Sellafield Vitrification should ensure safe storage of waste in the UK for the middle to long term. Construction of the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) was completed in 1997, though justification for the operation of the plant was not achieved until October 2001. Mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, is a blend of plutonium and natural uranium or depleted uranium which behaves similarly (though not identically) to the enriched uranium feed for which most nuclear reactors were designed. MOX fuel is an alternative to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in the light water reactors which predominate in nuclear power generation. MOX also
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station effect kills plant and animal life around reactor discharge systems by curtailing the light and oxygen they need to survive; however, the intake and discharge canals remain a popular and lucrative local recreational fishing spot for local residents. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Pilgrim was 1 in 14,493, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) is the only nuclear power plant operating in Massachusetts. It is located in the Manomet section