ML19280C599
| ML19280C599 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 11006361 |
| Issue date: | 10/07/2019 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | Wagner A US HR (House of Representatives) |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| Export License Application, RAS 55351, DOE Export License - 11006361 | |
| Download: ML19280C599 (6) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 October 7, 2019 SECRETARY The Honorable Roy Blunt United States Senate Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senator Blunt:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I am responding to your letter of September 27, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the Export License Application of the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) (Docket No. 11006361 ). Your letter expresses support for a public hearing on the matter, as requested by your constituent, Curium US LLC.
Because your request bears on the contested proceeding pending before the Commission, it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to discuss this matter at this time. This is because the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceeding .
A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the DOE Export License Application proceeding.
Sincerely, Annette L. Vietti-Cook cc: Representative Ann Wagner
UNITED ST ATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 October 7, 2019 SECRETARY The Honorable Ann Wagner United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congresswoman Wagner:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I am responding to your letter of September 27, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the Export License Application of the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) (Docket No. 11006361 ). Your letter expresses support for a public hearing on the matter, as requested by your constituent, Curium US LLC.
Because your request bears on the contested proceeding pending before the Commission, it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to discuss this matter at this time. This is because the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceeding.
A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the DOE Export License Application proceeding.
Sincerely,
~uff,1-~
Annette L. Vietti-Cook cc: Senator Roy Blunt
O!nngress of tlf e Uniteil §fates tnnsl1ington, IDQr 20515 September 27, 2019 The Honorable Kristine Svinicki Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-16 B33 Washington, DC 20555
.
Dear Commissioner Svinicki:
We write in support of the Commission granting a public, oral hearing regarding the Institute for Radioelement's (IRE) recent Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Export License Application.
Our constituent, Curium, filed a Request for Hearing with the Commission in an effort to prevent circumvention of the statutory export license sunset established by the American Medical Isotope Production Act (AMIPA).
As mandated by AMIPA, upon the joint certification of the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of Health and Human Services that there is a sufficient supply ofMolybdenum-99 (Mo-99) produced without the use of HEU available to meet the domestic needs of patients, a ban will go into effect in January 2020. The ban promotes the two main goals of AMlP A which is centered around establishing a reliable domestic supply of non-HEU Mo-99 and reducing nuclear security risks associated with the transport of HEU from the United States to foreign nations.
We understand that since AMIPA was enacted in 2013, every marketplace participant except IRE has managed to convert their Mo-99 operations from HEU to non-HEU or implement non-uranium processes. IRE' s continued failure to convert their Mo-99 and 1-131 operations has created a competitive disadvantage for domestic companies. The conversion process took many years of effort and cost producers millions of dollars. Unfortunately, after a costly conversion process, producers using non-HEU operations are faced with a production efficiency loss when compared to HEU operations.
From information provided by industry stakeholders, we know that Curium, an industry leader with more than 400 employees in the U.S ., which produces more than forty percent of the Mo-99 used worldwide, successfully converted both Mo-99 and Xe-133 operations in 2017. To date, domestic market place participants like Curium who have duly complied with conversion requirements or implemented non-uranium processes face a twenty percent production efficiency loss from the associated cost of production.
Moreover, one of AMIPA's major policy pillars was an effort to thwart any associated nuclear security threats stemming from the exportation of HEU. However, because HEU is a dangerous, highly fissile material that can be used to build a nuclear weapon or improvised nuclear device, the issuance of a new export license will continue to foster a nuclear threat during its transportation.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Based on our constituent's assertions that IRE's application for nearly 5 kilograms of HEU for Mo-99 and 1-131 production is unwarranted and, if granted, unnecessarily circumvents the intent of the statutory license ban and goes against the directives of Congress, we are hopeful the Commission will grant a public, oral hearing.
Sincere regards, Roy Bl nt
~Ann Wagner United States Senator Member of Congr Cc: The Honorable Rick Perry, Secretary, Department of Energy Commissioner Baran, U.S. Nuclear Commission Commissioner Caputo, U.S . Nuclear Commission Commissioner Wright, U.S. Nuclear Commission
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ) Docket No. 11006361
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) License No. XSNM3810 (Export of 93.35% Enriched Uranium) )
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letters from NRC Secretary, Annette Vietti-Cook, to Senator Roy Blunt and Congresswoman Ann Wagner have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange or, as indicated by an asterisk, by electronic mail.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Becky Eddy Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Department of Energy Mail Stop: O-16B33 301 Bear Creek Road, JCC N3.168 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 E-mail: ocaamail@nrc.gov E-mail: becky.eddy@npo.doe.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Counsel for Curium US LLC Office of the Secretary of the Commission Sachin Desai, Esq.
Mail Stop: O-16B33 Amy C. Roma, Esq.
Washington, DC 20555-0001 Hogan Lovells US LLP E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov 555 13th Street NW Washington D.C., 20004 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission E-mail: sachin.desai@hoganlovells.com Office of the General Counsel amy.roma@hoganlovells.com Mail Stop O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Steve Merrick Grace Kim, Esq. President and Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Mertz, Esq. NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC Carrie Safford, Esq. 1800 Gateway Blvd.
E-mail: grace.kim@nrc.gov Beloit, WI 53511 nicolas.mertz@nrc.gov carrie.safford@nrc.gov Counsel for NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC Samantha Dorsey, Esq.
Lisa D. Kenna*, Executive Secretary Broydrick and Associates Department of State 1150 Connecticut Ave, NW, Ste. 615 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Washington, DC 20520 E-mail: samantha@broydrick.com E-mail: sarkiss@state.gov ISN-NESS-DL@state.gov ISN-FO-Staff-Assistants-DL@state.gov
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (Docket No. 11006361)
Letters from NRC Secretary, Annette Vietti-Cook, to Senator Roy Blunt and Congresswoman Ann Wagner Laura S. H. Holgate Nuclear Threat Initiative 1776 Eye Street, NW Washington D.C. 20004 E-mail: holgate@nti.org Alan Kuperman, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin PO Box Y Austin, TX 78713 E-mail: akuperman@mail.utexas.edu
[Original signed by Herald M. Speiser ]
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of October 2019 2