No. I-07-063 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

 Dec. 5, 2007 

NRC TO DISCUSS DECOMMISSIONING WORK AT WINDSOR, CONN., SITE 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting in Windsor, Conn., on 

Wednesday, Dec. 12, to provide an update on decommissioning activities at a former nuclear 

fuel manufacturing facility in that community owned by ABB, Inc. The NRC, which is 

responsible for oversight of the facility, will discuss changes in decommissioning and oversight 

responsibilities that have been implemented to facilitate the completion of remaining cleanup 

activities. 

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Windsor Town Hall, 275 Broad St. Before 

the session is adjourned, members of the public will have an opportunity to pose questions and 

provide comments to the NRC staff. 

“As always, the NRC’s focus is on protecting the public and the environment when it 

comes to radioactive materials,” said Keith McConnell, Deputy Director of the NRC’s 

Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate. “At the meeting on December 

12th, we will be able to share details of the remaining work envisioned for the ABB, Inc., site and 

explain what our agency is doing to ensure it will be carried out in as safe a manner as possible, 

with an eye toward future unrestricted release of the property.” 

ABB, Inc. (formerly Combustion Engineering-Windsor) manufactured nuclear fuel at the 

site, which is bordered by Day Hill Road to the south. It was also used at various times to 

conduct and support nuclear research and development work, including the construction, testing 

and operation of a U.S. Naval test reactor. The activities began in the mid-1950s and continued 

until 2001. As a result of those operations, soils, buildings and equipment surfaces were 

contaminated with uranium and byproduct material, both of which are radioactive. 

On April 7, 2003, ABB, Inc., submitted a site-wide decommissioning plan to the NRC. 

A revised plan that included radiation dose-modeling information was submitted on Oct. 15, 

2003. Several buildings on the site were subsequently demolished and the waste materials 

shipped off-site to a licensed disposal facility. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov
Meanwhile, certain portions of the site were to be remediated by the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Radioactive 

contamination resulted from defense-related activities at the facility. The buildings and areas 

where the defense-related materials are located were used by the U.S. Atomic Energy 

Commission prior to the early 1960s, when the first nuclear manufacturing license was issued to 

Combustion Engineering. 

Site studies have identified areas where the commercially generated and defense-related 

materials have become co-mingled. Consequently, a process was identified to facilitate the 

effective and efficient cleanup of the remainder of the site. This process, under the oversight of 

the NRC, will involve ABB, Inc., assuming responsibility for cleanup of all the radioactive 

contamination. 

Once all the decommissioning work is completed, ABB, Inc., must demonstrate to the 

NRC that the entire property meets the criteria for “unrestricted release.” In order for a site to be 

deemed safe for unrestricted release, any residual radioactivity would have to be within 

allowable levels. 

The current decommissioning plan for the site is available in the NRC’s electronic 

document system, which can be accessed at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/webbased.html . Slides from a presentation ABB, Inc., made to the NRC in September regarding the 

plan are available under Accession Number ML072600282. 

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