ML19267A220
| ML19267A220 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 99902069 |
| Issue date: | 09/30/2019 |
| From: | Stewart Magruder Office of New Reactors |
| To: | Hastings P Kairos Power |
| Magruder S,NRO/DAR/ARLB,348-5766 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML19267A220 (4) | |
Text
September 30, 2019 Peter Hastings Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Kairos Power LLC 580 2nd Street, Suite 290 Oakland, California 94607
SUBJECT:
WITHHOLDING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE - KAIROS POWER, LLC TOPICAL REPORT SUBMITTAL, REGULATORY ANALYSIS FOR THE KAIROS POWER FLUORIDE SALT-COOLED HIGH TEMPERATURE REACTOR
Dear Mr. Hastings:
By letter dated January 24, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19024A484), Kairos Power, LLC (Kairos) submitted an affidavit executed by you to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requesting the information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.390:
Regulatory Analysis for the Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor A non-proprietary version of this document submitted by Kairos in the January 24, 2019, letter referenced above has been placed in the NRC Public Document Room and added to the NRC Library in ADAMS for public inspection (ADAMS Accession No. ML19024A483).
The affidavit stated the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:
- a. The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned and has been held in confidence by Kairos.
- b. The information is of a type customarily held in confidence by Kairos and not customarily disclosed to the public. Kairos has a rational basis for determining the types of information customarily held in confidence by it and, in that connection, utilizes a system to determine when and whether to hold certain types of information in confidence. The application of that system and the substance of that system constitute Kairos policy and provide the rational basis required.
- c. The information is being transmitted to the Commission in confidence and, under the provisions of 10 CFR 2.390, it is to be received in confidence by the Commission.
P. Hastings 2
- d. This information is not readily available in public sources.
- e. Public disclosure of this proprietary information is likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of Kairos, because it would enhance the ability of competitors to provide similar products and services by reducing their expenditure of resources using similar project methods, equipment, testing approach, contractors, or licensing approaches. This information is the result of considerable expense to Kairos and has great value in that it will assist Kairos in providing products and services to new, expanding markets not currently served by the company.
- f. The information could reveal or could be used to infer price information, cost information, budget levels, or commercial strategies of Kairos Power.
- g. Each component of proprietary information pertinent to a particular competitive advantage is potentially as valuable as the total competitive advantage. If competitors acquire components of proprietary information, any one component may be the key to the entire puzzle, thereby depriving Kairos of a competitive advantage.
- h. Unrestricted disclosure would jeopardize the position of Kairos in the world market, and hereby give a market advantage to the competition in those countries.
The NRC staff has reviewed the affidavit and the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, has determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld in its entirety from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
While the NRC staff has agreed to broadly withhold and protect the submitted information based on its preliminary nature and use to support pre-application interactions, the NRC staff is not acknowledging that all information withheld is proprietary. The NRC staff is only acknowledging that preparation of more specific redactions within a public version of the document would be of no value to the public due to the extent of the proprietary information included. When requesting the withholding of information in future submittals, Kairos should discuss expectations for more specific redactions and preparation of public versions of submittals with the NRC staff. Kairos should also consider the requirements in 10 CFR 2.390 and guidance in LIC-204, Handling Requests to Withhold Proprietary Information from Public Disclosure (ADAMS Accession No. ML062200530) when preparing documents containing proprietary information.
Withholding from public inspection will not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, the NRC may send copies of the information to our consultants working in this area. The NRC staff will ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.
If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, Kairos should promptly notify the NRC. Kairos also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the future if, for example, the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes Kairos information. In all review situations, the NRC will follow applicable
P. Hastings 3 laws, regulations, and policies in conducting its review, including the NRCs policies on notifying the owner of information in advance of any public disclosure.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at (301) 348-5766 or via email at stewart.magruder@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Stewart L. Magruder, Senior Project Manager Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch Division of Advanced Reactors Office of New Reactors Project No. 99902069
P. Hasting 4
SUBJECT:
WITHHOLDING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE -
KAIROS POWER LLC TOPICAL REPORT SUBMITTAL, REGULATORY ANALYSIS FOR THE KAIROS POWER FLUORIDE SALT-COOLED HIGH TEMPERATURE REACTOR.
DATED September 30, 2019 DISTRIBUTION:
Public SLynch SMagruder LCandelario RidsNroDar Resource RidsNroDarArlb Resource RidsOgcMailCenter Resource ADAMS Accession Number: ML19267A220 *concurred via email NRO-002 OFFICE NRO/DAR NRO/DAR NRO/DAR NAME LCandelario* SMagruder SLynch DATE 09/25/2019 09/25/2019 09/30/2019 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY