Press Release-II-12-047, NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter to Honeywell
| ML12195A285 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 04003392 |
| Issue date: | 07/13/2012 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region II |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| CAL 2-2012-002 Press Release-II-12-047 | |
| Download: ML12195A285 (1) | |
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NRC ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ACTION LETTER TO HONEYWELL The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to Honeywell Metropolis Works outlining actions the company has agreed to take before restarting its uranium conversion operations.
During an inspection that examined how the Metropolis, Ill., facility would fare in a major earthquake or a tornado, the NRC concluded that a credible seismic event could result in a higher risk to the public than currently assumed. The inspection raised concerns that Honeywell may have underestimated the amount of uranium hexafluoride that could be released into the environment should the process equipment be damaged by such an event.
However, this issue does not currently impact the safety of the facility because it is shut down. In a shutdown configuration, a seismic event or a tornado would not result in a significant release of material.
Honeywell has committed to the NRC that it will not resume operations until these safety concerns have been resolved, said Victor McCree, the NRCs Region II Administrator.
Ensuring the safety of the people who live near the plant and the workers at the facility must be our primary objective.
Honeywell Metropolis Works takes milled uranium and converts it into uranium hexafluoride gas which is then enriched at other facilities in order to make fuel for commercial power reactors.
Issuance of a Confirmatory Action Letter does not preclude the NRC from taking other actions for any violations of NRC requirements that may be identified.
A copy of the confirmatory action letter will be available on the NRC website at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html or using the number ML12198A109 or from from the Region II Office of Public Affairs.
News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave., NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No: II-12-047 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 July 13, 2012 E-mail: OPA2.Resource@nrc.gov