ML16364A281
| ML16364A281 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Northwest Medical Isotopes |
| Issue date: | 12/06/2016 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Drucker D | |
| References | |
| NRC-2773 | |
| Download: ML16364A281 (39) | |
Text
Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Title:
Public Meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Construction Permit for the Northwest Medical Isotopes Radioisotopes Production Facility - December 6, 2016 Docket Number:
50-609 Location:
Columbia, Missouri Date:
December 6, 2016 Work Order No.:
NRC-2773 Pages 1-36 NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.
Court Reporters and Transcribers 1323 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 234-4433
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR THE NORTHWEST MEDICAL ISOTOPES RADIOISOTOPE PRODUCTION FACILITY
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PUBLIC MEETING
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HOLIDAY INN - EAST COLUMBIA 915 PORT WAY COLUMBIA, MO 65201
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- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016
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NRC STAFF:
MR. DAVID DRUCKER MR. MIKE BALAZIK MR. DAVID TIKTINSKY MS. ALISON RIVERA
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S (6:00 p.m.)
MS. RIVERA: Good evening. My name is Alison Rivera, and I will be the facilitator for tonight's meeting being hosted by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, commonly referred to by its acronym, NRC. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the contents of the draft environmental impact statement regarding construction of the proposed Northwest Medical Isotopes radioisotope production facility and receive comments on this draft environmental impact statement.
Some background on this meeting and how we got here: In 2015, Northwest Medical Isotopes, hereafter referred to as Northwest, submitted the application to the NRC to construct a medical radioisotope production facility at the Discovery Ridge Research Park, which will be referred to as the Northwest facility throughout this presentation. The NRC is reviewing this application, and the staff will determine whether to grant a permit to construct the facility. As part of that review, the NRC is
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 reviewing the environmental impacts from construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed Northwest facility. Tonight, the NRC staff will tell you about the preliminary findings of that review. The results of the environmental review have been documented in the draft environmental impact statement, copies which are over on the table, and this environmental impact statement you may hear referred to as the draft EIS. Toward the end of this meeting, you'll be asked for your comments on this draft EIS.
Before going further, I want to introduce the NRC staff here with us tonight. David Drucker, Mike Balazik, and David Tiktinsky, all from NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, are here.
Now, as your facilitator, I'd like to go over some few basic ground rules and the format of tonight's meeting. First, if you have not already done so, please go ahead and sign in at the table by the entranceway, and if you would like to be added to an e-mail distribution list, you can go ahead and add your e-mail address as well. Note that this meeting is being recorded, to produce a written record of what is said during this meeting. So to make sure
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 that we have an accurate and clear record, we ask that everyone go ahead and silence their electronics, if you have not already done that. And for those who wish to provide comments at the end of this meeting, we're using the yellow card method, so I do have some already, but if you wish to speak later during the meeting, you can raise your hand, and I'll bring you a yellow card. Record your full name and your organizational affiliation on this card, and then at the end, we'll be calling you up to provide your comments. Restrooms are just outside these doors, two lefts. The second left will be right after the water fountain. And in the unlikely event of an emergency, just go straight through these doors and continue outside. Security tonight is being provided by Officers Beckman and Jackson, and the meeting format is shown on the bottom half of the slide behind me.
We've just completed the introduction; next David Drucker will discuss the environmental review and the draft EIS. Then any questions that you have regarding David's presentation will be addressed, and, finally, the NRC staff will listen to the comments on the draft EIS.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Are there any questions on what I've covered, in the slides so far?
All right. Great. Then I will go ahead and turn it over to David.
MR. DRUCKER: Thank you, Alison. And I want to thank everyone for coming out this evening.
A little cold out there, so I appreciate that, that you made it.
My name is David Drucker. I'm the environmental project manager for the environmental review of the Northwest construction permit application. I hope the information we provide tonight will help you understand what we've done so far and the role you can play in helping us make sure that the final environmental impact statement is accurate and complete.
I'd like to start off by briefly going over the agenda and purpose for this presentation. I will discuss the NRC's regulatory role, a summary of the construction permit review process, an overview of the draft environmental impact statement, which you will hear me abbreviate as draft EIS -- and I see that there are at least -- there's at least one more left on the table. There's a bunch of CDs with the
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 document on it. If you need more, let me know, and I can get them mailed out to you. Also, there are copies of tonights slide presentation on the table right next to the draft EIS.
I'll also be talking about discussing the preliminary findings of our environmental review, which address the impacts associated with construction, operations, and decommissioning of the proposed Northwest facility. And, lastly, I will describe how you can submit comments. At the end of the presentation, there will be time for questions about my presentation, and then we'll ask for your comments on the draft environmental impact statement.
The NRC was established to regulate civilian use of nuclear materials and facilities. For example, the NRC conducts environmental and safety reviews for nuclear power reactors, research and test reactors, and medical isotope production facilities.
In all aspects of the NRC's regulation, our mission is threefold: To ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote common defense and security, and to protect the environment.
The environmental review or construction permit application is performed in accordance with
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 the National Environmental Policy Act, commonly referred to as NEPA. NEPA established the national policy for considering environmental impacts. NEPA requires federal agencies to follow a systematic approach in evaluating potential impacts to major federal actions, and also to assess alternatives to those actions. The NEPA process involves public participation and public disclosure. The NRC's environmental regulations implementing the requirements of NEPA are contained in Title 10 of Part 51 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Ultimately, the purpose of the environmental review is to identify the environmental impacts of the proposed facility, as well as alternatives to the Northwest facility, and in combination with the safety review, provide the NRC staff's recommendation as to whether or not to issue a construction permit.
I will now briefly go over the construction permit review process. This flowchart highlights the two parallel reviews associated with a construction permit application: The safety review and the environmental review. These two reviews evaluate separate aspects of the construction permit application. It also features other considerations
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 in the decision of whether or not to grant a construction permit. One of these considerations is the independent review performed by the advisory committee on reactor safeguards, commonly referred to by its acronym ACRS. Statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the ACRS is an independent group of scientists and nuclear safety experts who serve as a consulting body to the Commission. The ACRS reviews the construction permit application and the NRC staff's safety evaluation. The ACRS reports their finding and recommendations directly to the Commission. Typically, these meetings are open to the public. Additionally, the Commission will conduct a hearing in support of a review of the construction permit application. And so you can see it's not just the environmental review that helps decision makers decide whether to issue this construction permit to build the facility; there's also a safety review and there's also an independent review by the ACRS.
Next, I will describe the status of the safety review, followed by the status update by the environmental review.
This slide shows important milestones for the safety review process. Milestones shown in white
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 are completed; those in yellow are anticipated milestones. Northwest submitted the construction permit application in two parts. The safety portion was submitted on July 20th, 2015. The NRC published a notice of acceptance in the Federal Register on January 4th, 2016. The NRC staff has been reviewing the information in the construction permit application. As part of this review, the NRC staff has issued requests for additional information, to seek clarification or additional details of information not included in the application. The NRC staff will begin publishing portions of the draft safety evaluation report in June of 2017 and will be presenting to the advisory committee for reactor safeguards throughout the summer. These meetings are typically open to the public, and a meeting notice will be posted to the NRC Web site. The NRC staff expects to publish the final safety evaluation report in the fall of 2017.
This slide shows important milestones of the environmental process. Dates shown in white are actual completion dates; the dates in yellow are anticipated milestones. The items with an asterisk indicate opportunities for public involvement in the
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 environmental review. We received the environmental portion of the Northwest construction permit application on February 5th, 2015. A public meeting was held on December 8th, 2015, right here as part of the environmental scoping process. Some of you may have attended that meeting and provided comments to us. Comments that were given at that scoping meeting and that are in the scope of this review are responded to in Appendix A of the draft EIS. The draft EIS for Northwest was published on October 31st, 2016, and we are currently accepting public comments on this document until December 29th, 2016. Today's meeting is being transcribed, and the comments provided here will be considered the same way written comments submitted to the NRC are considered. Once the comment period closes, we will develop the final environmental impact statement, which we expect to publish in May of 2017. The final environmental impact statement will include responses to all comments received during this comment period.
So I will now provide an overview of the environmental impact statement, including a
discussion of the purpose and need of the proposed action, the affected of environment, impacts of the
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 proposed action, and alternatives to the proposed action, and the NRC staff's preliminary findings and recommendations.
The proposed federal action is for the NRC to decide whether to issue a construction permit that would allow construction of a
medical radioisotope production facility. The purpose of and the need for the proposed federal action and to provide a medical radioisotope production option that could help fulfill the need for a domestic source of this medical radioisotope.
For the past two decades, the United States has relied on imported medical radioisotopes.
The local shortages of medical radioisotopes in 2009 and 2010 have highlighted the need for action to ensure a reliable domestic supply. The NRC, however, does not have a role in the planning decision as to whether a particular radioisotope production facility should be constructed and operated.
The affected environment is the existing environment on and near the proposed Northwest facility site. For example, the NRC staff described the existing land use such as agriculture fields, open spaces, and developed areas. Some environmental
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 impacts could occur beyond the proposed facility site, such as air emissions. Therefore, the NRC staff also described the environment within 5 miles of the proposed facility.
The proposed facility site is located at Discovery Ridge Research
The site is approximately 4.5 miles south of Interstate 70 and just north of U.S. Highway 63. The site is 7.4 acres and contains no existing structures.
Chapter 4 of this environmental impact statement describes the potential impacts from construction, operations, and decommissioning of the proposed Northwest facility. The NRC established three levels of significance for impacts: Small, moderate, and large, as shown in the slide. A small impact occurs when the effects are not detectable or are so minor that they neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource. A moderate impact occurs when the effects are sufficient to alter noticeably but not destabilize important attributes of the resource. A large impact occurs when the effects are clearly noticeable and are sufficient to destabilize
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 important attributes of the resource. As I will show you on the next slide, the NRC staff did not identify any moderate or large impacts associated with the proposed Northwest facility.
As shown on this slide, the NRC staff determined that impacts to all resource areas from the proposed Northwest facility would be small. These impact determination levels are reported and explained in greater detail in Chapter 4 of the draft EIS.
In addition to the National Environmental Policy Act, the NRC addresses other requirements within its environmental impact statement. For example, the NRC staff conducted a review of potential effects of threatened and endangered species, as required by the Endangered Species Act. Under the Endangered Species Act, the NRC must determine whether threatened and endangered species occur on the proposed site, and, if so, if the proposed action would affect threatened and endangered species.
Under the National Historic Preservation Act, NRC staff first determines whether historic properties would be affected or not. If historic properties would be affected, then the NRC staff determines
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 whether the effects would be adverse. And, finally, for the staff's review of environmental justice, the NRC staff examines whether the proposed action would have disproportionally high and adverse impacts on minority and low-income populations.
The NRC staff determined that the proposed action would have no effect on threatened and endangered species. The NRC staff made this decision because the proposed site does not provide suitable habitat for any threatened and endangered species. The NRC staff also determined the proposed action would have no adverse effect on historic properties. And, finally, no minority or low-income populations would be expected to experience disproportionally high and adverse impacts.
The NRC staff also considered cumulative impacts. The cumulative impacts include the effects on the environment from the past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future activities. These effects not only include effects from the proposed Northwest facility, but also impacts from activities unrelated to the Northwest facility, such as future urbanization and climate change. The analysis considers potential impacts through the end of
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 decommissioning. As described in Section 4.14 of the draft EIS, the NRC staff found the cumulative impacts for most resource areas would be small, which means the effects would not be detectable or would be so minor they would neither destabilize or noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource. It is important to note that the NRC staff determined that impacts from the proposed Northwest facility would be an unnoticeable or minor contributor to the cumulative impacts.
Chapter 5 of the draft EIS compares the environmental impacts of the proposed action with various alternatives. The NRC staff examined in detail one alternative site, the University of Missouri Research Reactor. The NRC staff found environmental impacts at this alternative site would be small for all areas, except noise would be small to moderate, due to noise levels during construction and decommissioning from equipment and the distance to noise-sensitive receptors. The NRC staff also examined two alternative technologies: Linear accelerator-based technology and a subcritical fusion technology. We determined that these technologies would have the same impact as the impacts that we
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 found for the proposed Northwest facility; all small.
Lastly, the NRC staff evaluated the no-action alternative, i.e., the impacts if the NRC denied the construction permit. The staff found that the impacts would be small for all resource areas, but this alternative does not fulfill the stated purpose and need.
So after weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against the environmental and other costs, and considering reasonable alternatives, the NRC staff's preliminary recommendation is to issue a construction permit to Northwest, unless safety issues mandate otherwise.
I would like to emphasize that the environmental review is not yet complete. Your comments tonight and all written comments received by the end of the comment period on December 29th will be considered by the NRC staff as we develop the final EIS, which we currently plan to issue in May of 2017.
Those comments that are within the scope of the environmental review can help to change the staff's findings. The final EIS will contain the staff's final recommendation on the acceptability of issuing a construction permit based on the work we've already
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 performed and on any new information we receive in the form of comments during the comment period. The NRC staff will address written comments in the same way we address spoken comments received today. You can submit written comments either online or via conventional mail. To submit written comments online, visit the federal government's Web site regulations.gov, and search for docket ID No. NRC-2013-0235. If you have written comments here tonight, you can give them to any of the four of us, the NRC staff members that are here tonight.
I am the primary contact for the environmental review, and I can be contacted as shown on the slide. As I mentioned, copies of the draft EIS are available on the table, as well as CDs. In addition, the Daniel Boone Regional Library has a hard copy available for review, and you can also find electronic copies of the draft EIS online at the Web site shown. The NRC document number for draft EIS is NUREG-2209, and it's located in the upper right-hand corner of the draft EIS. I mention this because of the many ways to find this document, perhaps the easiest is to search in Google under NUREG-2209, it takes you right to the document,
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 versus -- most of the other ways take a few more steps to get to the document.
So this concludes my presentation.
Before we go on, the way we divide the meeting up is, we have a question portion, where you can ask questions about what I just presented, and then when we're done with that portion of the meeting, we would go on to the comments portion, and Alison will come up and handle the comments. We typically don't respond to comments. We respond to questions about what I just briefed, but comments we wouldn't respond to because we would want to take them back, think about them, and see how they feed into improving the document, and then, produce a final environmental impact statement.
Just a quick reminder, if you haven't already done so, please silence your cell phones and any other personal electronics. If you have to take a call, please go outside, because the meeting is being transcribed, and we want to make sure that we hear what folks have to say. When you speak, Alison or I will come around with a microphone so you can speak into the microphone, and that will also help our transcriber. Please identify who you are, and
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 if you represent a group, what group you represent.
Also, if you have an uncommon spelling for your name, please spell it for the transcriber. And to ensure, the recording is clear, if there's any side conversations, please take them outside.
Okay. We're at the question portion.
Any questions on what I represented?
None. Okay. Thanks. Then I'm going to turn over to Alison so that she can facilitate the comments portion of the meeting.
MS. RIVERA: All right. Thank you, David.
So as I mentioned earlier, we're going to be using the yellow cards for speakers. I do have seven cards already, so we'll go ahead and offer those individuals three minutes to provide comments, but if there's time at the end and you need additional time, you may come back up, or I also have a handheld mic that I can walk over to you; it's up to you. I will announce who is on deck, so to speak, behind the speaker so that you can be prepared and know when you'll be coming up. And as David indicated, the NRC staff is basically in listening mode for these comments, and the resolution of the comments will be
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 provided in a final EIS that is expected to be published in 2017.
So with that, I will go ahead and call up Brian Treece, and he will be followed by Stacey Button and Matt McCormick.
MR. TREECE: First, let me thank you and introduce myself. My name is Brian Treece, and I serve as mayor of the City of Columbia. And let me welcome David and your team to Columbia and thank you for your careful examination and review of Columbia's environment for this important project.
I do want to just comment on two or three items that I think are important things to address this evening. One is, really, the global need for this life-saving research. You know, the demand for domestically and economically sustainable and reliable supply of Moly 99 is well documented, and the North American supply is extremely limited.
There's only two reactors currently providing that, and one of those is set to close, leaving Columbia and this project as the only source for the product that is really used globally for the medical diagnostic imaging and the therapies that improve health outcomes.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Second, I want to emphasize how Columbia is really the ideal community for this type of project. I will point out, personally, that I live less than one-half mile from the MU research reactor.
Most people would not even know it is there. And I had the opportunity to tour that recently, and it is a fantastic asset for the university and the entire country. You know, that research reactor has been located in Columbia and safely operating here since the 1960s. We have a very robust medical community that is providing a number of health care options that attracts patients locally and regionally and beyond. We have a trained workforce that is used to operating within this isotope production, and a variety of the medical disciplines in our community really look forward to partnering and providing these types of world-class medical solutions. My office has an initiative to make Columbia a medical destination, and, certainly, this product and the Missouri University research reactor dovetails with that nicely.
I want to point out that there is -- because of the existence of that facility, there's really widespread and long-term community
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 support and recognition for nuclear energy and its compounded benefits, both from the research and academic site, but its practical applications in the healthcare environment.
And, finally, I want to point out that Discovery Ridge is really the right location for this project. The University of Missouri System had the foresight to develop that Discovery Ridge Research Park over a decade ago, and as part of that development, it is a certified site, with all of the necessary environmental reviews and clearances previously approved, and it is already home to a successful life science company, and the site really provides close proximity and access to Highway 63 and our airport. And as mayor of Columbia, I just want to go on record and convey our community's strong support for this project and my personal support as well.
Thank you, Alison.
MS. RIVERA: Thank you, sir. Next -- you can come to the podium. Following Stacey will be Matt McCormick and then Tom Lata.
MS. BUTTON: Thank you. My name is Stacey Button, and I'm the director of economic
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 development for the City of Columbia. I'm actually here tonight to read the testimony of Roy Brown, who is the senior director for strategic alliances for Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in support of Northwest Medical Isotopes. Roy is responsible for long-term strategic isotope supply for Mallinckrodt's nuclear medicine business and as a keen interest in the supply of Moly 99. Roy is also the chairman of the council on radionuclides radiopharmaceuticals, the primary medical isotopes industry group in North America.
The following is his testimony:
Mallinckrodt is the world's largest producer of Technetium-99, generators for use in nuclear medicine. These generators use Moly 99 with a
three-day half-life to provide
- sterile, hemorrhagin-free Tech 99, with a six-hour half-life.
Mallinckrodt has generator manufacturing operations in Missouri and the Netherlands, which rely on a steady supply of Moly 99. Tech 99 is used in roughly 80 percent of all nuclear medicine procedures, nearly 30 million times each year globally to diagnose heart disease, diagnose and stage cancer, and examine organ function in the kidney, liver, lungs, and brain.
More than 100 diagnostic procedures are available to
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 patients using Tech 99 radiopharmaceuticals.
Large-scale production of Moly 99 is currently only completed at four facilities worldwide. Moly 99 has not been produced domestically since 1991. These four facilities rely on aging research reactors which are periodically subject to planned and unplanned maintenance. Some of these unplanned maintenance outages have led to shortages of Moly 99, frequently impacting patient access to Tech 99 for these important diagnostic procedures. Mallinckrodt is also a major producer of Moly 99 at their facility in the Netherlands, and is very familiar with what is needed to produce commercial quantities. As the world's largest consumer of Moly 99, Mallinckrodt closely follows new efforts to produce this critical isotope and support construction of new facilities for its production. As Mallinckrodt understands it, Northwest Medical Isotopes commercialization strategy is to establish a network of U.S. university reactors to design and build a radioisotope production facility at Discovery Ridge Research Park located here in Columbia, approximately 5 miles from the research reactor. The facility will produce more than 50 percent of the U.S. Moly 99 demand. Northwest
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 plans to use a fission-based approach to Moly 99 production, which is a gold standard by which all other production methodologies are measured.
Northwest Moly 99 production is indistinguishable from Moly 99 from the existing fleet of nuclear reactors, and, therefore, it does not require a redesign of the Moly 99 generator technology.
Northwest's network of university reactors in the U.S. enables the universities to balance their missions of research, education, and service, and, more importantly, ensure a consistent, reliable, and uninterrupted supply of Moly 99. In addition, their novel chemistry of Northwest Medical Isotopes recaptures a uranium oxide as part of the extraction and purification process, enabling the recovery and recycling of the low-enriched uranium. Waste volume generation is one of the largest challenges of Moly 99 production. Nuclear medicine procedures performed in the U.S. consume half of the world's supply of Moly 99. A domestic Moly 99 production facility will reduce radioactive decay losses in transit with current suppliers in Europe, South Africa, and Australia. A U.S. supply robust enough to supply the entire market will also eliminate and reduce
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 transport problems that they have had in the past relying on shipments from Europe, incidents including volcanic activity in Iceland and flight disruptions due to terrorist concerns. So discussions leading up to the passage of the American Medical Isotope Production Act of 2012 cited all of these issues as a reason to encourage domestic production of Moly 99.
In
- summary, Mallinckrodt believes Northwest Medical Isotope's technology offers distinct advantages because it is based on a well-proven fission method of Moly 99 production and uses existing reactors. Their operation will, importantly, also be based on low-enriched uranium, which meets the objectives of the U.S. Government's non-proliferation policy, as stated in the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Korea, and in 2014 in the Netherlands.
Mallinckrodt applauds Northwest Medical Isotopes' efforts to build this facility in Columbia and encourages the NRC to provide the necessary resources for an expeditious review of their construction permit and operating license applications.
So thank you for the opportunity to
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 provide Roy's comments today.
MS. RIVERA: Thank you, Stacey. Next up we'll have Matt McCormick, followed by Tom Lata and then Dave Griggs. And does anyone need a yellow card?
MR. McCORMICK: Good evening. My name is Matt McCormick. I'm the president and CEO of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and I'm here to speak on behalf of our chamber and our board of directors of our full support for this project and for moving this forward.
One of our top legislative priorities last year and this coming legislative session is to actively seek the funding for the expansion of our research reactor. This funding would go towards training employees not only for the reactor but for projects at Northwest Medical Isotopes. The training goes towards worker safety, accident prevention, and human health aspects. The training of employees will benefit Columbia in many different ways. It gives us the opportunity to attract other companies, along with -- similar to Northwest Medical Isotopes and expand this industry hub. This has the potential to bring in hundreds of well-paid jobs to our area, and
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Columbia has the potential to become an industry hub, not only for our region and not only for our state, but for our nation and our world in this industry.
The chamber encourages your support and favorable consideration on this important project for our community, for the future of Columbia, and, most importantly, for the people that rely on these life-saving isotopes. We appreciate it, and, again, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce would actively request your support for this project.
MS. RIVERA: Thank you Mr. McCormick.
The next speaker is Tom Lata followed by Dave Griggs, and then Terry Maglich. And I apologize if I mispronounce your name.
MR. LATA: I'm Tom Lata. I'm the vice chair of the Osage group of the Sierra Club, and I just want to voice a few concerns that we had.
Basically, concerns that are involved in the development of -- at Discovery Ridge in general. And one thing that we're concerned about is the soils in the area are basically clay soil, so there's rapid runoff on the development of any building at the site.
The cumulative impacts of runoff from the various buildings that are being constructed on the site run
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 into Gans Creek watershed, which is a losing stream, and -- into the cave system of the Rock Bridge State Park. The cave is approximately -- as far as we know, it's almost a mile long, so it's -- there's a lot of different passageways, so there's a number of places where runoff and -- could get into the system.
There are two or three endangered species, the Indiana bat the gray bat. There's a pink planarian, which is found only in Devil's Icebox, nowhere else in the world, so this could be a real problem.
So, basically, we have no objection to the facility itself, but how it's being built could become problematic, particularly when that's accumulated with the other construction activities that are going on. I might also mention there's other caves that are much closer to the Devil's Icebox in this area. There's a cave called Elbow Cave, which is maybe a mile, mile and a half from the site, so it's -- which is -- it's actually in the city's new Gans Creek Recreation area.
I think those are our main concerns.
Also, we're concerned -- it's mostly clay soil in the area, so runoff is rapid and makes it into the cave quickly.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 MS. RIVERA: Thank you, sir. Next we'll have Dave Griggs followed by Terry Maglich, and the last card I have right now is Karen Miller.
MR. GRIGGS: Good evening. I'm Dave Griggs. I reside at 6420 North Highway VV in Columbia. Some background, I'm a former Boone County commissioner, past chair of the chamber of commerce, two-time past chair of REDI and have operated a business in the Columbia community for over 40 years.
I mention that simply to reinforce the point that this project, Northwest Medical Isotopes, has from the start been a perfect example of a public-private partnership, much like REDI or Regional Economic Development, Incorporated, which is public-private partnership. This project is a prime example of a company the City of Columbia, the County of Boone, and our great AAU university and our reactor team working together to bring this project to fruition.
You've heard from several folks tonight about some specific information relating to this project. My role is to discuss what I believe to be the overall economic impact this project will have in our community.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 REDI has worked with Northwest for over two-and-a-half years assisting Northwest in bringing together the right organizational leadership to move this project forward. I mentioned many of them just a second ago, but must stress the role of the University of Missouri and the team at the University Research Reactor. This is frankly an amazing opportunity for Columbia, for Missouri, and, in fact, the United States that will truly benefit all citizens. There are approximately 50,000 doses of this drug that will be produced at this facility administered daily in North America. Northwest will produce approximately 50 percent of those drugs, which, currently, no other producer in the United States for this critical domestic medical pharmaceutical.
A research reactor and a
collaboration between Northwest and University of Missouri are the critical components for this project. It's estimated the construction of this facility will exceed $70 million. To get the project up to a fully operational state will require up to 180 full-time construction personnel from central Missouri. When this facility is operational, it's estimated to employ 98 full-time employees. I will
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 tell you those positions will range from very highly, very skilled technical jobs, to those tasked with maintenance and even building maintenance from this facility. I make that point to note there is a variety of employment opportunities this project will bring to our community, not including in these construction and operational employment and cost estimates is the ancillary jobs that the project will require.
Obviously, these radiopharmaceuticals require someone to deliver them to the facilities that administer them. This has clearly been stated at projects located in the Discovery Ridge Research Park on 7.4 acres. Discovery Ridge ought to keep using this firm as another great example of a public-private partnership.
It houses ABC Laboratories, an environmental testing organization, and other clients, such as IDEXX, which is bioscience company serving the veterinary and animal health research industry. The site is critically located within a few miles of the intersection of U.S. Highway 63 and Interstate 70. It's immediately adjacent to Highway 63.
The location provides critical north, south, east, and west transportation assets from the
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 center of the United States, as well as being virtually 6 miles from Columbia Regional Airport, which is undergoing a major expansion project as we speak.
All necessary utility and street infrastructure, including the adjacent overpass providing virtually immediate access to Highway 63, is already in place at the site, allowing for a faster project timeline after your final approval. This fact demonstrates our long-term community commitment to attract this very sort of organization to Discovery Ridge.
In addition to the investment and employment opportunities I've mentioned, it's also anticipated over the life of this project Northwest will provide over $76 million in tax revenues in support of our schools, our city, our county, and our state.
In closing, on behalf of the Regional Economic Development, Incorporated, our community, our state, and, frankly, our country and the thousands of U.S. citizens whose lives will be positively impacted by this project on virtually a daily basis, I
urge your favorable consideration for this life-saving project.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 MS. RIVERA: Thank you. Next we have Terry Maglich, followed by Karen Miller.
Is there anyone interested in a yellow card at this time?
MR. MAGLICH: I'm Terry Maglich. I'm a business developer for the State of Missouri Department of Economic Development. The state, through our department, has an offering of assistance for this project for several reasons, the most being the opportunity that it creates, not only for the citizens in the Boone County area, but for our state.
It also fits within the vision of our strategic plan, which was created just a few years ago. The opportunities for quality employment go far beyond just the structure that will be on Discovery Ridge and the investment as spoken about will create additional tax dollars for our schools, which are badly needed. To top that off, it's a company that's going to possibly make a product that saves people's lives, which is very important to all of us.
Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.
MS. RIVERA: Thank you. Next we'll have Karen Miller.
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 MS. MILLER: Good evening, everyone. My name is Karen Miller, and I'm associate commissioner here in Boone County, and I'm here tonight to speak in support of Northwest Medical Isotopes' proposed project. Because of our wide array of community assets, we believe Boone County is an excellent location for the proposed facility.
The environmental impact study confirmed that the proposed location of this business will not have a negative effect on our community. The citizens of our community have supported local initiatives to prepare for businesses such as Northwest Medical Isotopes. In April the citizens passed a hotel tax to support the building of a new airport terminal.
The product to be produced by Northwest Medical Isotopes has a short shelf life, and accessible transit is key. The ability to utilize a nearby airport will allow for quicker delivery and less loss of potency. In addition, the new state-of-the-art emergency communication center houses the office of emergency management and joint communications dispatch and is as well prepared as any operation in the state to plan for any type of emergency through planning, training, and exercises collaborating with
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 our businesses. Northwest Medical Isotopes can have confidence services are available by our professional agencies, should the need arise under any condition.
One of our communities' premiere assets is the University of Missouri Nuclear Reactor. The physical proximity of the reactor, as well as the history of the excellence in performance combined make this a
perfect partnership between the university and Northwest Medical Isotopes. Through this partnership, which will produce the Moly-99 cancer patients throughout the United States will have more opportunities for better outcomes. This is a community-wide partnership, which has the potential to grow even stronger through the collaboration created by effectively utilizing our community assets: The university reactor, the regional airport, and our office of emergency management. Our community directly benefits from this partnership because this project will bring good paying jobs and capital investment, and it creates the possibility of pharmaceutical companies joining the research hub of Discovery Ridge, with the enhanced tax base benefitting all of Boone County.
Please accept this as the testimony made
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 on behalf of the Boone County Commission in support of Northwest Medical Isotopes facility location.
Thank you.
MS. RIVERA: Thank you. I'll ask one last time if there's anyone else that would like to speak.
Okay. Seeing, that no one wishes to make any more comments, just a few closing reminders. If you didn't already sign in, please go ahead and sign in at the sign-in table, and you can add your e-mail address if you'd like to be added to the distribution.
There are also copies of the draft EIS that we've discussed tonight. It looks like a few hard copies and lots of CDs remain. And one final request:
There are public meeting feedback forms on the table.
If you would like to fill one out, you can either give it to me, leave it on the table, or mail it postage free after this meeting, and any comments you have or feedback on this meeting will help us improve future meetings.
With that, I would like to go ahead and adjourn the meeting, and thank you so much for your time and attention.
(Whereupon, the meeting in the above-
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 entitled matter was concluded at 6:51 p.m.)