DOE Looking at Cost, Schedule Problems at S.C. Nuclear Site
Despite five years of high labor turnover, difficulty securing nuclear- grade material and routine cost escalations, the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication, or MOX, facility, at the Savannah River site is still officially budgeted at $4.8 billion and scheduled for completion by 2016—the same cost figure and date given by the Energy Dept. since 2007.
Unofficially, however, DOE expects costs for the MOX facility, presently under construction by Shaw Areva MOX Services at the DOE site in South Carolina, will rise $600 million to $900 million, according to a FY 2013 report from the House Appropriations Committee. DOE sources also confirm to the authors of the committee report that the project is behind schedule by months, if not years. Other news reports say projected costs could rise by as much as $2 billion.