Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: Critics Challenge Security at Savannah MOX Fuel Plant

Monday, April 4, 2011

Critics Challenge Security at Savannah MOX Fuel Plant

A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission board on Friday permitted critics of the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina to present an indictment of protective measures at the site, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 4).
The ruling by the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board enables activist groups to challenge the efficacy of preparations by Shaw Areva MOX Services to protect weapon-grade plutonium intended for conversion into reactor fuel at the plant.
The challenge would address perceived shortcomings in the facility's ability to protect the plutonium it would house, said Lou Zeller, science director for the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. There are also worries over management of the MOX fuel that would be intended for atomic energy plants.