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 September 2004 

 Vol. 4, No.3

NRC Receives Application Revisions

On June 10, 2004, Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS)

submitted to NRC revisions to its Environmental Report

(ER) and Construction Authorization Request (CAR). The

revised reports address several changes in the surplus

plutonium disposition project, as directed by the U.S.

Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security

Administration (NNSA). During a meeting with NRC on

July 14, 2004, DCS explained the major changes to the ER

and CAR, which included moving the controlled area

boundary (CAB) from the Savannah River Site (SRS)

boundary (over 5 miles away from the proposed Mixed

Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF)) to be coincident

with the MFFF site boundary, which encompasses the 41

acre MFFF site in the Savannah River Site F-area.

Other major changes made to the ER and CAR that are not

related to the CAB include: (1) replacement of the Uranium

Oxide Dissolution Unit with the Uranyl Nitrate System;

(2) addition of a Waste Organic Solvent Unit; (3)

clarification of crane/hoist equipment requirements; (4)

corrections to codes and standards; (5) updating references

to the revised MFFF Site Geotechnical Report; and (6) new

waste treatment and disposal functions at the NNSA Waste

Solidification Building.

The NRC staff is currently reviewing the CAR and ER

proposed changes. On August 17, 2004, the NRC requested

additional information necessary to complete the review and

issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement. Also, on

September 8, 2004, NRC staff issued a request for additional

information (RAI) to DCS on the revised CAR. The review

of the remaining chemical safety open items is ongoing. 

MOX Project Manager: David D. Brown

Phone: (301) 415-5257

Email: ddb@nrc.gov

NRC Continues Work with Russia

On July 19-21, 2004, staff from the Division of

Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards (FCSS)

participated in a workshop in Moscow, Russia, 

with staff from the U.S. Department of

Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration

(NNSA), the Russian Federation (RF)

Gosatomnadzor (GAN), and other Russian

government agencies and industry. The purpose

of the workshop was to discuss the process for

developing regulatory acceptance criteria for the

RF Standard Review Plan (SRP) for a Mixed

Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. During the

workshop, NRC experts in radiation safety,

nuclear criticality safety, and chemical safety

gave short presentations (with examples) on the

process for developing regulatory acceptance

criteria. NRC presentations and examples were

based on the development of U.S. regulatory

acceptance criteria contained in NUREG-1718,

"Standard Review Plan for the Review of an

Application for a Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel

Fabrication Facility."

NRC Approves Export of

Plutonium

On June 16, 2004, NRC’s Office of International

Programs issued a license to the U.S. Department

of Energy/National Nuclear Security

Administration (NNSA) to export 140 kilograms

of plutonium oxide powder to France. The

plutonium oxide will be used to manufacture lead

test assemblies in France for possible use in Duke

Power’s Catawba Unit 1 reactor near Charlotte,

NC. On August 4, 2004, the U.S. Department of

Transportation approved the revalidation of

Packaging Technology’s FS-47 shipping cask

that will be used to ship the plutonium oxide

powder from the Los Alamos National

Laboratory in New Mexico to the Cadarache

facility in France.
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 2 - September 2004

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.

Meeting Summaries

July 14, 2004

The NRC staff and DCS held a meeting open to the

public to discuss the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication

Facility (MFFF) Construction Authorization Request

(CAR) Revision dated June 10, 2004. DCS provided

a summary of the revisions made to the CAR as a

result of the changes to the Controlled Area

Boundary.

Upcoming Meetings

No meetings between DCS and NRC 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.