The first of two reports that will offer alternatives to the MOX method of plutonium disposition at the Savannah River Site is expected to surface in mid-April, with the second part of the study expected to come five months later.
The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility was one of the main topics discussed during a budget hearing before the Senate's appropriations subcommittee on Energy & Water Development. The subcommittee heard testimony from retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz.
Klotz, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said an independent agency is on track to release Part 1 of a study that debates whether to use a Dilution and Disposal method, or continue with MOX - the current method of converting 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear reactor fuel while Russia honors its part of the agreement by using fast reactors.
"Congress asked us to do two reports by an external federally-funded research and development organization to give independent cost estimates of various options," Klotz said.
"The first of those is due in mid-April. The second one, which will identify a broader range of options, is due in mid-September."
The studies were requested by Congress en route to appropriating $345 million for construction of the MOX facility for the current fiscal year. President Barack Obama matched that figure in his fiscal year 2016 request, but the funding levels are concerning for appropriators, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
"From my perspective, I don't want to see us look back on this as we have looked back on one other project and say, 'well ... $600 million has been wasted,'" Feinstein said.
On Wednesday, the MOX project was grouped with two other projects - Tennessee's Uranium Processing Facility and New Mexico's Plutonium Facility - as large-construction projects under the purview of NNSA that officials have had trouble keeping on schedule and on budget. For example, Feinstein pointed out that MOX was initially projected to cost $4 billion with completion in 2016.
"It's now expected to cost as much as $13 billion and not ready until the late 2020s," Feinstein said. "The goal of disposing of weapons-grade plutonium is certainly worthy, but the cost is enormous."
Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, said the three projects could cost a combined $20 billion to construct. Rather than find alternatives for the projects, Alexander stated that he's focused on reining in the costs.
"Sen. Feinstein and I have worked hard with the NNSA to keep costs from skyrocketing and to make sure hard-earned taxpayer dollars are spent wisely," he said. "We need to make sure these projects are on time and on budget."
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013. He is originally from Vidalia, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Follow him on Twitter @DerrekAsberry.