ML21257A091
| ML21257A091 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/13/2021 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| References | |
| News Release-21-036 | |
| Download: ML21257A091 (1) | |
Text
No: 21-036 September 13, 2021 CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200 NRC Issues License to Interim Storage Partners for Consolidated Spent Nuclear Fuel Interim Storage Facility in Texas The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a license to Interim Storage Partners LLC to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Andrews, Texas.
The license, issued Sept. 13, authorizes the company to receive, possess, transfer and store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent fuel and 231.3 metric tons of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste for 40 years. The company has said it plans to expand the facility in seven additional phases, up to a total capacity of 40,000 metric tons of fuel. Each expansion would require a license amendment with additional NRC safety and environmental reviews.
Interim Storage Partners is a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists LLC and Orano USA. It intends to construct the storage facility on property adjacent to the WCS low-level radioactive waste disposal site already operating under a Texas license. Information about the license application and the NRC staffs reviews is available on the NRC website. The licensing documents will be available on this page as well.
The spent fuel and waste must be stored in canisters and cask systems. The canisters and cask systems must meet NRC standards for protection against leakage, radiation dose rates, and criticality, under normal and accident conditions. The canisters are required to be sealed when they arrive at the facility, and remain sealed during onsite handling and storage activities.
The NRCs review of the license application included a technical safety and security review, an environmental impact review and adjudication before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
A safety evaluation report, documenting the technical review, is being issued along with the license.
A final environmental impact statement was published in July. The environmental study included extensive public input during its development and during the comment phase. The adjudication resolved contentions filed by several local and national petitioners.
This is the second license issued by the NRC for a consolidated storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The first, Private Fuel Storage, was issued in 2006, but the facility was never constructed. The agency is currently reviewing an application from Holtec International for a similar facility proposed for Lea County, New Mexico. A decision on that application is currently expected in January 2022.