Nuclear plant safety

By Staff Reports

We have long been skeptical about a federal program to convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear plants. But if the program is to go forward, the new conversion facility at least should be built properly.

Construction on the mixed oxide -- or MOX -- fuel plant began in 2007 at the Savannah River Site near Aiken. The nearly $5 billion plant is scheduled to be working by 2016.

When completed, the site is expected to process more than 75,000 pounds of plutonium that will be sent from Washington state, California, New Mexico and Texas. MOX fuel mixes conventional uranium with plutonium taken from the nation's surplus weapons stocks. Processing that much plutonium is projected to take about 13 years.

Last week, however, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission warned those in charge of the project that bad concrete and faulty reinforcing steel in the foundation of the plant could pose problems. NRC officials said the faulty work resulted from a lack of contractor oversight.

The NRC warned that the problems could cause long and expensive construction delays. The bigger question, though, is whether the facility will be sound once it starts processing plutonium.

Though similar to uranium, MOX fuel does not behave identically, which necessitates modifying existing nuclear power plants to use MOX. Duke Energy halted testing of MOX fuel at its Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie in August, when it found unusual changes in the plant's assemblies.

The problem was that alloy "guide tubes" in MOX assemblies, in which control rods are inserted to shut down the reactor, grew in length. While it is not unusual for metals to expand in the intense heat of a nuclear reactor, these grew more than expected.

Clearly, if the nation is determined to continue with this project, it requires constant, careful oversight in every aspect, especially the construction of the new MOX fuel conversion plant. If this plan goes forward, the nation at least should be able to rest assured that the MOX plant is constructed solidly, not built on a foundation of bad concrete and reinforcing steel.