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 2001

NRC INTRODUCES MIXED

OXIDE XCHANGE

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

introduces Mixed Oxide Xchange—a quarterly

newsletter on the licensing of a mixed oxide

(MOX) nuclear fuel fabrication facility.

Each quarter, the Mixed Oxide Xchange will

contain news and information articles, meeting

notices and summaries, answers to frequently

asked questions, and more! We hope these

features will keep you informed about the MOX

licensing process and that you will provide

feedback to us. Since this newsletter is so new,

we really want your feedback on the whole idea,

so that we can give you what you need. Please

comment on any aspect of the newsletter -

including its style, content and coverage. 

Through Mixed Oxide Xchange and the other

NRC public information tools, such as public

meetings, press releases, and the NRC MOX

InfoWeb, the NRC wishes to keep the public

informed to ensure that their issues and concerns

are considered.

We welcome your comments on the Mixed Oxide

Xchange and will use these comments to evaluate

the continued issuance of this newsletter. Please

send your thoughts to moxfeedback@nrc.gov.

We look forward to hearing from you! ÑÑ

 Vol. 1, No. 1

DOE VS. NRC: WHO’S WHO?

With the end of the Cold War, the United States

and Russia entered into bilateral agreements in

which each country agreed to dispose of surplus

weapons-grade plutonium, much of which came

from disassembled nuclear weapons. It is the

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)

responsibility to dispose of the surplus weapons

material in the U.S. One strategy DOE has

developed is to use the plutonium in the fuel for

a power reactor in a once-through process so

that the accessibility and attractiveness for

retrieval and future use in weapons is

significantly reduced. To pursue this strategy,

DOE has contracted with Duke Cogema Stone &

Webster (DCS) to convert approximately 25

metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium

into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. The MOX fuel, in

turn, is proposed for use in the Catawba and

McGuire commercial nuclear power plants. 

Only plutonium from dismantled U.S. weapons

will be used in the MOX fuel that is to be used at

Catawba and McGuire.

The facility to fabricate the U.S. MOX fuel is

proposed to be designed, constructed and

operated by DCS and owned by the U.S.

Government. Current plans are to locate the

facility at the DOE’s Savannah River Site in

South Carolina, but the facility will be subject to 

(continued on page 3 - see Responsibilities)

 NRC’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Infoweb 

You will find NRC’s MOX website at www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/MOX/

index.html. The website gives background on nuclear fuel, history,

licensing and environmental information, meetings, updates related to

MOX and power reactors, and frequently asked questions. Your input is

always appreciated.
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 2 - March 2001

For Your Info . . .

Mr. Andrew Persinko

is the NRC Project Manager 

for the MOX licensing

activities.

Phone: (301) 415-6522

E-Mail: axp1@nrc.gov

Mr. Persinko will be out of

the office during the Spring of

2001. In his absence, the

NRC Backup Project Manager

is Mr. Timothy Johnson.

Phone: (301) 415-7299

E-Mail: tcj@nrc.gov

Surplus Plutonium - An Overview

Plutonium in its pure form is a very dense metal with a dull silver

color. It is an element with unique physical and nuclear properties. 

For example, in its pure form it is roughly two and a half times more

dense than lead and atoms of plutonium will split when bombarded

with neutrons. The splitting, or fission, of plutonium atoms releases

a lot of energy. In fact, fissioning two pounds of plutonium provides

the same amount of energy as 3,800 tons of coal.

Following its discovery in 1941 by Dr. Glenn Seaborg and others at

the University of California at Berkeley, the U. S. began producing

many tons of plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. Plutonium was

produced by bombarding uranium with neutrons in governmentowned nuclear reactors. By 1994, the U. S. had produced 111.4

metric tons of plutonium, and 99.5 metric tons remained in inventory. 

The remainder was used in wartime, weapons tests or were disposed

of as wastes.

As of September 2000, as much as 34 metric tons of weapons

plutonium had been declared surplus to the U.S. nuclear weapons

program. The U.S. Department of Energy proposes to immobilize 9

metric tons of this surplus as solid high-level nuclear waste and

convert the remaining 25 metric tons to MOX fuel. ÑÑ

MOX and the Environment 

» » »

On December 19, 2000, as one of the first steps in

the NRC EIS process, the NRC received the

“Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility 

Environmental Report” from Duke Cogema Stone 

& Webster. The Environmental Report was

submitted in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51,

“Environmental Protection Regulations for 

Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory

Functions.” The report is now available at the

NRC’s MOX InfoWeb.

The NRC will prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement for the MOX license application. An

Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, is a

detailed report that describes the environmental

impact of a proposed action. It includes, for

example, a discussion of adverse environmental 

effects that cannot be avoided and alternatives to

the proposed action.

Public scoping meetings, tentatively planned for

April 2001, are the next important step in the EIS

process. The dates, times, and locations of these

meetings will be announced in the Federal

Register and on the NRC’s MOX InfoWeb.

These scoping meetings will be held to solicit

public input. Input received from the public

helps the NRC define issues and alternatives that

should be examined more thoroughly and

possibly addressed in the draft EIS. At present,

the NRC expects to issue a final EIS in September

2002. ÑÑ
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 3 - March 2001

Responsibilities (continued from page 1)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing

requirements and oversight. Since the purpose of the facility

is to disposition surplus U.S. plutonium, the facility will be

shut-down when the disposition mission is complete.

Once the MOX fuel is manufactured, it would then be used

as fuel in commercial power reactors. Such use is subject to

separate NRC licensing requirements. There would be no

reprocessing or subsequent reuse of this spent fuel. Using

the plutonium in the reactor as MOX fuel makes the

plutonium unattractive and inaccessible for use in weapons.

The mission of the NRC in this process is to ensure adequate

protection of the public health and safety, the common

defense and security, and the environment in the use of

nuclear materials in the United States. The Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 provided the NRC

with the regulatory and licensing authority over the

construction and operation of the MOX fuel fabrication

facility. The NRC also regulates the commercial reactors that

would use the MOX fuel. If the NRC receives an application for a MOX facility, it is the agency’s

responsibility to verify that an applicant will be in compliance with NRC's regulations. If the review

concludes that the applicant meets the requirements of the regulations, the NRC will issue a license. If the

review shows that the applicant does not meet the requirements, the NRC will not issue a license. If the

MOX fuel fabrication facility is built, the NRC will perform inspections during construction and

operation. The NRC will also review any requests to use MOX fuel in nuclear power plants and must

amend the operating reactor’s license, before MOX fuel can be used in the reactor.

For more information you can go to DOE’s web site at http://www.doe-md.com/. ÑÑ

 Meeting Summaries

Listed below

are abbreviated

summaries of 

past meetings

with NRC staff

regarding

MOX. All

meetings,

except those

dealing with

safeguards and

security

matters, were open to the public. For complete

summaries, please visit the MOX website at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/MOX/index.html.

1999

August 31, 1999 - NRC staff met with DCS and DOE to

discuss design and licensing aspects of a MOX fuel

fabrication facility.

September 20-24, 1999 - NRC visited the Direction

de la Surete des Installations Nucleaires (DSIN- a

French nuclear regulatory agency) and Cogema to

discuss technical aspects of MOX fuel processing. 

Discussion topics included operating history, nuclear

criticality safety, fire protection, natural phenomena,

confinement ventilation, electrical safety, and the

“American-ization” of the French MOX designs for

use in the U.S. MOX facility.

November 16-17, 1999 - DCS and NRC discussed

technical topics associated with the MOX fuel

fabrication facility. Topics included design bases,

quality assurance program, classification and level,

process description overview, integrated safety

analysis, natural phenomena hazards, and nuclear

criticality safety.

December 7, 1999 - Representatives of Packaging

Technology, Inc. and the NRC discussed licensing

plans and preliminary design information for the

MOX fresh fuel package.

 (Continued on page 4 - see Summaries)

UPCOMING

MEETING

MOX EIS Scoping Meeting

The NRC is planning to hold scoping

meetings in April 2001 as it develops 

the MOX Environmental Impact

Statement. Look for locations, dates,

and times of these meetings on the 

NRC MOX infoweb at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/MOX/i

ndex.html.
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 4 - March 2001

( Summaries -- Continued from page 3)

December 10, 1999 - Representatives from DCS met with

NRC to discuss technical topics associated with the

MOX fuel fabrication facility. Topics included material

control and accounting, International Atomic Energy Agency

requirements, classification of information, and physical

security.

2000

February 3, 2000 - NRC staff met with DCS to discuss

technical topics associated with the MOX fuel fabrication

plant. Topics included worker dose, heating ventilation and

air conditioning, polycarbonate material in glove box

windows, fire protection, and controlled area boundary. 

May 9, 2000 - NRC held a public meeting to discuss

comments and resolutions to those comments received on

the draft NUREG-1718, "Standard Review Plan for a Mixed

Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility."

July 12-13, 2000 - NRC conducted public meetings in

Columbia and North Augusta, South Carolina. The meetings

informed the public about NRC's role in

licensing the proposed MOX fuel fabrication facility that 

DOE plans to locate at the Savannah River Site near Aiken,

South Carolina.

July 17, 2000 - NRC staff met with DCS to discuss

mechanisms for ensuring consistent control of Unclassified

Controlled Nuclear Information.

August 2, 2000 - NRC met with DCS to discuss seismic and

quality assurance issues applicable to the MOX fuel

fabrication facility.

August 16-18, 2000 - NRC staff met with DCS in

Charlotte, NC to review MOX Project Quality

Assurance Plan implementation in the licensing

process.

September 19-20, 2000 - NRC visited the French

spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at La Hague and

the MOX fuel fabrication operations at Marcoule.

These facilities are expected to be similar to the

designs for a MOX fuel fabrication facility to be

located at the Savannah River Site

October 4, 2000 - NRC staff met with Packaging

Technology, Inc. to discuss technical issues related to

the MOX fresh fuel transportation package for power

reactors.

October 12, 2000 - NRC staff met with DCS to

discuss MOX fuel qualification for use in power

reactors.

October 16-20, 2000 - NRC visited the Cogema

SGN offices and the MELOX plant to review MOX

Project Quality Assurance Plan implementation in the

licensing process.

2001

January 4-5, 2001 - NRC met with DCS to discuss

the project status and schedules, format of the

construction authorization application, and design

basis information to be included in the construction

authorization application for the MOX fuel

fabrication facility. 

February 2, 2001 - NRC staff briefed the Advisory

Committee on Reactor Safeguards on the proposed

MOX fuel fabrication facility. (The meeting transcript

is available at http://www.nrc.gov/ACRSACNW. ÑÑ

ALPHABET SOUP

ùCommonly Used Acronyms in this Newsletterû

 o 

 DCS Duke Cogema Stone & Webster

 DOE U.S. Department of Energy

 EIS Environmental Impact Statement 

 MOX Mixed Oxide (uranium-plutonium fuel for nuclear reactors)

 NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 5 - March 2001

Q

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Q: Isn’t the MOX proposal an issue mostly of money and possibly not

 what is best for the public and environment?

A: This is an issue of national security and nuclear non-proliferation

 policy. The U.S. Government and the Russian Federation agreed

 that some of the surplus plutonium from Russian and American

 weapons programs could be used to produce MOX fuel because

 after it had been used to generate electricity, it would be unattractive

 for use in nuclear weapons. Under this agreement, a U.S. MOX facility

 would only be used to disposition plutonium from the U.S. The NRC’s

 role is to assure the public that it will only license a safe,

 environmentally responsible facility.

Q: Since the reactors were not designed to use plutonium, how do we know

 that the modifications will be safe?

A: Although the reactors were not specifically designed to use weapons-grade

 plutonium, they were designed to use the reactor-grade plutonium that is

 generated in the uranium fuel during normal operation. There is

 substantial world-wide experience with the use and behavior of

 reactor-grade plutonium, because all operating reactors contain plutonium

 created during the fission process.

Q: Has the NRC ever denied a license? 

A: Yes. For example, the NRC recently denied a license for a portable

 irradiator based on safety concerns. In other instances, license applications

 have been withdrawn, or there have been delays in approving license

 applications while the applicant made changes to the facility or required

 programs in order to comply with NRC requirements. Approvals have

 often followed years of construction changes made necessary to comply

 with regulatory requirements and the findings of quality assurance

 examinations. Neither the NRC nor its predecessor, the Atomic Energy

 Commission (AEC), has ever denied an application for an operating

 power reactor license, largely because the facility was in compliance

 with NRC regulations after the changes were made and before approval. 
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 6 - March 2001

 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Mailing Address

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards

Attn: Mr. David D. Brown, CHP

Mail Stop T-8A33

Washington, D.C. 20555

Public Document Room

11555 Rockville Pike 

Room #O-1F21 

Rockville, Maryland 20852

Toll Free Telephone: 1- 800- 397- 4209

 

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 newletter. If you have comments or suggestions, you may contact us at

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