Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility
Shaw AREVA MOX Services LLC, comprised of Shaw and AREVA, is designing and constructing the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.
The first-of-a-kind $4.8 billion facility is a key component of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s program to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium. It will be capable of converting 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel assemblies for use in commercial nuclear power plants.
In 2009, Shaw AREVA MOX Services achieved 13 project milestones, including completion of the project’s administrative building and 37,000-square-foot secure warehouse within budget and on schedule. Construction is proceeding on the 500,000-square-foot MOX process building, which will require more than 170,000 cubic yards of concrete, 35,000 tons of steel rebar, more than 3,000,000 feet of power and control cable and more than 80 miles of piping.
Shaw’s energy-efficient design and construction of the 57,000-square-foot administration building meets standards outlined for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification. The warehouse also is designed for LEED certification specifications.
The facility, which is expected to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, should be complete in 2016 with operations expected to continue into the 2030s.
For more information, please visit the MOX project website.