NRC okays Catawba-1 for MOX fuel use

摘要

Four MOX fuel assemblies will be part of Catawba-1's core when the unit comes out of a refueling outage that starts this spring. After two years of review, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Duke Power the authority to use four mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies at its Catawba-1 nuclear power plant, in Clover, S.C. The NRC announced the approval on March 3. Starting this spring, Duke. Power will mix in four MOX fuel assemblies with 189 conventional uranium fuel assemblies at Catawba-1, one of two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors at the site. "This will confirm the good performance of MOX fuel we have already seen in European reactors and help us obtain regulatory approval for larger-scale use of the fuel in the future," said Steve Nesbit, Duke Power's MOX fuel project manager.