As part of the conversation on the ongoing situation in Japan, there have been some questions about MOX (Mixed Oxied) fuel. A brief released yesterday from the American Nuclear Society (ANS) specifically concludes that:

“Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel has been used safely in nuclear power reactors for decades, and the presence of a limited number of MOX fuel assemblies at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 has not had a significant impact on the ability to cool the reactor or on any radioactive releases from the site due to damage from the earthquake and tsunami.”

A clear explanation of the situation can be found below in the summary of the brief prepared by the ANS Special Committee on Nuclear Nonproliferation below:

At the time of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 was operating with 32 mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies and 516 low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel assemblies in its reactor core. In other words, less than 6% of the fuel in the Unit 3 core was MOX fuel. There were no other MOX fuel assemblies (new, in operation or used) at the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the time of the accident.

MOX fuel assemblies were loaded into Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 for the first time in the fall of 2010. The MOX fuel had been used for less than five months at the time of the accident. Differences in initial fuel composition between MOX and LEU fuel can lead to differences in consequences (prompt fatalities and latent cancers) following a core damage event with releases to the environment.

There are indications that Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 suffered damage to some of its core. The core damage resulted from a loss of core cooling due to damage to plant systems from the tsunami that followed the earthquake. The damage was not related to the presence of MOX fuel.

There have been no prompt fatalities as a result of radiation exposure from Fukushima Daiichi. Prompt evacuation has minimized radiation exposure to the public, so long-term public health consequences from radiation exposure are expected to be small. Given the small number of MOX fuel assemblies at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 at the time of the event, coupled with the short time of irradiation of the MOX fuel, it can be concluded that MOX fuel has had and will have no perceptible impact on any consequences from the event.

Continue reading the rest of the document here for even further background information.

Last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its final Safety Evaluation Report for the MOX (mixed oxide) Fuel Fabrication Facility. Currently under construction on the Savannah River Site, the MOX Facility is a Department of Energy program to construct a facility that will convert former nuclear weapons material into nuclear fuel as part of an arms reduction agreement with Russia. This nuclear fuel will be used by commercial reactors and, in doing so, will make the materials unusable for weapons.
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By Robert W. Gee, President, Gee Strategies Group LLC

A critical part of the used fuel recycling process is the ability to deploy plutonium to create mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for civilian nuclear reactors.  This visit was an opportunity to see how MOX fuel is manufactured and integrated into nuclear fuel assemblies.  Although this is a highly technical, automated process, a high degree of additional human interaction is relied upon, particularly for quality control.  Sophisticated instrumentation is combined with direct human visual examination in the production of nuclear fuel “pellets”, and fuel assembly. A big takeaway was that no matter how advanced or automated this type of production has become, this experience served as reminder of how essential live visual oversight remains.  Robots can accelerate the pace and volume of global manufacturing, but nothing can substitute for direct human decision making to ensure production integrity. I couldn’t resist the irony:  In many respects, we remain wedded to “low tech” observational means even as we push the envelope with this 21st Century technology.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its draft safety evaluation report on the MOX (mixed oxide) Fuel Fabrication Facility, a project under construction at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

Shaw AREVA MOX Services, a joint venture of the two leading energy companies, is building the $4.86 billion facility which will help support our nation’s nonproliferation goals by converting weapons-grade material into MOX fuel for U.S. nuclear power plants.

While the report does not make a decision about licensing the plant, a decision which is still years away, it does represent the NRC’s preliminary assessment “that the facility would not pose an undue risk to worker and public health and safety.”

Click here for more information on the MOX project.

Please see below a response from a DOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) spokesperson to an innaccurate and misleading new release issued yesterday by an anti-nuclear organization regarding MOX fuel and the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. As we have mentioned many times here, AREVA has many satisfied MOX fuel customers around the world and decades of experience in producing safe, efficient MOX fuel assemblies. Here is the NNSA statement:

“The news release issued today by Friends of the Earth is inaccurate and draws incorrect conclusions about the performance of the MOX lead test assemblies and the overall state of the Department’s mixed oxide fuel program at the Savannah River Site.  Shaw AREVA MOX Services and the National Nuclear Security Administration remain steadfast in our commitment to dispose of surplus weapons plutonium in a manner that results in the safe, affordable, and carbon-free generation of electricity for the benefit of American public.  Not only will the fuel produced at the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility produce enough energy to power one million homes for 50 years, but the disposal of weapon-grade plutonium is a key component of President Obama’s commitment to strengthening international arms control and nonproliferation programs.  In addition, the Department of Energy has evaluated numerous approaches for disposing of surplus weapon-grade plutonium and, simply put, there is no, ‘cheaper, safer and faster alternative.’  This critical project also is important for the Southeastern region of the United States, where it will create jobs and stimulate the local economy.” –NNSA Spokesperson Jennifer Wagner

Today marks an important step for Japan’s energy independence and for the future of the nuclear industry.  As World Nuclear News and others are reporting, Kyushu Electric Power Company restarted Unit 3 of the Genkai nuclear power plant using MOX (mixed oxide) fuel recycled at AREVA’s MELOX facility in Marcoule, France.  Eventually, the Genkai plant plans to use MOX fuel at one-quarter of their 193 assemblies.

Because of Japan’s unique place on the world stage – a nation with a large energy appetite but relatively few natural resources – they’ve embarked on a plan to generate fully 40% of their energy from nuclear power and to start their own recycling operations on the islands, instead of sending their used nuclear fuel to France for recycling (as they’d done up until 1998, when they started collecting their own fuel).  They’ve known for a long time that just storing away once-used  
nuclear fuel and calling it “waste” – as we do here in the U.S. – doesn’t make sense.  Not only does recycling get more energy out of the used nuclear fuel, it also reduces the volume of the most dangerous waste by over 60%.

We’re proud to be working with Japan in taking this first step toward a cleaner, carbon-free, independent energy future.  Japan’s example makes it clear that a crucial stepping stone toward sustainability and energy independence – not only in Japan, but here in the U.S. and Canada as well – is expanding the use of nuclear power and putting in place a program to recycle used fuel.

Kyushu is one of the first of AREVA’s agreements to supply MOX fuel to Japan; the latest came in September with Chogoku.

Yesterday, an editorial in the Aiken Standard spotlighted the important work taking place at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.

“The Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility at SRS is to turn some 34 tons of weapons grade plutonium into a component for fuel rod assemblies that will power nuclear reactors to generate electricity.”

“In addition to working toward a goal of removing the 34 tons of plutonium from the nuclear weapons arsenal, Shaw AREVA MOX (Services LLC) has become a solid corporate citizen, giving back to the communities which provide homes for many of its employees.”

For more information on the progress of construction at the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility─ which just celebrated its two year milestone─ or to find out more on what is MOX fuel and its non-proliferation benefits, check out the website here.

We also recommend you have a look at the rest of the piece, “MOX Facility Taking Shape.”

On Thursday, the Tennessee Valley Authority signed a letter of intent agreeing to evaluate using mixed-oxide (MOX) recycled fuel in two or more of their nuclear reactors. This is a positive step for Shaw AREVA MOX Services LLC, which is currently constructing the MOX Fuel fabrication Facility in South Carolina. When operational, it will recycle excess weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel for nuclear power plants, providing clean, carbon-free nuclear energy–contributing to the reduction in nuclear weapons stockpiles worldwide.

Construction of the facility has been going successfully since it started in 2007. Already 263,000 square feet of office space has been completed, with 78,000 currently under construction, not to mention over one million safe work hours already logged. The facility should open in 2016, and when it’s up and running it will be turning 3.5 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel each year, which we hope to supply to many customers–including TVA. We’re proud to be working with the Shaw Group on this important endeavor for nuclear energy and nonproliferation in support of U.S. energy and security needs.

A link to AREVA’s press release can be found here.

To check out more information on the project, go to the MOX Project website.

by Jarret Adams

Today, some 35 reactors around the world are using mixed-oxide fuel produced by AREVA, and fuel for more is under development. Our customers are found throughout Western Europe and Japan. Some German nuclear power plants have been using MOX fuel successfully in their reactors for 35 years.

MOX has many benefits, but among the most important are that it allows utilities to use recycled nuclear fuel and reduces the amount of material that must be disposed in a final repository. In fact, the use of recycling together with MOX fuel allow for countries to reduce the volume of material for disposal in a repository by a factor of five.

For some utilities, MOX fuel is more than just a good way to manage used fuel. MOX fuel can also help customers hedge against volatility in the uranium market. Because most MOX fuel comes from recycled fuel, no fresh uranium and enrichment are needed.

AREVA announced last month a new agreement with Japan’s Ohma nuclear power plant. This follows on agreements signed between AREVA and several Japanese utilities to supply MOX fuel for 16 to 18 reactors in the country beginning in 2010.

In the United States, AREVA is partnering with the Shaw Group construct the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. This facility will convert former weapons-grade material into MOX fuel for U.S. electric utilities. Construction began in August 2007 and the facility is now approximately 17 percent complete.

On a blog hosted by the Augusta Chronicle, reporter Rob Pavey provides a good summary of the situation at the MOX facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Shaw AREVA MOX Services is building the facility which will convert nuclear weapons material into mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for U.S. nuclear power plants. The reporter effectively describes why there have been some misunderstandings in the media regarding reports issued on the MOX Project. He writes:

The mixed oxide, or “MOX” facility, emerged in the crosshairs of an audit unveiled last week by DOE’s Inspector General, whose critical findings included the purchase of 9,500 tons of substandard rebar for the $4.8 billion project.

However, he notes that this issue was not new and already had been resolved:

Last December, just a couple weeks before Christmas, a different federal agency—the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—filled a conference room in Aiken with scientists and government officials to talk about essentially the same thing.

The commission’s inspectors spent more than 4,300 staff hours over a two-year period evaluating all aspects of the MOX project, including quality control programs, construction activities and recordkeeping, said Deborah Seymour, chief of the NRC’s Construction Projects Inspection Branch.

“There were no specific areas that needed improvement,” she said at the time, noting that the only “minor violations” were detected.

The NRC’s clean bill of health for the project was made with full knowledge of the faulty rebar issue, which had also been explored in a Dec. 10 report issued by the House Energy and Water Subcommittee.

To read more: Who’s keeping an eye on Savannah River Site? Apparently, everyone.

It bears mentioning once again that Shaw AREVA MOX Services is committed to building a safe, well-constructed facility that protects its workers, the public and the environment. Our work on the construction of the MOX Facility has always met the most stringent safety and quality standards and that will never change.