An NRC quarterly newsletter providing licensing information on a Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility

Mixed Oxide Xchange

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NUREG/BR-0284 March 2005

 Vol. 5, No. 1

NRC Issues Final Environmental

Impact Statement

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed

its environmental review and issued the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) on the proposed construction and

operation of a Mixed Oxide (M OX) Fuel Fabrication Facility

at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The FEIS

evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the

construction and operation of the proposed MOX fuel

fabrication facility, and its alternatives including the

consideration of the public comments received. The issued

FEIS is part of NRC’s decision making process on whether

to authorize the applicant, Duke Cogema Stone & Webster,

to construct and operate the proposed MOX Fuel Fabrication

Facility. As a result of the environmental reviews, the NRC

staff concluded that the proposed action will have small

effects on the public and the environment.

Status of the Final Safety Evaluation

Report

On February 10, 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC) staff gave a presentation to the members of the

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) fullcommittee. The presentation consisted of an overview of the

regulatory framework for the proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel

Fabrication Facility (MFFF) Construction Authorization

Request (CAR), and licensing of the proposed MFFF. In

addition, the purpose of the full-committee meeting was to

discuss the staff’s draft Final Safety Evaluation Report

(FSER), and seek the ACRS endorsement of the staff’s

safety evaluation of the proposed MFFF. By letter dated

February 24, 2005, the ACRS recommended issuance of the

FSER. 

The NRC staff completed its safety evaluation of the MFFF

CAR, and finalized the FSER on the proposed construction. 

On March 30, 2005, the NRC issued a construction

authorization (CA) to the applicant, Duke Cogema Stone &

Webster, for the MFFF to be located at the Savannah River

Site in South Carolina. The staff’s safety evaluation for

issuing the CA is contained in the FSER (i.e., NUREG1821) dated March 2005.

Use of MOX Lead Test

Assemblies in Catawba Nuclear

Power Plant

On March 3, 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) staff issued a license

amendment and exemptions to Duke Energy

Corporation (Duke) permitting the use of four

mixed oxide (MOX) lead test assemblies (LTAs)

in either Unit 1 or Unit 2 of the Catawba Nuclear

Station, located in York County, South Carolina. 

The NRC conducted a safety and environmental

review and concluded that the proposed use of

the MOX LTAs is in compliance with NRC’s

safety requirements.

On March 10, 2005, the Atomic Safety and

Licensing Board (ASLB) issued a Final Partial

Initial Decision on the last remaining security

related issue regarding the contention made by

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. The

ASLB found that Duke’s requested exemptions

from 10 CFR Part 11 and 73 are appropriate.

Currently, the ASLB decision is not publicly

available because it contains sensitive

information. The ASLB plans to issue a redacted

version of the decision available to the public.

MOX Construction Hearing

Update

On February 2, 2005, a panel of the Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board Panel dismissed a

contention pertaining to seismic safety issues. 

The contention had been submitted by Georgians

Against Nuclear Energy, the lead intervener

opposing Duke Cogema Stone & Webster request

to construct the proposed MOX facility. 
Mixe d Oxid e Xc h an g e - 2 - March 2005

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards

Mail Stop T-8F42

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

Lead Editor: Diana Diaz-Toro

Design and Production: Linda C. Marshall

Mixed Oxide Xchange is published quarterly to highlight recent news and events associated with the NRC’s

licensing of a mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility. We welcome your suggestions for improvement of this

newsletter. If you have comments or suggestions, you may contact us at moxfeedback@nrc.gov. To subscribe

or unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to subscribe@nrc.gov. All issues will be e-mailed unless you provide

your mailing address and indicate your preference to receive copies by U.S. Postal Service.

NRC Continues to Restore On-Line

Availability of Documents

On October 25, 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) initiated a security review of

publicly available documents to ensure that potentially

sensitive information was not available through the

agency Web site. As a result, the NRC temporarily

suspended public access to the on-line document

library, ADAMS. No classified or safeguards material

is or has ever been permitted on the agency Web site.

The NRC staff continues to conduct security reviews

and restore access of appropriate documents. The

agency has restored non-sensitive documents in several

categories (e.g., reactors, selected hearings), which can

be accessed directly through the NRC Web site and

using Citrix software. However, links to some

documents in ADAMS might not be active yet. The

NRC continues its review to restore non-sensitive

documents to its Web site. 

For additional questions regarding the status of these

security reviews, contact the Office of Public Affairs at

301-415-8200.

MOX Project Manager: Ted Carter

Phone: (301) 415-6684

E-mail: thc1@nrc.gov

Meeting Summaries

February 10, 2005

The NRC staff briefed the Advisory Committee on

Reactor Safeguards on the draft Final Safety Evaluation

Report for the proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication

Facility.

Upcoming Meetings 

No meetings regarding the proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel

Fabrication Facility have been scheduled at this time.

Find meeting summaries, updates related to the proposed MFFF, frequently asked questions

and past issues of the Mixed Oxide Xchange.

Go to http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/mox/licensing.html.