Handyman Insurance, MOX Project’s Rising Costs a Challenge for DOE Plutonium Program
A Dept. of Energy-sanctioned report on plutonium disposition alternatives, citing uncertainties related to design and construction of the Mixed-Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility project in South Carolina, indicates shifting to a new approach would be less costly than continuing to pursue the MOX program. The report—prepared by The Aerospace Corp. for the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration—estimates the life-cycle program cost of converting weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel at $47.5 billion. By comparison, downblending, which plutonium is mixed with other materials, would cost $17.2 billion.