Aiken, South Carolina
In September 2000, the United States and Russia signed an agreement to reduce their respective stockpiles of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, leftovers of the Cold War. After evaluating different disposal strategies, the Department of Energy (DOE) devised plans to convert approximately 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. This fuel will be used in commercial nuclear power plants.
As part of the program, DOE selected Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC as the contractor to design, construct, and operate a facility to fabricate the MOX fuel. The facility is being built at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC, and will be capable of turning 3.5 metric tons of weapon-grade plutonium into MOX fuel assemblies annually. The facility will be licensed for 20 years, with operations to continue into the 2030s.
The design of the facility is based on AREVA’s MOX facilities in France - a technology utilized for almost two decades and currently supplies MOX fuel to over 30 reactors worldwide. The French design is being “Americanized” to ensure that the facility meets all federal safety and security requirements as stipulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Construction of the 600,000-square-foot facility requires over 170,000 cubic yards of concrete, 35,000 tons of reinforcing steel, 23,000 instruments, 1000 tons of heating and air conditioning vents, 500,000 feet of conduit, 47,000 feet of cable tray, 3,600,000 feet of power and control cable, and 85 miles of piping.
Being the first nuclear project in the United Stated in more than 20 years, US Concrete On-Site, Inc (USCOS) was awarded this prestigious contract and developed a unique and comprehensive Quality Assurance Plan in accordance with guidelines under the NRC and DOE. USCOS is currently the only ready mix producer of concrete in the nation that is certified to produce Nuclear Quality Level 1 (NQL1) concrete.
To add to this success, USCOS provided the technical support for a change in the project that through the engineered increase in the quantity of fly ash being utilized in the mixes has not only supported cost saving construction method changes, but has also responsibly disposed over 7000 tons of the coal burning by product by incorporating more fly ash in the mix designs.
Concrete Contractor: US Concrete On-Site, Inc.
General Contractor: Shaw Areva MOX Services, LLC
Owner: US Department of Energy (DOE)
On-site Plant Capability: Dual Central Batch Plants, 200 yard per hour
Number of Cubic Yards: 170,000 yards produced at NQA Level 1 standards
QA Assurance: 0 yards rejected in place
EF Technology Mixes: 35% fly ash replacement
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