Press Release-03-029: NRC to Hold Public Meetings to Discuss Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed MOX Nuclear FacilityML030710490 |
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03/12/2003 |
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Office of Public Affairs |
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-RFPFR Press Release-03-029 |
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Category:Press Release
MONTHYEARPress Release-II-15-002, NRC Schedules Public Meeting to Discuss Mixed Oxide Fuel Project2015-01-0808 January 2015 Press Release-II-15-002: NRC Schedules Public Meeting to Discuss Mixed Oxide Fuel Project Press Release-14-079, NRC Extends Construction Deadline for MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant2014-11-14014 November 2014 Press Release-14-079: NRC Extends Construction Deadline for MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant Press Release-II-13-014, NRC Staff Schedules Meeting with Shaw Areva MOX Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility2013-04-0808 April 2013 Press Release-II-13-014: NRC Staff Schedules Meeting with Shaw Areva MOX Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility Press Release-II-12-048, NRC Schedules Public Meeting to Discuss Mox Facility2012-07-16016 July 2012 Press Release-II-12-048: NRC Schedules Public Meeting to Discuss Mox Facility ML1133901442011-12-0505 December 2011 Press Release-II-11-068: NRC Staff Schedules Meeting with Shaw Areva MOX Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility Press Release-II-11-068, NRC Staff Schedules Meeting with Shaw Areva Mox Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility2011-12-0505 December 2011 Press Release-II-11-068: NRC Staff Schedules Meeting with Shaw Areva Mox Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility Press Release-11-076, NRC to Hold Public Meeting May 10 in Aiken. S.C., to Discuss Safety Evaluation Report on Mox Fuel Facility Application2011-05-0303 May 2011 Press Release-11-076: NRC to Hold Public Meeting May 10 in Aiken. S.C., to Discuss Safety Evaluation Report on Mox Fuel Facility Application Press Release-11-061, Licensing Board Admits Additional Contentions Regarding Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility License Application2011-04-0101 April 2011 Press Release-11-061: Licensing Board Admits Additional Contentions Regarding Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility License Application Press Release-10-225, NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River2010-12-27027 December 2010 Press Release-10-225: NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River Press Release-10-148, NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River2010-08-25025 August 2010 Press Release-10-148: NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River ML1023712072010-08-25025 August 2010 Press Release-10-148: NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation Report for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River Press Release-II-09-066, NRC Staff to Meet with Shaw Areva MOX Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility2009-12-0101 December 2009 Press Release-II-09-066: NRC Staff to Meet with Shaw Areva MOX Services to Discuss Performance at Mixed Oxide Facility Press Release-09-077, NRC to Hold Management Meeting with Shaw Areva to Discuss Progress on Mixed-Oxide Nuclear Fuel Plant2009-04-24024 April 2009 Press Release-09-077: NRC to Hold Management Meeting with Shaw Areva to Discuss Progress on Mixed-Oxide Nuclear Fuel Plant ML0709402372007-04-0404 April 2007 Press Release-07-043: NRC to Hold Public Meeting in Aiken, S.C., on License Review Process for MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Press Release-07-036, - NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Operating License for Mox Fuel Plant in South Carolina2007-03-15015 March 2007 Press Release-07-036 - NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Operating License for Mox Fuel Plant in South Carolina Press Release-06-119, NRC Receives Operating License Application for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina2006-09-27027 September 2006 Press Release-06-119: NRC Receives Operating License Application for Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina Press Release-05-104, NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet August 2-4 in Rockville, Maryland2005-07-21021 July 2005 Press Release-05-104: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet August 2-4 in Rockville, Maryland Press Release-05-058, NRC Authorizes Construction of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River Site2005-03-30030 March 2005 Press Release-05-058: NRC Authorizes Construction of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at Savannah River Site Press Release-03-064, NRC Media Workshop Scheduled June 24-252003-05-21021 May 2003 Press Release-03-064: NRC Media Workshop Scheduled June 24-25 Press Release-03-054, NRC Issues Revised Draft Safety Evaluation Report on Proposed Mox Facility in South Carolina2003-05-0202 May 2003 Press Release-03-054: NRC Issues Revised Draft Safety Evaluation Report on Proposed Mox Facility in South Carolina Press Release-03-029, NRC to Hold Public Meetings to Discuss Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed MOX Nuclear Facility2003-03-12012 March 2003 Press Release-03-029: NRC to Hold Public Meetings to Discuss Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Proposed MOX Nuclear Facility Press Release-03-005, NRC Meeting on Proposed Mox Facility2003-01-10010 January 2003 Press Release-03-005: NRC Meeting on Proposed Mox Facility Press Release-02-103, NRC to Hold Public Meetings to Discuss New Environmental Information on Proposed MOX Nuclear Facility2002-09-0303 September 2002 Press Release-02-103: NRC to Hold Public Meetings to Discuss New Environmental Information on Proposed MOX Nuclear Facility Press Release-02-089, NRC to Hold Public Meeting in South Carolina on Proposed MOX Facility2002-08-14014 August 2002 Press Release-02-089: NRC to Hold Public Meeting in South Carolina on Proposed MOX Facility Press Release-02-057, NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation Report on Proposed MOX Facility in South Carolina2002-05-0202 May 2002 Press Release-02-057: NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation Report on Proposed MOX Facility in South Carolina Press Release-II-01-039, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Hold Prehearing Conference in North Augusta on September 21 on Proposed Fuel Facility2001-09-20020 September 2001 Press Release-II-01-039: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Hold Prehearing Conference in North Augusta on September 21 on Proposed Fuel Facility 2015-01-08
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: www.nrc.gov No.03-029 March 12, 2003 NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS TO DISCUSS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ON PROPOSED MOX NUCLEAR FACILITY The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold public meetings March 25-27 in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina to discuss environmental impacts of the proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The meetings follow publication of the NRCs Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS),
which includes the NRC staffs preliminary NEPA recommendation that, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, NRC approve a license for construction and operation of the plant, with conditions for enhancing protection of the environment. NRC staff members will explain the findings in the DEIS and receive oral and written public comments at the public meetings.
Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS), a contractor of the Department of Energy, is proposing to build the MOX facility at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. If NRC approves, DCS could build a MOX facility that would convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium, supplied by the DOE, into fuel for use in a limited number of commercial nuclear power reactors. Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States currently use only uranium in fresh fuel; the mixed oxide fresh fuel would use a combination of uranium and plutonium. Converting weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel helps advance the cause of nonproliferation by converting the material into a form unsuitable for use in weapons of mass destruction.
The DEIS discusses the proposed action as well as alternatives, including the no-action alternative. The discussion of the no-action alternative evaluates the environmental impacts of continuing to store surplus plutonium in various DOE facilities nationwide, in the event NRC decides not to approve the MOX facility. Alternatives considered, but not analyzed in detail, include alternative locations for the facility within the Savannah River Site, alternative technology and design options, immobilization of surplus plutonium instead of producing MOX fuel, deliberately making off-specification MOX fuel (which would be unsuitable for use in reactors and placed directly into spent fuel storage facilities), and the Parallex Project, which involves irradiating the MOX fuel in Canadian CANDU reactors. Additionally, the DEIS compares the impacts of using HEPA filters to the impact of using sand filters for removal of particulate air emissions from the proposed facility.
After issuing the DEIS, the NRC discovered that the accident consequences in the DEIS are overestimated. NRC anticipates it will revise the estimated 1-year public dose from hypothetical accidents to lower values. NRC has notified stakeholders and plans to discuss this issue at the public meeting and in a Federal Register notice. NRC will also post information regarding the error and changes to the DEIS on the MOX web site listed below.
The public meetings will be held as follows:
March 25 at the Coastal Georgia Center, located at 305 Fahm Street, Savannah, Georgia;
March 26 at the North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North Augusta, South Carolina; and
March 27 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, located at 600 E. Fourth Street in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Each meeting will include an Open House session from 5:30 until 7 p.m., during which NRC staff will be available informally to discuss the MOX project and answer questions. The formal public meetings will be held from 7 until 10 p.m. Individuals wishing to make oral comments must register before the start of the meetings. Individual comments may have to be limited due to high demand and the time available.
In addition to the public meetings, interested parties may submit written comments for consideration by the NRC staff. To be certain of consideration, comments must be postmarked by May 14 (a 30-day extension of the deadline originally published in the Federal Register). Comments may be submitted to: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to teh@nrc.gov or by fax to 301-415-5398, Attention: Tim Harris.
The DEIS is available for public review through the NRC electronic reading room:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1767/ . A selected group of documents on which the DEIS is based is available on the MOX web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/mox/licensing.html . Documents may also be obtained by contacting NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209. The PDR can also provide assistance in using the electronic reading room on NRCs web page.
For general information on the environmental review process, contact Tim Harris at 301-415-6613. For technical information associated with the proposed MOX facility, please contact Drew Persinko at 301-415-6522.