The first of two independent studies on alternatives to the Savannah River Site's MOX program is due next month, but U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson says there might be a conflict of interest and a lack of expertise that could affect the results.
The South Carolina Republican joined U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pennsylvania, in submitting a letter to Ernest Moniz, the Department of Energy secretary.
The letter question's DOE selection of Aerospace Corp. to conduct a congressionally mandated study on alternatives to constructing the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The facility is a part of a program designed to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium.
Cost overruns and missed milestones have delayed MOX, pushing President Barack Obama to propose a freeze last year while officials searched for other options. The proposal was rejected, and MOX received funding for construction. However, Congress did authorize DOE to head up a study for alternatives.
The Department selected Aerospace - a California-based nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center, or FFRDC, headquartered in El Segundo.
The study is expected to surface April 15, but Wilson and Brady wrote on March 25 that the company has a background in space missions, rather than the nuclear field.
"We fail to understand why DOE did not choose a FFRDC that has broader expertise in nuclear materials disposition and nuclear construction," Wilson and Brady wrote. "This selection seems comparable to selecting a nuclear engineering company to review a satellite program at the Department of Defense."
The two also noted that Aerospace is providing engineering advisory support for the B61 gravity bomb life-extension program - a program intended to extend the lifetime of a nuclear weapon for an additional 20 to 30 years, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Wilson and Brady wrote that funding for the program could see a boost if funds for MOX are redirected.
"We question whether Aerospace can conduct a fair and unbiased study in light of its role in the B61 program," they wrote.
MOX is part of a long-standing agreement with Russia and is about 65 percent complete. The project employs about 1,600 workers and more than 4,000 vendors in 43 states and eight countries have contributed in some fashion since construction began, Wilson said.
After the first study comes out in April, a second is expected to be released in mid-September.
The Aiken Standard attempted to contact the Department of Energy on the issue, but did not hear back before deadline.
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.