A congressional committee is expressing concern over rising costs and potential delays at the U.S. Energy Department's mixed oxide fuel project at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

The mixed oxide, or MOX, plant is designed to dispose of plutonium from dismantled bombs by blending it with uranium to make commercial reactor fuel.

House Appropriations Committee members wrote in the fiscal 2012 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that the program's costs continue to escalate, with current estimates as high as $9.7 billion.

The National Nuclear Security Administration says the program remains within its budget projection of $4.8 billion, with an additional $345 million needed for a waste solidification building.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that other committee concerns include the NNSA's inability to find clients willing to use MOX.

Tags: Augusta, Department of Energy, Savannah River Site, MOX plant