Columbia, South Carolina – A pathway to terminate the troubled plutonium fuel (MOX) project at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) has been presented by the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.
In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, being considered by the committee chaired by Representative Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), conditions for termination of the bungled MOX project are outlined in the “chairman’s mark” for the legislation. The legislation authorizes $270 million for the MOX project but includes realistic provisions for termination of it.
The legislation, which still has yet to move through the legislative process, states that “Secretary of Energy may waive the requirement” to “carry out construction and project support activities relating to the MOX facility” if certain conditions are met.
— full SRS Watch news release linked here, with links to legislation in “notes”