The National Nuclear Security Administration has dispatched a consultant to the Savannah River Site in recent days to examine options for terminating Shaw AREVA MOX Services’ contract for construction of the MOX plant at the site, according to officials with knowledge of the project. NNSA yesterday declined to comment, but the consultant is believed to be retired DOE official David Darugh, who notably was chief counsel during the cancellation of the Superconducting Supercollider Project in Texas during the 1990s. When reached for comment yesterday, Darugh said he was “not permitted to talk about the MOX project.” When asked if he was working on MOX, he declined to comment.
In the face of rapidly increasing costs, DOE last year slowed work on the MOX project to analyze alternatives, and an announcement on a path forward for the project is expected soon. While the total cost of building the facility has reached $7.7 billion, the lifecycle cost of the project could reach $30 billion, according to recent reports. To tamp down costs, DOE and contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services in recent months have been in talks to renegotiate Shaw AREVA’s contract, though DOE’s push for a fixed price contract has hindered those discussions.