ML17177A119

University of Missouri Research Reactor - Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure

ML17177A119
Person / Time
Site:	University of Missouri-Columbia
Issue date:	06/28/2017
From:	Wertz G A NRC/NRR/DPR/PRLB
To:	Butler R A Univ of Missouri - Columbia
Wertz G A
References
CAC MF9524
Download: ML17177A119 (5)

Text

June 28, 2017

Mr. Ralph A. Butler, Executive Director University of Missouri-Columbia Research Reactor Center 1513 Research Park Drive Columbia, MO 65211

SUBJECT:

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH REACTOR - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE RE: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO IMPLEMENT SELECTIVE GAS EXTRACTION TARGET EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH REACTOR (CAC NO. MF9524) Dear Mr. Butler:

By letter dated June 19, 2017 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession Package No. ML17172A205), the University of Missouri Research Reactor, submitted supplemental information in support of a license amendment request (LAR) to produce molybdenum-99 using the General Atomics (GA) Selective Gas Extraction process, which included an affidavit executed by Christina A. Back, which requested that information contained in the following documents be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to the Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.390: 1. LAR Attachment No. 9, GA Report 30441R00038: "Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Target Housing Design Calculation Report." 2. LAR Attachment No. 10, GA Report 30441R00041: "Critical Heat Flux Testing at the University of Wisconsin Final Report."

Nonproprietary redacted versions of these documents were provided where the proprietary information on each page has been appropriately redacted.

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

a. Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by General Atomics' competitors without license from General Atomics constitutes economic advantage over other companies. b. Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his or her expenditure of resources or improve his or her competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance or quality, or licensing of a similar product. c. Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.

R. Butler - 2 - d. The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to the NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by General Atomics, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by General Atomics. No public disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources.

e. The information classified as proprietary was developed and compiled by General Atomics at a significant cost to General Atomics. This information is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed data and analytical results not available elsewhere. This information would provide other parties, including competitors, with information from General Atomics technical database and the results of evaluations performed by General Atomics. Release of this information would improve a competitor's position without the competitor having to expend similar resources for the development of the database. A significant effort has been expended by General Atomics to develop this information. f. The research, development, engineering, and analytical costs associated with General Atomics' unique selective gas extraction system and process comprise a substantial investment of time and resources by General Atomics, whose precise value is difficult to quantify, but clearly is substantial arid extends beyond the original development cost. Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to General Atomics' competitive position. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has reviewed your submittal in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, has determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld from public disclosure.

Therefore, 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 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 notified in advance of any public disclosure.

R. Butler - 3 - If you have any questions regarding this review, please contact me at (301) 415-0893 or via electronic mail at Geoffrey.Wertz@nrc.gov. Sincerely, /Alexander Adams for RA/ 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 University of Missouri-Columbia Docket No. 50-186 cc:

Les Foyto, Associate Director Reactor and Facilities Operations University of Missouri - Columbia Research Reactor Center 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 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

Test, Research and Training Reactor Newsletter P.O. Box 118300 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611

R. Butler - 4 -

SUBJECT:

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH REACTOR - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE RE: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO IMPLEMENT SELECTIVE GAS EXTRACTION TARGET EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH REACTOR (CAC NO. MF9524) DATED: JUNE 28, 2017 DISTRIBUTION: PUBLIC RidsNrrDpr SLynch, NRR RidsOgcMailCenter MBalazik, NRR LTran, NRR RidsACRS_MailCTR AAdams, NRR PRLB r/f RidsNrrDprPrtb NParker, NRR RidsNrrDprPrta GWertz, NRR ADAMS Accession No.: ML17177A119; *concurred via email NRR-088 OFFICE NRR/DPR/PRLB/PM* NRR/DPR/PROB/LA* NRR/DPR/PRLB/BC NRR/DPR/PRLB/PM NAME GWertz NParker AAdams (AAdams for) GWertz DATE 6/27/17 6/27/17 6/28/17 6/28/17 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY