Administration
U.S Department of Energy
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Contact: NNSA Public Affairs, (202) 586-7371
Joint Statement from Ellen M. Lord and Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty on Recapitalization of Plutonium Pit Production
WASHINGTON – An evolving and uncertain geopolitical landscape calls for the United States to recapitalize its defense plutonium capabilities. The Nuclear Weapons Council (NWC) has certified that the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) recommended alternative for recapitalization of these capabilities is acceptable and represents a resilient and responsive option to meet Department of Defense (DoD) requirements.
To achieve DoD’s 80 pits per year requirement by 2030, NNSA’s recommended alternative repurposes the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to produce plutonium pits while also maximizing pit production activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. This two-prong approach – with at least 50 pits per year produced at Savannah River and at least 30 pits per year at Los Alamos – is the best way to manage the cost, schedule, and risk of such a vital undertaking. Furthermore, by maintaining Los Alamos as the Nation’s Plutonium Center of Excellence for Research and Development, the recommended alternative improves the resiliency, flexibility, and redundancy of our Nuclear Security Enterprise by not relying on a single production site.
NNSA conducted an analysis of alternatives, an engineering assessment, and a workforce analysis by both internal and external experts to develop the recommended alternative.
The approved plan is the result of effective interagency collaboration between DoD and the Department of Energy’s NNSA. We share a deep commitment to recapitalizing the capabilities the United States needs to deter its adversaries and assure our allies and partners. Plutonium pit production is a priority for both of us, and through the NWC, we will regularly coordinate and monitor the progress.
Additional information can be found in this fact sheet.
Ellen M. Lord is the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She also serves as the Chair of the NWC.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty is the Department of Energy Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. She is a member of the NWC.
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Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. Visit www.energy.gov/nnsa for more information.