Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
5/8/2015
In another step by the Obama Administration away from the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the long-awaited Surplus Plutonium Disposition Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement no longer includes MOX as a “preferred alternative” for disposing of the material. The National Nuclear Security Administration recently posted the final SEIS for the disposition of surplus plutonium, which had been scheduled for release in early 2013 but was put on hold after the NNSA began looking into MOX alternatives. There is “no preferred alternative at this time” for either disposition or the sites or facilities used to prepare the material for disposition, the latest SEIS states. MOX was included among the “preferred alternative” in a draft version.
When asked about the change in the final version, NNSA spokeswoman Shelley Laver said in a written response: “Release of the Final SPD Supplemental EIS preserves all options for decisions related to surplus plutonium disposition. DOE is not in a position to make decisions on the issues presented in this Final SPD Supplemental EIS in the short term.”
EIS Doesn’t Cover Material in U.S.-Russia Agreement
The draft version of the document completed in July 2012 lists the MOX fuel option as the preferred alternative, which includes use of the MOX plant in combination with facilities at Los Alamos, Savannah River and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The study only covers the 13.1 metric tons of surplus plutonium for which there is no official disposition pathway, and doesn’t aim “to reconsider DOE’s previous decisions about pursuing the MOX fuel approach for 34 metric tons (37.5 tons) of weapons-grade plutonium” the SEIS states.
Under an agreement with Russia, the larger batch of material is still officially to be turned to MOX fuel in the facility being built at the Savannah River Site. “By completing this Final SPD Supplemental EIS, DOE will be in the best position to take actions to remove surplus plutonium from the State of South Carolina, and to disposition 13.1 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium, once issues concerning the availability of WIPP and the future of the MFFF are clarified,” Laver said. Once a preferred alternative is identified it will be announced in a Federal Register notice and will be followed by a Record of Decision within 30 days, according to the SEIS. MOX contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services referred request for comment to NNSA.
Future of MOX Still Up in the Air
The MOX facility has faced numerous challenges since the Administration moved to pause the project in 2013, citing increasing costs. That move caused a backlash from lawmakers, with many urging the Administration to complete the facility and increasing appropriations for the project above DOE’s request. The delayed release of the SEIS comes after the completion of a Congressionally-mandated study last month on plutonium disposition alternatives that found it could cost nearly $52 billion to complete and operate the MOX Fabrication Facility, while downblending and disposing of surplus weapons-grade plutonium would be a significantly less expensive approach. That is a huge increase over DOE MOX lifecycle cost estimates last year that came in at $29 billion, already a big boost over previous estimates.
After the release of the SEIS, Tom Clements of the advocacy group SRS Watch called once again for a shutdown of the MOX program. “The decision by DOE to officially back away from the MOX option is the only sensible thing the department could do as it is obvious that the MOX program is no longer financially viable and must be terminated,” Clements said in a statement. “Now that DOE no longer supports the MOX option, it is urgent that Congress halt the MOX project by withdrawing funding and that DOE get on with deploying cheaper and safer options at SRS to dispose of plutonium as waste. Immobilization of plutonium in high-level nuclear waste at SRS must take top priority as DOE reviews non-MOX options.”
