Costs swell for MOX faciity, says DOE's IG

Washington (Platts)--23Dec2005

The cost estimate for DOE'S mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel plant has risen
significantly since the department reported to Congress in 2002 that the plant
would cost about $1-billion to design and construct, DOE Inspector General
Gregory Friedman said in a report released today. As of July 2005, the cost
estimate was about $3.5-billion, Friedman said. DOE managers agreed with the
report's recommendations for procedural reforms but disputed some points,
including the way Friedman calculated the cost increase. The MOX fuel
fabrication facility, to be built at the Savannah River Site in South
Carolina, is part of DOE's program to make reactor fuel out of surplus weapons
plutonium. The report is available on the inspector general's Web site
(http://www.ig.doe.gov/pdf/ig-0713.pdf).

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