The modification was a contract option in the original contract to proceed with full construction of the main mixed oxide (MOX) facility and all support facilities, cold startup of the MOX facility and continued support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing activities associated with the MOX facility.
Shaw will add approximately $2 billion for the contract modification to its third quarter fiscal 2008 backlog.
The facility is expected to remove impurities from surplus weapons-grade plutonium and mix it with uranium oxide to form MOX fuel pellets for use in commercial nuclear power reactors. Construction activities began on August 1, 2007, and continue to proceed on schedule.
The Department of Energy (DOE) contracted with the Shaw-Areva team to design, license and construct the MOX fuel fabrication facility. This work supports the department’s non-proliferation program to eliminate surplus weapons-grade plutonium in the US.
James Bernhard Jr, chairman and CEO of The Shaw Group, said: This project is an important step in accomplishing the goal of turning the nation’s surplus plutonium stockpile into useable fuel and ultimately electricity. The Shaw-Areva team will use its experience and highly skilled nuclear workforce to construct a facility that will dispose of at least 34 metric tons of plutonium.
