No. I-08-053 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

Sept. 19, 2008

NRC TO UPDATE PUBLIC ON SEPT. 30 REGARDING REVIEW 

OF DECOMMISSIONING PLAN FOR NEWFIELD, N.J., SITE 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will provide the public with an update on its 

review of a decommissioning plan for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp. facility in Newfield 

(Gloucester County), N.J., on Tuesday, Sept. 30. 

The information will be presented during a meeting scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Edgarton 

Memorial Elementary School, at 212 Catawba Ave. in Newfield. Following a brief introductory 

presentation by the NRC staff, the meeting will shift to information booths at which attendees will 

be able to ask questions of the staff regarding the decommissioning plan and the agency’s ongoing 

review of the proposal. Among the topics the NRC staff will be prepared to address at the booths 

are: radiological dose assessment; the engineered barrier design proposed for radioactive waste 

material at the site; financial assurance; groundwater and surface water issues; and the 

environmental impact assessment being conducted as part of the decommissioning plan review. 

 Located at 35 South West Blvd., the Shieldalloy facility in Newfield was used for smelting 

and alloy production from 1940 through 2001. One of the raw materials used by the company was a 

niobium ore called pyrochlore, which contains uranium and thorium and is subject to NRC licensing 

requirements. The majority of the radioactive material remaining at the site consists of slag 

generated during production operations and dust from baghouses. 

Under a decommissioning plan submitted by Shieldalloy to the NRC in 2006, all of the 

materials containing uranium and thorium would be consolidated into a single pile on a portion of 

the site’s storage yard. The material would then be shaped, graded and covered with an engineered 

barrier. The plan also calls for the remainder of the site to be released for unrestricted use, provided 

that the company can demonstrate that there was no residual contamination above allowable levels. 

The focus of the NRC’s review is to determine if the decommissioning proposal would meet 

the agency’s requirements for protecting public health and safety and the environment. That would 

include ensuring that no member of the public would receive exposure to radiation from the 

material in excess of allowable regulatory limits. The review entails both safety and environmental 

evaluations. 

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
Shieldalloy’s decommissioning plan is available on the NRC’s web site through its ADAMS 

electronic document system, at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html, using 

docket number 04007102. 

The NRC staff earlier discussed its review of the plan during public meetings held on Dec. 5 

and 12, 2007. 

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