United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 97-097 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Thursday, June 26, 1997)

NRC ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ORDER TO ENVIROCARE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has today issued a Confirmatory Order to

Envirocare of Utah, Inc. directing the company to stop receiving shipments of waste material

containing the special nuclear material uranium-235. Shipments en route to Envirocare on or

before June 11 may be received.

The company also must submit by July 7 an acceptable compliance plan for handling

waste that will conform to the provisions of the Commission's regulations and limit the quantity

of special nuclear material held on the site outside of a permanent disposal cell to less than 350

grams.

Envirocare submitted a plan on June 16 to the NRC outlining how it will either remove

the excess amounts of uranium-235 from the facility or place it in a licensed disposal cell.

Under additional terms of the Order, company officials must confirm in writing and under oath

by August 4 that the actions described in this plan have been completed. The company may

resume receiving shipments of waste material four business days after the confirmation is

provided unless written authorization is given earlier by the NRC.

The Order extends to August 4 the date for removing or disposing of the excess

uranium-235. A Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) sent June 12 set a compliance date of June

25. Today's Order supersedes the June 12 CAL. Company officials requested the extension

because it was physically not possible to meet the June 25 deadline.

NRC and Envirocare will hold a meeting open to the public on or before July 3 to discuss

special nuclear material possession limits and how the company can comply with the terms of

the Commission's regulations. The NRC intends to coordinate its actions with the State of

Utah, Division of Radiation Control.

NRC inspectors learned June 10 that more than 2,400 grams of uranium-235 had been

held in temporary storage at the Envirocare facility near Clive, Utah. Conditions of the State of

Utah license under which Envirocare is permitted to dispose of mildly radioactive waste material

allow only 350 grams of which includes uranium-235, to be held at the site without being placed

in a permanent disposal cell. Possession and processing of more than 350 grams of special

nuclear material before burial in a disposal cell would require an NRC license.

The uranium-235 that Envirocare has been holding is dispersed in contaminated soil

and other waste material it has received from government and industrial cleanup projects. NRC
and State of Utah officials agree that there is no danger of a criticality incident arising from the

violation. Theoretically, if a sufficient quantity of special nuclear material were lumped together,

a nuclear chain reaction, or criticality, could occur. However, the uranium-235 is dispersed

throughout tons of dirt and debris where it poses no threat of such an event. Once the debris is

dumped into the licensed, permanent disposal cells it is no longer subject to the 350-gram limit.

#