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Welcome to…. Pull the Plutonium Pork – End MOX Monday, June 24, 2013 3:00 PM EDT. Hosted by. Pull the Plutonium Pork – End MOX. Tom Clements Southeastern Nuclear Campaign Coordinator Friends of the Earth 1112 Florence St. Columbia, SC 29201 803-834-3084 tomclements329@cs.com.

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  1. Welcome to… Pull the Plutonium Pork – End MOX Monday, June 24, 2013 3:00 PM EDT Hosted by

  2. Pull the Plutonium Pork – End MOX Tom ClementsSoutheastern Nuclear Campaign CoordinatorFriends of the Earth1112 Florence St.Columbia, SC 29201803-834-3084tomclements329@cs.com

  3. The good news: ~55 metric tons of plutonium has been declared “surplus” for weapons use Pits, metal, oxides, residues, fuel • Pantex – “pit” storage, Texas • Rocky Flats: shipped to SRS & WIPP • Hanford – Washington: shipped to SRS • SRS • Los Alamos Lab - New Mexico • Lawrence Livermore Lab - California • Argonne National Lab - West, Idaho

  4. Disposal of U.S. “surplus” plutonium via mixed oxide fuel (MOX) is - far over budget, with more increases at hand;- is an inefficient jobs program in South Carolina, being protected by Senator Graham;- is the most expensive disposal option;- MOX poses problems with reactor operation, radiation release in case of severe accident and problems with storage of hotter spent MOX fuel- has no clients (commercial nuclear reactors) for MOX fuel;- results in more handling and processing of plutonium;- poses proliferation risks by introducing plutonium into commerce and sends the wrong message internationally about plutonium use;- is linked to the reprocessing of commercial spent fuel and plutonium “breeder” reactors.The MOX program should be terminated before billions more dollars are wasted. Alternatives must be vigorously pursued.

  5. National Academy of Sciences study on disposition of “surplus” plutonium-1994 • Advocated the “Dual Track” – plutonium fuel (Mixed Oxide - MOX) and immobilization • Disposition to meet “Spent Fuel Standard” • At all points in disposition to meet “Stored Weapons Standard”

  6. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process began in 1996 by DOE’s national Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Originally supported the “dual track “approach; EIS identified no reactors for MOX use; Review under President George W. Bush terminated “immobilization” in high-level waste; Supplemental EIS began in July 2010 - looked at MOX use in reactors owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority & some plutonium to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) – final SEIS to be issued in July 2013?

  7. US-Russia “Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) of 2000, amended 2010 – both sides to dispose of at least 34 metric tons; can be changed by written agreement

  8. Plutonium-239 “pit” is the heart of a nuclear weapon

  9. DOE Nuclear Bomb Complex

  10. “Pits” from dismantled weapons stored in bunkers at DOE’s Pantex site in Texas

  11. Savannah River Site (SRS) designated as storage site for “non-pit” plutonium and MOX facility - 310-square miles in size

  12. K-Reactor produced plutonium at SRS and is storing 13 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium

  13. SRS Plutonium “Puck”-shipped to Rocky Flats to make “pits”

  14. 3013 Pu storage cans in K-Reactor building at SRS

  15. K-Area Materials Storage (KAMS) facility

  16. SRS's five heavy water production reactors produced 36.1 metric tons of weapon-grade plutoniumHanford – produced 67.4 MT in 9 reactorSRS Reactor Name Start-Up Date Shutdown Date R-Reactor December 1953 June 1964 P-Reactor February 1954 August 1988 K-Reactor October 1954 July 1992 L-Reactor July 1954 June 1988 C-Reactor March 1955 June 1985

  17. H-Canyon Reprocessing Facility- separated weapons-grade plutonium & sent waste to tanks- a “national asset” for commercial reprocessing R&D? -

  18. High-Level Waste Tanks “Farms”- received waste from H- and F-Canyon reprocessing plants, this is plutonium-production by-product waste

  19. High-level waste is the immediate threat at SRS, not plutonium: “Radioactive waste stored in SRS tanks poses the single greatest environmental risk in the State of Carolina.”Terrel Spears, Assistant Manager, Waste Disposition Project, DOE Savannah River Operations Office,on January 8, 2008 to National Academy of Sciences Cleanup Technology Roadmap Committee

  20. Reprocessing and waste tank area

  21. HLW waste tank “farms”

  22. Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF)- glassifying HLW, has processed 15% of tank waste in 17 years, 3600 canisters poured (of 7500 total) and in two storage facility, 3rd facility delayed

  23. Canisters to be filled with vitrified waste glass & HLW mix, lethal dose in 1 minute

  24. Duke Energy’s McGuire & Catawba reactors chosen for MOX testing and usein March 1999– Duke dropped out in 2008 after failed MOX test; “ice condenser” reactor model w/ thin domes

  25. BN-600 “breeder” reactorBeloyarsk-3; BN-800 under construction

  26. TVA’s Browns Ferry – Fukushima-style GE Mark I “boiling water reactor”

  27. GE Mark I and II: pressure suppression systems, thin domes

  28. US Pu Dispositon Facilities at SRS • MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility • Pit Disassembly & Conversion Facility (PDCF) - canceled • Waste Solidification Building (WSB) - to solidify TRU waste from MOX plant • H-Canyon to purify Pu for MOX; • Preparation to send “non-MOXable” Pu to WIPP

  29. MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) – construction began August 2007; Jan. 2010 photo

  30. MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility area – March 2013

  31. $7.7 billion MOX plant – April 2013;2004 - $1.8 billion; 2008- $4.8 billion

  32. DOE: plutonium disposition “assessment” “NNSA remains committed to the plutonium disposition mission. However, considering preliminary cost increases and the current budget environment, the Administration is conducting an assessment of alternative plutonium disposition strategies in FY2013, and will identify options for FY2014 and the outyears.” (page DN-113)

  33. DOE project “mismanagement” cost still at 2008 level & still no life-cycle cost

  34. Problems with MOX

  35. FY 2104 DOE budget request:- $478 million for plutonium disposition; - $320 million forMOX plant construction, - estimate for MOX plant operation: $543 million/year;- funding drops to $200+ million in FY2015-FY2018

  36. ~$22 billion left for overall MOX program – no DOE “life-cycle” cost figure ever released

  37. Alternatives to MOX

  38. “Can-in-Canister” immobilization

  39. Immobilization by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) Container at the left is filled with powdered material. On the right, after 8 to 9 hours, the powder has been turned into 5 liters of solid ceramic.Credit: UK National Nuclear Laboratory

  40. Ominous link between MOX, reprocessing and breeder reactors

  41. Questions? Comments?But first, Friends of the Earth TV ad on MOX, released on June 19, 2013

  42. Through another lens,

  43. Not here, not now, Not here, not now! • Environmental Justice Issues • compounded ‘nuclear impact‘ increases human and environmental burden • legacy of institutional racism • lack of sufficient monitoring and information dissemination Plant Vogtle Georgia South Carolina Areas of concern

  44. Working locally to restore the Department of Energy environmental monitoring in Georgia • Working in communities, educating on the stakeholder role to advocate for the ‘cleanup not buildup‘ as the funding priority at SRS • Speaking and testifying with communities at SRS Citizen’s Advisory Board meetings on issues of public concern • Bringing residents/constituents to meet with their local, state, and federal elected officials to say NO to new nuclear missions/waste streams at Savannah River Site MOX - Plutonium Interim Storage at SRS Reprocessing • Advocate for stronger protections and regulations to protect the most vulnerable populations and environment

  45. Congress and MOX

  46. Pro-MOX Anti-MOX Who cares about MOX? Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) Rep. Jim Clybourn (D-SC) Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) 328 other members of the House Key House and Senate Staff

  47. A short story about a lot of money Fortenberry Amendment (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll325.xml) Sequestration FY14 Budget Request Hold on Secretary of Energy nomination FY14 National Defense Authorization Act FY14 Energy and Water Appropriations

  48. How can we stop MOX? Start alternatives • Department of Energy “assessment” of alternatives • Government Accountability Office report • Nuclear Regulatory Commission doesn’t license MOX • No Utilities agree to accept MOX Stop funding it • “Fence” funding in the National Defense Authorization Act • Cut funding through Energy & Water Appropriations process • Department of Energy requests “reprogramming”

  49. What can you do? • Look for an email action alert • Engage the media • Local media • National media (http://bit.ly/AtlanticMOX) • Meet with your members of Congress

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