MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility: site preparation ceremony at Savannah River

News brief

ACTIVITIES / NUCLEAR POWER

October 17, 2005

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) held today a ceremony commemorating the beginning of site preparation activities for the construction of the MOX (mixed-oxide) Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River in South Carolina . The facility will be an integral part of the U.S. Plutonium Disposition Program. The event took place at the Savannah River Site, with Ambassador Linton Brooks, Undersecretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, and Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), among other officials, present.

AREVA, through its Cogema , Inc . subsidiary, is a member of the Duke COGEMA Stone & Webster (DCS) consortium, which has a contract to design and options to construct and operate the facility. The plant will handle future conversion of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel for use in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants operated by Duke Power.

AREVA, Inc. President Mike McMurphy said, "We at AREVA congratulate the U.S. Department of Energy on achieving this key milestone. We are proud to be a partner of this program and committed to supporting the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration in meeting the nation's nuclear non-proliferation efforts."

In addition to plutonium treatment and MOX fuel fabrication know-how, AREVA supplies engineering, process equipment manufacturing capabilities, and operations experience, all based on knowledge gained from existing used-fuel and MOX manufacturing facilities.