MOX: Who's Cheering and Why By Pat Ortmeyer As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) moves ahead with its MOX pro-gram (“disposing” of plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons by using it as fuel in nuclear reactors), the commercial nuclear industry is front and center, promoting this so-called nonproliferation measure. Why this sudden interest in global nuclear threats? The nuclear utilities are cheering because MOX is not about disposing of surplus plutonium. It’s about launching a new plutonium fuel industry in the United States. Only four reactors are currently slated to use MOX, but the DOE admits that others could be used as the program expands. Further, the National Energy Security Act of 2001 calls for a new wave of nuclear reactor development and heavily promotes the use of plutonium fuel. Why Is That Bad? Unirradiated MOX is a terrorist target because plutonium can be extracted from the fuel. Severe accidents at MOX plants would be devastating, causing even more cancer deaths than accidents involving uranium fuel. Plutonium processing to make MOX results in more plutonium than can be used in new fuel, resulting in a surplus of a key ingredi-ent of nuclear weapons. At present, the U.S. does not have the capacity to make MOX, but a new MOX plant, built under the guise of plutonium disposition, would change that. A construction application for the plant is in the works and WAND chapters, partners, and WiLL members are gearing up to fight it, as well as to educate decision-makers about the risks it poses. Very few members of Congress even know what MOX is! What Can You Do? Sign up for WAND’s Nix MOX Bulletin Board. Submit comments on the upcoming MOX plant Environmental Impact Statement. Educate your Member of Congress. Support funding for alternatives. For more information, see www.nixmox.org, or contact Pat Ortmeyer at mox@wand.org.

The New Picture The Bush Administration’s new energy advisory board is stacked with nuclear industry representatives pushing for a revival of nuclear power and widespread use of MOX. WAND is working to stop these misguided plans.