The Nuclear Regulatory Commission offered another positive assessment of contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services’ work in building the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The regulator said in a May 10 letter to contractor President and COO David Del Vecchio that “no violations or deviations were identified” during an inspection conducted from April 10 to May 1.
During this time, the contractor continued construction of principal systems, structures, and components at the plant intended to convert 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium into commercial reactor fuel, the letter noted. Meanwhile, the NRC said it closed previously identified violations regarding faulty welded components and inadequate audits of the supplier that provided them.
The fiscal 2017 omnibus appropriations bill signed into law earlier this month largely maintains funding for continued work on the MOX plant. However, along with the $335 million for construction and project support, Congress provided $15 million for continued research into DOE’s preferred “dilute and dipose” alternative to the facility.
The White House is expected to release its full fiscal 2018 budget plan this month, which will make clear President Donald Trump’s intentions regarding the future of the project his predecessor pushed to terminate.
In March the NRC lauded the contractor for its construction activities and safety performance during 2016. Meanwhile, DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration gave the contractor less than 9 percent of its fiscal 2016 award fee, citing in a performance evaluation “unsatisfactory” cost, schedule, and technical performance – an assessment the contractor has argued is politicized.
The NRC said in its latest letter that it will conduct routine construction inspections at the facility.
