ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD TO HOLD ORAL ARGUMENT
AUGUST 22 REGARDING PROPOSED MOX FABRICATION FACILITY
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hear oral arguments Aug. 22 in Augusta, Ga., regarding the license application of Shaw Areva MOX Services, Inc., to operate a mixed-oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel fabrication facility near Aiken, S.C.

Three organizations - the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Nuclear Watch South, and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service - have petitioned to intervene in the license review. The Aug. 22 oral arguments will address the standing of these organizations to intervene, and the admissibility of their five proposed contentions. Those contentions cover issues such as waste storage and disposal; emergency preparedness; and the environmental impacts of a potential terrorist attack on the facility.

The oral arguments will be held in Courtroom 2, Augusta Federal Courthouse, 600 James Brown Blvd, Augusta, Ga., from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 22.

In advance of the oral argument, the ASLB will hold an oral “limited appearance” session Aug. 21 in North Augusta, S.C. This session will allow members of the public who are not participating in the oral argument an opportunity to express their views about the proposed license to the judges. The judges typically do not respond to these statements at the session, but the statements will be transcribed and will be considered part of the record of the hearing.

Statements at the Aug. 21 session will be limited to three minutes. Members of the public who make a written request by noon on Friday, Aug. 17, will have priority over those who sign up at the session. Requests should be faxed to the Office of the Secretary at (301) 415-1101 and to the ASLB at (301) 415-5599; or e-mailed to hearingdocket@nrc.gov and pah@nrc.gov.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel is the independent trial-level adjudicatory body of the NRC. Acting on behalf of the Commission and independent of the agency staff, individual Licensing Boards conduct public hearings concerning contested issues that arise in the course of licensing and enforcement proceedings regarding nuclear reactors and the civilian use of nuclear materials in the United States.

Licensing Boards consist of three administrative judges; in this proceeding, the board includes two attorneys and one technical expert.

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Monday, August 20, 2007