The long-awaited
Surplus Plutonium Disposition Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement does not have a “preferred alternative” for disposing of the material, though the 2012 draft version had pointed to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction at the Savannah River Site. 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 alternatives to MOX due to cost increases at that project. The Department of Energy has “no preferred alternative at this time” for either disposition or the sites or facilities used to prepare the material for disposition, the SEIS states. 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 plutoniumm” the SEIS states. 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.
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. 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. 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.”
The delayed release of the SEIS comes after the completion of a Congressionally-mandated study last month on plutonium disposition alternatives finding that 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. The implementation of the SEIS may be impacted by “DOE’s reassessment of surplus plutonium disposition strategies,” the document states.
