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MOX stands for "Mixed Oxide Fuel" and it comes as no surprise that there are those in the US government who think the world of this concept: "In 1999, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) signed a contract with a consortium, now called Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC to design, build, and operate a Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility. This facility will be a major component in the United States' program to dispose of surplus weapon-grade plutonium."
Not so fast, says the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS): "There is no doubt that we must contain the plutonium from nuclear warheads. It must neither enter the environment—where it can poison drinking water and virtually everything else with which it comes into contact—nor be accessible to terrorists or others who might wish to build atomic bombs. But using plutonium as reactor fuel accomplishes neither of those goals."
According to the NIRS:
- MOX fuel requires processing of plutonium before the fuel is fabricated, creating new plutonium-laced waste, added worker exposures, and releases to the environment.
- Transportation of the plutonium, even when armed guards are deployed, is an open invitation to terrorists or others seeking this deadly material.
- Use of MOX in nuclear reactors is not safe, and could result in serious accidents.
- Use of MOX would add to our nation's immense radioactive waste burden, and would make it more difficult to find scientifically-defensible solutions to our atomic waste problems.
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