Savannah River Site
/ FILE
AIKEN, S.C. (AP) -- The federal government is going to use a facility at the Savannah River site near Aiken to produce tons of plutonium oxide for the complex's future mixed-oxide fuel plant.
The National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday it has decided to use H-Canyon at the Savannah River Site to produce nearly 4 metric tons of plutonium oxide for the MOX plant.
The mixed-oxide, or MOX, plant is designed to dispose of plutonium from dismantled bombs by blending the plutonium with uranium to make commercial reactor fuel. Officials say the H-Canyon decision is saving 90 jobs.
The SRS complex once produced plutonium and tritium for atomic bombs. Construction on the MOX facility began in 2007. Officials say the facility is on schedule and should be running in 2016.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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