ShawAREVAMOX.Americas.Energy-Feb13-Bro

www.areva.com

Shaw aREVa MOX SERVicESNUCLEAR SWORDS INTO PLOUGHSHARES

NUCLEAR SWORDS

Shaw AREVA MOX Services LLC is more than half way through its contract to build a facility that will turn a large part of America’s nuclear heritage into clean energy to boost the nation’s future growth

written by: John o’hanlonresearch by: Daniel Finn

NUCLEAR SWORDS

Shaw aREVa MOX SERVicES

Shaw aREVa MOX SERVicES

Nobody was sorry when the cold war ended. The world seemed a safer place and a new generation started to grow up without the ever-present

threat of mutually assured destruction. That generation has new worries to contend with in the form of terrorism, economic meltdown and environmental degradation but these are somewhat less immediate dangers. Nevertheless the large nuclear arsenals that the major powers had amassed now presented problems of their own. In 1992 General Brent Scowcroft, then National Security Advisor to President Bush, requested the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to perform a study of the management and disposition options for surplus weapon-usable plutonium to reduce the danger that nuclear materials might be stolen and find their way into unprincipled hands.

Under an agreement concluded in 2000 the USA and Russia each decided to eliminate 34,000 tons of weapon-grade plutonium from the defense programs of both the countries. Plutonium has enormous energy value: one gram contains more energy than two tons of coal or one ton of crude oil. Depending on the percentage of plutonium used, surplus U.S. weapons could make enough mixed oxide fuel to operate ten large (1,000 MW) nuclear plants for ten to 20 years.

Based on NAS’s recommendation the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) considered a number of options but

finally decided to dispose of the plutonium by converting it into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. In 1999 NNSA signed a contract with Shaw AREVA MOX Services, a consortium of Shaw Group and the French carbon-free energy specialist AREVA to design, build and operate a Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility located on the Savannah River Site (SRS), a 310 square mile reservation near Aiken in South Carolina, built in the 1950s to refine nuclear materials under the management of the US Atomic Energy Commission. The SRS was the ideal choice for locating the new facilities.

Among its advantages were high security levels, a skilled and experienced workforce and the support of local community interests in South Carolina. When the plant is completed, it will employ around 1,000 people, with some 80 percent of the jobs requiring

high school diplomas plus a two-year degree. The company is working with local colleges to set up training programs for high school students to learn about education oportunities, with the prospect of having a secure job for 30 to 40 years.

The design of the MOX facility is based on similar facilities operated by AREVA in France, though adapted to meet the specific requirements of United States nuclear safety practice. The rationale behind this is clear: France obtains more than 75 percent of its power from nuclear plants, the highest proportion in the world. Accordingly it

600,000 square Feet

Footprint of the MOX facility

WeeklyYour weekly digest of business news and views

Because a month is a long time to wait...

www.bus-ex.com

EXPERIENCE IN MOTION

Cookeville, Tn Valve Operations (CVO)10CFR50 Appendix B Compliant Quality Program

Wide Ranging Valve and Automation ProductsBall, Plug, Butterfly, Globe, GateDurco, Worcester, McCanna, Vogt, Automax

Extended Sleeve Product Family for Remote Applications

30 Years of Nuclear Industry Experience

Contacte-mail: [email protected]: 931 432 4021

ASME NQA-1

PROGRAM

has more experience than any other country when it comes to the management of nuclear fuel for civil purposes. AREVA’s MELOX and La Hague plants supply nuclear fuel to more than 30 reactors.

The 600,000 square-foot facility being built in South Carolina will be completed in 2016 and will be licensed for 20 years, with operations expected to continue well into the 2030s. It is made up of two main sections: aqueous polishing and fuel fabrication. Aqueous polishing is a chemical purification process to render weapons-grade plutonium oxide suitable for inclusion as a component of MOX fuel – the existing facilities at SRS for treating radioactive materials will be able to cope with all solid or liquid waste from this process.

This is a robust process, refined by the nuclear industry in France over a 30-year period. The MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility will blend plutonium oxide (PuO2) with uranium oxide (UO2) powder to make a mixed oxide powder. This powder is milled to ensure uniform distribution of the plutonium, and to adjust the particle size of the MOX powder. The MOX powder is made into small pellets

Shaw aREVa MOX SERVicES

“ThE cOMpany iS wORking wiTh lOcal cOllEgES TO SET up TRaining pROgRaMS

fOR high SchOOl STudEnTS”

Flowserve CorporationThroughout the nuclear fuel cycle the ability to control process streams in difficult or impossible locations becomes increasingly necessary as the complexity of processes increases. For over 30 years Flowserve Corporation has been providing innovative solutions to tackle such issues as remote valve maintenance, remote valve control and flow stream analysis in many challenging nuclear applications. www.flowserve.com

“in JunE 2012 ThE faciliTy REachEd 10 MilliOn SafE wORking hOuRS

wiThOuT a lOST wORkday”

about the size of a pencil eraser. The pellets are pressed into shape, sintered (baked at high temperatures) and ground to the required dimensions of approximately 1/3 inch in diameter and 4/10 inch in length.

The finished pellets are loaded into fuel rods through an open end. An end plug is

then inserted into the open end of the fuel rod and the rod is welded shut. The fuel rods are inspected, decontaminated, and bundled together to form fuel assemblies. Each fuel assembly will contain 264 fuel rods and the assembly will then be prepared for transportation to a commercial reactor.

Mixed oxide fuel will perform in a very similar manner to conventional uranium fuel currently used by nuclear utilities. The blended fuel is in the form of ceramic pellets, which are encased in metal rods and bundled in fuel assemblies. The fuel is then loaded and irradiated within the reactor in the same manner as uranium fuel.

Clearly security is a priority, and the plant has been designed to meet the same safety standards as any United States-based nuclear reactor, while its location at the heart of the SRS renders it impenetrable to any foreseeable external threats. 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 community will be further reassured by the latest announcement on safety at the site – in June 2012 the facility reached 10 million safe working hours without a lost workday, a very significant milestone representing nearly two years of safe work during heavy construction involving approximately 2,800 workers.

Shaw aREVa MOX SERVicES

For more information aboutShaw AREVA MOX Services visit:www.areva.com

Produced by:

www.bus-ex.com

shaw areva MoX serviCes

www.areva.com