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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303
	CONTACT:	Ken Clark (Phone: 404-562-4416, E-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov )
		Roger Hannah (Phone 404-562-4417, E-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov )

No: II-97-58

July 23, 1997

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a public meeting on August 7 at Sweetwater, Tennessee to provide a review and opportunity for public comment on the proposed use of the Watts Bar nuclear power plant for a Department of Energy feasibility test on tritium production.

The meeting will be held from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Sweetwater Quality Inn, adjacent to Interstate 75. Members of the public who are interested in presenting comments relative to TVA's proposal should contact Robert Martin, Project Manager, Division of Reactor Projects I/II, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mailstop O-4B21, Washington, D.C., 20555, (301) 415-1493.

Contact should be made no later than five days prior to the meeting, and persons planning to attend should call one or two days prior to the meeting to be advised of any changes.

Those wishing to comment should provide a brief summary of the information to be presented and the time requested. Time allotted for presentations by members of the public will be determined by the number of requests received and announced at the beginning of the meeting. Unscheduled presentations will be considered if time permits, and written statements will be accepted and included in the record of the meeting.

Here is a tentative meeting agenda:

7:00 p.m. - NRC Opening Remarks

7:15 p.m. - DOE Program Description

7:45 p.m. - TVA Presentation

8:00 p.m. - NRC Review & Inspection Process

8:30 p.m. - Public Comments

9:00 p.m. - Meeting Adjourns

The Tennessee Valley Authority owns and operates Watts Bar and is seeking to amend its operating license to permit insertion of test assemblies into the reactor core to carry out the test program. The Department of Energy is investigating the feasibility of using commercial power reactors to produce radioactive tritium for use in the nation's nuclear weapons program.