WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Two watchdog groups are calling on the U.S. government to suspend the use of weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear reactor fuel.
Friends of the Earth and the Union of Concerned Scientists said it discovered testing to demonstrate the safety of mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel in Duke Energy's Catawba nuclear reactor in South Carolina was aborted early because of safety concerns.
Duke Energy informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the test was halted in a June 10 report, the watchdog groups said Monday.
"The failure of the plutonium fuel experiment is another major setback for the MOX program, and will further increase the already considerable cost overruns, delays and risks," FOE coordinator Tom Clements said in a statement. "Congress needs to pull the plug before even more taxpayer money is wasted."
