MOX Arrives in South Carolina

A shipment of mixed-oxide fuel arrived in the United States this week for testing at a South Carolina nuclear plant, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 11).

Two ships carrying the fuel, produced through conversion in France of weapon-grade plutonium, arrived at about midnight Monday in Charleston. The fuel was then sent on to the Catawba Nuclear Station, where it will be tested to determine if MOX can be used at U.S. commercial nuclear reactors.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared last month that Catawba needed to make security improvements before accepting the shipment. A National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman said those conditions would be met in time, AP reported.

“The fuel assemblies are secure and have been secure without any significant incidents,” said agency spokesman Bryan Wilkes. “Everything is on schedule, it’s been on schedule and according to plan” (Jacob Jordan, Associated Press/The Herald-Sun, April 12).

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