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 December 2003 

 Vol. 3, No. 4 

Size of DCS MOX Facility

Controlled Area Reduced

On November 3, 2003, the Department of

Energy (DOE) directed its contractor, Duke

Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS) to reduce

the size of the controlled area surrounding

the proposed mixed oxide (MOX) fuel

fabrication facility. The boundary for the

new controlled area is expected to largely

coincide with the previously-designated

boundary of the much smaller restricted

area, which encompasses about 41 acres. In

its original Construction Authorization

Request (CAR) dated February 2001, DCS

had designated most of the 310 square-mile

Savannah River Site (SRS) as the controlled

area.

In accordance with the November 3, 2003,

DOE letter, DCS will now evaluate whether

the proposed facility meets the performance

requirements for accidents at the new

controlled area boundary, which would, in

places, be less than 100 meters from MOX

facility buildings. Also, DCS has been

directed to withdraw commitments to

augment the existing SRS radiation

protection training program and post notices

in F Area. 

DCS has been directed to respond to DOE

within 30 days of DOE’s letter with

estimated costs and evaluations. Since DCS

will need to revise its CAR and possibly its

environmental report (ER) as well, the NRC

will delay issuing the final safety evaluation

report and final environmental impact

statement. New issuance dates for these

NRC documents will not be projected until

the extent of any CAR and ER revisions is

known.

ACRS/ACNW Briefing

On November 6, 2003, NRC staff made a two-hour

presentation to members of the Advisory Committee on

Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) and Advisory Committee on

Nuclear Waste (ACNW). The presentation covered the

current status of open items in the Draft Safety

Evaluation Report(SER) for the MFFF. Staff covered

one nuclear criticality safety open item and ten chemical

safety open items. During the chemical safety portion of

the meeting, staff presented both the prevailing staff view

that the items should be closed in the Final SER, and a

dissenting view that the applicant has not adequately

addressed the open items. NRC Staff and NRC

management continue to evaluate the open items.

Hearing Update

On October 31, 2003, the Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board appointed to hear arguments on whether the

proposed MOX facility should be constructed granted

applicant Duke Cogema Stone & Webster's (DCS)

motion for summary disposition on one of the

contentions made by Georgians Against Nuclear Energy

(GANE). GANE is the lead intervenor opposing the DCS

request for authority to construct the proposed MOX

facility. The October 31 order dismisses GANE's

contention that DCS, in violation of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), understated the

impacts of the liquid high-alpha waste stream which

would be generated by the production of mixed oxide

(MOX) fuel at the proposed MOX facility.

With the Board's granting of GANE's motion to withdraw

the controlled area boundary contention on November

26, 2003, there are three remaining contentions before

the Board: (1) material control and accounting; (2)

physical protection; and (3) seismic risk. DCS has filed

motions for summary disposition on all three remaining

contentions.
Mixed Oxide Xchange - 2 - December 2003

NRC Quality Review

During October and November 2003, NRC

conducted an in-office review of the

implementation of the MOX Quality Assurance

(QA) Program by DCS. On October 29 -

November 7, NRC staff reviewed DCS

consortium activities at the Cogema-MecachimieSGN offices in La Hague and Bagnols sur Ceze,

France. During the visit, DCS conducted a QA

audit of its manufacturing design and software

design activities. The NRC staff observed and

evaluated the QA Program implementation in

France and the conduct of the audit by DCS. On

November 17-21, 2003, NRC staff visited the

DCS project offices in Charlotte, NC, to review

the implementation of the DCS MOX QA

Program for the current programmatic, design,

and procurement activities and verify that a QA

Program is in place, or planned, to support

construction of the MFFF. No significant

deficiencies were found that raised a concern for

the quality of the DCS MFFF activities or project

document products. The reviewers concluded

that the DCS MFFF QA Program was adequate

and was being effectively implemented for the

activities reviewed in France and in Charlotte. 

The in-office review was documented in a

meeting summary, ML033490081, which is

available through the NRC ADAMS document

system.

Support to the Russian Federation

On October 20-31, 2003, staff traveled to

Moscow, Russia, to conduct a workshop with the

Russian Federation Gosatomnadzor, or GAN. 

GAN is a Russian nuclear safety regulator with

which NRC staff continues to share its experience

on the review of design bases for the U.S. MOX

facility. The October workshop addressed the

staff’s review of fire protection and chemical

safety. NRC staff returned to GAN on

November 19-21 to make a presentation on its

experience with the preparation of its MOX

Standard Review Plan, NUREG-1718. In

January, staff will return again for a one-week

workshop on the staff’s review of the safety

assessment of the design bases for the U.S. MOX

facility. Staff will also discuss its review of the

MOX facility radiation safety features and

programs.

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.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards

Mail Stop T-8A33

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

 Lead Editor: David D. Brown

 Editor: Kendra Hill

 Production: Linda Gross

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

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