AIKEN, S.C. – Scrap lumber from construction of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility will be reused as classroom materials for students in carpentry training programs at area schools in South Carolina and Georgia.

Shaw AREVA MOX Services, which is building the 600,000-square-foot MOX facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, S.C., is donating the scrap lumber and transporting it to several education centers weekly.  The scrap lumber and wood products generated from the MOX construction site include temporary stairways and walkways that are no longer needed, dismantled forms from concrete pours and wooden crates used to ship equipment and components to the project.

The MOX project is donating the materials to educational facilities that include Barnwell County Career Center in Blackville, S.C.; Denmark Technical College in Denmark, S.C.; Strom Thurmond Career Center in Johnston, S.C.; Aiken High School in Aiken, S.C.; Midland Valley High School in Graniteville, S.C.; Allendale-Fairfax High School in Allendale, S.C.; Wagener-Salley High School in Wagener, S.C.; Jefferson County High School in Louisville, Ga.; Harlem High School in Harlem, Ga.;  Evans High School in Evans, Ga.; and Burke County High School in Waynesboro, Ga.

“This is a partnership that benefits everyone – area schools, the environment and the MOX project,” said Kelly Trice, president and chief operating officer of Shaw AREVA MOX Services.  “The excess wood from our construction site will be reused to train future carpenters while saving us disposal costs.  We are continuously seeking every opportunity to save costs and positively impact our environment and our community.”

These three photographs show creations by the Strom Thurmond High School Career Center students, made from the MOX Project scrap lumber. Lewis Burt is the teacher at STCC, in charge of the building by the students.