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University of Missouri at Columbia, Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure
	ML15051A004
Person / Time
Site:	University of Missouri-Columbia
Issue date:	02/20/2015
From:	Wertz G A; Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch
To:	Rhonda Butler; Univ of Missouri - Columbia
	Wertz G
References
	TAC ME1580
	Download: ML15051A004 (4)
	v • d • e

February 20, 2015

Mr. Ralph Butler, Director

Research Reactor Center

University of Missouri-Columbia

Research Park

Columbia, MO 65211

SUBJECT:

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT COLUMBIA - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOS URE INFORMATION (TAC NO. ME1580)

Dear Mr. Butler:

By letter dated February 12, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15049A039), the University of Missouri at Columbia Research

Reactor (MURR), submitted an affidavit (which corrected an affidavit sent by letter dated January 28, 2015, ADAMS Accession No. ML15034A 473), which was executed by yourself, dated February 12, 2015, and which requested that 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:

Attachment No. 22 and Attachment No. 23, MURR responses to the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) request for additional information.

A nonproprietary copy of this document has been placed in the NRC Public Document Room and added to the NRC Library in ADAMS, Accession No. ML15034A474.

The affidavit stated that the submitted informat ion should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:

i. This information is and has been in confidence by MURR. ii. This information is of a type that is customarily held in confidence by MURR, and there is a rational basis for doing so because the information includes sensitive

business information pertaining to how MURR will irradiate and process target

material to create Iodine 131. iii. The information is being transmitted to the NRC voluntarily and in confidence. iv. This information is not available in public sources and could not be gathered readily from other publicly available information. v. Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to MURR's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the

availability of profit-making opportunities. The value of the information goes

beyond the disclosure of actual information pertaining to MURR's potential

business, and includes substantial time and work towards developing the project, and represents significant efforts by MURR and its associates. The research, development, engineering, and analytical costs comprise a substantial

investment

of time and money by MURR. The precise value of the information is difficult to quantify, but clearly is substantial. vi. MURR's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of MURR's activities to aid their own commercial activities. The value of

this information to MURR would be lost if the information were disclosed to the

public. Making such information available to other entities without their having

been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly

provide competitors with a windfall and deprive MURR of the opportunity to

exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large

investment.

We have reviewed your application and the material in accordance with the requirements of

10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, have determined that the

submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and

should be withheld from public disclosure.

Therefore, the version(s) of the submitted information marked as proprietary will be withheld

from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy

Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and

directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this

information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, 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, you should

promptly notify the NRC. You also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review

this determination in the future, for example, if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act

request includes your information. In all review situations, if the NRC makes a determination

adverse to the above, you will be notifi ed in advance of any public disclosure.

If you have any questions regarding this review, please contact me at (301) 415-0893.

Sincerely,

/RA A. Adams for/

Geoffrey A. Wertz, Project Manager Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Docket No. 50-186

cc See Next Page

University of Missouri-Columbia Docket No. 50-186

cc:

John Ernst, Associate Director

Health and Safety

Research Reactor Facility

1513 Research Park Drive

Columbia, MO 65211

Homeland Security Coordinator

Missouri Office of Homeland Security

P.O. Box 749

Jefferson City, MO 65102

Planner, Dept. of Health and Senior Services

Section for Environmental Public Health

930 Wildwood Drive, P.O. Box 570

Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570

Deputy Director for Policy

Department of Natural Resources

1101 Riverside Drive

Fourth Floor East

Jefferson City, MO 65101

A-95 Coordinator

Division of Planning

Office of Administration

P.O. Box 809, State Capitol Building

Jefferson City, MO 65101

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