By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer

AIKEN -- The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Site at the Savannah River Site in Aiken is set to receive a hefty increase in its appropriated federal funds if the 2009 federal budget is approved.

In the fiscal year 2009 federal budget that President Bush unveiled earlier this month, allocations for the MOX facility are requested at $487 million, nearly double the 2008 appropriation of $278.8 million.

The facility is designed to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium for use in commercial nuclear reactors. The disposal effort is part of a nuclear nonproliferation agreement between the United States and Russia to protect, secure and dispose of nuclear weapons material.

In 2000, the two countries agreed to dispose of 34 metric tons each of the plutonium by turning it into MOX fuel for use in existing commercial nuclear reactors.

Sixty-eight metric tons of plutonium is enough material to make 17,000 nuclear weapons.

After the MOX fuel has been created and irradiated in a nuclear reactor, the plutonium can no longer be used for nuclear weapons.

The increased funding for the MOX facility is in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, which outlines the nation’s nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

In addition, the MOX facility’s role in combating terrorist threats was highlighted in remarks by Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., when he introduced House Resolution 2641, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008.

He said the president and others have acknowledged that nuclear weapons or weapons material in the hands of terrorists is the number one terrorist threat to the United States.

“The Department of Energy takes the lead in combating this threat by advancing international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation with an $878 million or 74 percent increase to the President’s proposed operating level for legitimate nuclear nonproliferation programs,” Visclosky said. “Nuclear nonproliferation activities have included parallel efforts for the United States and Russia to dispose of surplus weapons-origin plutonium. The U.S. has pursued fabrication of mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for use in commercial nuclear reactors followed by disposal in Yucca Mountain as its strategy.”

With a national focus on both nuclear-waste cleanup and economical energy, the U.S. Department of Energy claims a sizable chunk of the nation’s first $3 trillion-dollar budget, with its $25 billion budget increasing $1.073 billion from its 2008 appropriations.

About $5.5 billion of the DOE’s $25 billion budget will be earmarked for environmental management, which includes nuclear-waste cleanup, besides the MOX work, at the Savannah River Site.

The DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is requesting $1.4 billion for the 2009 budget, a $386 million increase over fiscal year 2008, to support the expansion of nuclear power as a safe, economical, emissions-free source of energy.

The budget request includes $301.5 million for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative in support of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. A nuclear reprocessing plant in Barnwell County is one of 11 sites in the country being considered for the GNEP’s project, which focuses on reducing the volume and toxicity of high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel through recycling.

In announcing the department’s budget requests, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman pointed to the increase as not only a means of shoring up security but also a comprehensive strategy to increase energy and economic value by accelerating technological breakthroughs, expanding traditional and renewable sources of energy and increasing investment in scientific discovery and development.

“From transforming the weapons complex to maintain the utmost safety and reliability of our nuclear weapons stockpile, to issuing solicitations for loan guarantees to spur innovation in advanced energy technologies, this budget enables the Department to continue to lay the foundation for a clean, safe, secure and reliable energy future for all Americans,” Bodman said.