NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

 Web Site: www.nrc.gov

No. 03-001 January 3, 2003

NRC ANNOUNCES OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING

ON NUCLEAR FUEL SERVICES, INC., AMENDMENT REQUEST

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is offering the opportunity for a hearing on a license

amendment request from Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) to authorize uranium processing operations

at a Blended Low-Enriched Uranium Preparation Facility (BPF) within its existing facility located in

Erwin, Tennessee. NFS currently manufactures high-enriched nuclear reactor fuel and is constructing a

new complex at the Erwin site to manufacture low-enriched nuclear reactor fuel. 

The October 11 application is the second of three license amendment requests that NFS plans to

support the Blended Low-Enrichment Uranium (BLEU) project, which is part of a U.S. Department of

Energy program to downblend and reduce stockpiles of surplus high-enriched uranium through re-use

or disposal as radioactive waste. After the high-enriched material is downblended and converted to a

low-enriched uranium solution, it will be transferred from the BPF to the new complex. 

The first NFS application, which would authorize NFS to construct and operate a Low-Enriched

Uranyl Nitrate Storage Building at the Erwin site, was filed February 28. A notice of opportunity for

hearing on the first license amendment request was announced in Federal Register notices dated July 9,

October 30, and November 12. An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Judge is currently

evaluating hearing applications. 

The deadline for requesting a hearing on the second license amendment is 30 days from the date

of publication of a Federal Register Notice on this subject, expected shortly. By that time, requests

must be filed by anyone whose interest might be affected by the license amendment and who wishes to

participate as a party to the proceeding. Requests for a hearing must be filed with the Secretary of the

Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention:

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. They may also be delivered to the NRC Public Document Room

at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. A copy of hearing requests should also be sent to the

Office of General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. 

Because of continuing disruptions in the delivery of mail to the United States Government offices, it is

requested that requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by fax to

301-415-1101, or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov , and to the Office of General Counsel either by

fax to 301-415-3725, or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov . Copies of hearing requests should
also be sent to Nuclear Fuel Services, 1205 Banner Hill Road, Erwin, Tennessee 37650-9718 and to

NFS attorney Daryl Shapiro, c/o Shaw Pittman, L.L.P., 2300 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. 

Information that must be included in a hearing request is described in the Federal Register

notice. 

A copy of the license amendment application is available through the NRC’s Agencywide

Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS). Help in using ADAMS is available by

contacting the NRC Public Document Room staff at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209, or by sending a

message to pdr@nrc.gov via e-mail. The documents are also available for inspection at the NRC’s

Public Document Room in Rockville, Maryland. 

For further information, contact Mary T. Adams, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel

Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-8-A-33, Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone 301-415-7249. 

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