Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC

The word ÔÇ£partnershipÔÇØ has been an integral part of the success of the MOX Project, which aims to design, build and operate a Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, as Andrew Pelis learnsThe demise of the Cold War was not just a triumph for peace and security. The aftermath has seen the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which has opened up a range of new opportunities in Aiken, South Carolina. ÔÇ£The word ÔÇÿpartnershipÔÇÖ really defines the close relationships that our organization has forged with local colleges, universities and suppliers alike,ÔÇØ Dave Stinson, president and CEO of Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC, explains. ÔÇ£As a government-funded organization, we work to established goals, and one goal has been to provide business opportunities for smaller and disadvantaged businesses. This has provided the opportunity to put business back into local communities. The people in the Central Savannah River Area have really been great neighbors, and most of our people use local services and local suppliers where possible.ÔÇØAdditionally, given the dearth of nuclear experience over the past 20 years, MOX Services is working closely with the local communities to provide niche expertise in an area that seems destined to grow over the coming years, given the nationÔÇÖs current strategy to build nuclear plants. ÔÇ£We really try to get our message out to the local community in areas such as education,ÔÇØ states Stinson. ÔÇ£When this plant is completed, it will employ about 1,000 people, and approximately 80 percent of those jobs will require high school diplomas plus a two-year degree. WeÔÇÖre now working with local colleges to set up training programs for todayÔÇÖs high school students to learn about the opportunity to get into our education track with a view to having a secure job for 30 to 40 years. WeÔÇÖre working toward providing the local communityÔÇÖs children with job opportunities. ItÔÇÖs exciting to do that.ÔÇØIndeed, having tapped into the existing pool of nuclear knowledge gave the organization an advantage from its inception in 1999, when the Department of Energy (DOE) 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.The decision came shortly before the US and Russia agreed to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium eachÔÇöenough for thousands of nuclear weapons. As a consequence, it was decided that three facilities would be built at the Savannah River Site for the US plutonium disposition program: a Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility (PCDF), where nuclear weapons pits are disassembled and the resulting metal is converted into a plutonium oxide form, a MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), where plutonium oxide is mixed with uranium oxide to form MOX fuel assemblies, and a Waste Solidification Building, where waste streams from the PDCF and the MFFF will be converted to a form for safe transportation. The DOE selected Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC (formerly Duke COGEMA Stone & Webster, LLC), a joint venture of The Shaw Group Inc. and AREVA to design, build and operate the MFFF.In the two and a half years since Stinson joined the company, there has been a marked change from engineering to a focus on construction and start-up planning. In fact, on August 1, 2008, the project reached the ultimate milestone of start of construction. Stinson has been working diligently with NNSA to move construction forward, and he has done that with momentum. After a year of construction activities, approximately 200,000 square feet of office space has been completed, with an additional 130,000 square feet of office space in progress. Other significant statistics include placement of 36,500 cubic yards of structural concrete, 34,500 cubic yards of unreinforced concrete, 6,357 tons of rebar and 5,177 feet of embedded pipe. Upon completion in 2016, the facility will take surplus weapon-grade plutonium, remove impurities, and mix it with uranium oxide to form MOX fuel pellets for reactor fuel assemblies. These assemblies will be irradiated in commercial nuclear power reactors, fulfilling the USÔÇôRussia Plutonium Disposition Agreement made in 2000. Funding for the MOX Project is expected to reach $4.8 billion, but to secure such levels the organization has to meet stringent and often complicated goals, set by not only the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) but also the DOE. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs true that we are funded yearly, and we have to demonstrate to Congress that the project is viable and performing well, meeting the set goals. This can be challenging, and it is essential for us to get it right,ÔÇØ says Stinson.Since start of construction, MOX Services has been seeking and contracting qualified suppliers to build the MFFF. But the company is also looking beyond to operation of the facility. ÔÇ£Our focus today is civil construction, although we are rapidly moving toward other disciplines. WeÔÇÖre tendering bids. The next phase will be piping, electrical, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning contracts. WeÔÇÖre now entering the bulk commodity phase of our procurement,ÔÇØ Stinson continues.Preliminary numbers for construction of the 600,000-square-foot facility (including support facilities) indicate the use of over 170,000 cubic yards of concrete, 35,000 tons of reinforcing steel, 23,000 instruments, 1,000 tons of heating vents and air conditioning, 500,000 linear feet of conduit, 47,000 linear feet of cable tray, 3,600,000 linear feet of power and control cable, and 85 miles of piping.The design of the facility is based on AREVAÔÇÖs MELOX and La Hague MOX facilities in France. The French have been using MOX technology for nearly 20 years and currently supply MOX fuel to over 30 reactors worldwide. The design has been ÔÇ£AmericanizedÔÇØ to ensure that the facility meets all federal safety and security requirements. It will also be a hardened facility, similar to a nuclear reactor. Security will be equal to the security measures currently in place at the Savannah River Site (SRS). A Perimeter Intrusion Detection and Assessment System will encircle the facility for additional protection, which will of course provide extra assurance for the local community. The MOX footprint sits on roughly 96 acres of the 310-square-mile SRS, which had been used for the production of plutonium since the early 1950s. Stinson believes SRS was a good choice by DOE because an established knowledge base was already in place. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs an excellent location with a skilled workforce, and since there was already a key facility in existence, it was a logical choice. WeÔÇÖll be converting up to 3.5 metric tons of plutonium each year that will be fabricated into fuel assemblies and sent to commercial reactors. Any waste generated during production is packaged and shipped out of state.ÔÇØStinson and his team are facing a key challenge that the country has not faced in over 20 years: training vendors and employees to the exacting requirements of nuclear quality. ÔÇ£Our main challenge has been maintaining nuclear-qualified staff. There is now a renaissance in nuclear plants in the US, so staff retention and training is the first issue. Additionally, many suppliers are not used to the nuclear industryÔÇÖs requirements. We decided to work with bidders on quality assurance to bring their programs up to date. Our key word is ÔÇÿpartnershipÔÇÖ in relation to vendors and people in our local community.ÔÇØ┬á