As MOX Costs Rise, Foes Push Options

摘要

The full cost to build the much delayed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) project at the Savannah River site in South Carolina eventually could triple its original estimate, the Dept. of Energy acknowledged in a Jan. 15 project-management report. "Estimates for the capital work range from $8 billion [to] $12 billion, depending on the funding profiles," stated DOE's report. The agency also said capital expenditures so far have totaled $4 billion-the contract's original cost estimate-with construction only 50% complete, more than seven years after work first began. Project critics used DOE's report to renew calls to halt the "MOX boondoggle," as one watchdog called it, and argued for reconsideration of other alternatives.