NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. 01-024 March 6, 2001

NRC ANNOUNCES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, PUBLIC MEETINGS ON

PROPOSED MIXED OXIDE FUEL FACILITY

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has announced plans to prepare an environmental impact

statement to support its license review of a proposed mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility on the

Department of Energy’s Savannah River site near Aiken, South Carolina. The agency is also scheduling

public meetings to allow interested members of the community to express their opinion and provide

information and comments to assist the agency in its environmental evaluation.

Scoping meetings will be held April 17-18 in North Augusta, South Carolina, and in Savannah,

Georgia.

These meetings will enable the public to become involved in determining the scope, or bounds

of the environmental impact statement for the proposed MOX facility. Additional meetings inviting

public comment will be held after the draft statement is published.

The Department of Energy plans to construct a MOX fuel plant through a contract with the

consortium of Duke Engineering & Services, COGEMA Inc., and Stone & Webster (known as DCS). If

NRC grants the license, DCS could build and operate a MOX facility that would convert surplus

weapons-grade plutonium, supplied by the Department of Energy, into fuel for use in commercial

nuclear reactors. Such use would render the plutonium essentially inaccessible and unattractive for

weapons use. Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States currently use uranium as fuel; the

mixed oxide fuel would be a combination of uranium and plutonium.

DCS submitted an application on March 1 for authorization to construct the facility. An

opportunity for a hearing will be announced in a Federal Register notice following NRC’s acceptance

review of the application. The NRC’s preparation of an environmental impact statement is a major part

of the construction application review.

The MOX fuel fabrication facility would have to be built in accordance with strict safety

requirements set forth in the agency’s regulations. If the NRC review proceeds on schedule, and if the

agency approves construction, DCS intends to begin construction in mid-2002. DCS also intends to

submit an application for an operating license in June 2002.
The public meetings in April will assist the NRC staff in determining the range of environmental

impacts and alternative actions to be considered in the environmental impact statement, and will

identify significant issues. The principal goals of the process are to:

ˇ Ensure that problems are identified early and are studied properly;

ˇ Identify alternatives to building the facility that will be examined;

ˇ Identify significant issues that need to be analyzed;

ˇ Eliminate unimportant issues; and

ˇ Identify public concerns.

Some areas to be covered in the environmental impact statement include: health and safety,

waste management, transportation, handling of hazardous materials, background radiation, water and

earth resources, air quality, land use, noise, ecological resources, socioeconomic issues, and natural

disasters.

The meetings will follow a non-traditional format, with attendees participating in smaller

working groups within the larger meeting setting. Participants may express their views verbally and

will also be encouraged to submit their comments in writing.

The meeting on April 17 in North Augusta will be held at the North Augusta Community

Center, at 496 Brookside Avenue. The meeting on April 18 in Savannah will be held at the Georgia

Coastal Center, at 305 Martin Luther King Blvd.

The meetings are scheduled from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. NRC staff will be available at 5:30

p.m. to informally discuss the project. Those interested in attending are asked to register in advance by

calling Betty Garrett, 301-415-5808 (e-mail: bsg@nrc.gov).

Other initiatives and background information on the MOX project are located at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/MOX/index.html on the web.

The NRC expects to publish its draft environmental impact statement next February and will

schedule meetings shortly thereafter to obtain public comment.

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