NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON DEC. 5 AND 12
REGARDING DECOMMISSIONING PLAN FOR NEWFIELD, N.J., FACILITY
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold public meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 5, and Tuesday, Dec. 12, to discuss the decommissioning plan submitted by the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp. for its facility in Newfield (Gloucester County), N.J. The NRC notified the company on Oct. 18 that it had sufficient information to begin its technical review of the proposal.

Both of the public meetings will begin at 7 p.m. at Edgarton Memorial Elementary School, at 212 Catawba Ave. in Newfield. At the Dec. 5th session, NRC staff will provide an overview of the review process for the plan and field questions from the public. At the Dec. 12th session, NRC staff will offer details about the agency’s environmental review for the plan and solicit public comments on possible environmental impacts associated with the proposal.

The Shieldalloy facility, located at 35 South West Blvd., conducted smelting and alloy production from 1940 through 2001. One of the raw materials used by the company was a niobium ore called pyrochlore, which contains uranium and thorium and is subject to NRC licensing requirements. The majority of the radioactive material remaining at the site consists of slag generated during production operations and dust from baghouses, which are devices used to filter dust from air exhausted during the manufacturing process.

Under its decommissioning plan, Shieldalloy has proposed consolidating all of the materials containing uranium and thorium into a single pile on a portion of the site’s storage yard, and then shaping, grading and covering it with an engineered barrier. A fence would be installed around the material. The pile would then be subjected to long-term maintenance and monitoring, and use of that section of the property would be restricted. The focus of the NRC review is to determine if the proposed decommissioning plan meets the agency’s requirements for protecting public health and safety and the environment. That would include ensuring that no member of the public would receive exposure to radiation from the material in excess of allowable regulatory limits.

The remainder of the site could be released for unrestricted use, provided that the company could demonstrate there was no residual contamination above allowable levels.

On Nov. 17, the NRC announced an opportunity for interested organizations or individuals to seek a hearing on the decommissioning plan. The deadline for submitting such requests is Jan. 16. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the plan and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding.

Shieldalloy’s decommissioning plan is available on the NRC web site through its ADAMS document system, at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html, using docket number 04007102.

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Thursday, February 22, 2007