NRC: News Release - 2002-089 - NRC to Hold Public Meeting in South Carolina on Proposed MOX Facility

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
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No. 02-089

August 14, 2002

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING IN SOUTH CAROLINA
ON PROPOSED MOX FACILITY
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting August 27 in North Augusta, South Carolina, to discuss its review of a construction authorization request concerning a proposed mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility that would be constructed at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Savannah River site near Aiken, South Carolina.

At the meeting, the NRC staff will provide information and answer questions on its draft safety evaluation report on the construction authorization request submitted by Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS), a DOE contractor, and on its process and schedule for future reviews.

The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North Augusta.

The "Draft Safety Evaluation Report on the Construction Authorization Request for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility" is dated April 30; its availability was announced in a previous press release on May 2. A copy of the report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/mox/licensing.html.

The draft safety evaluation report documents NRC's preliminary conclusions on the safety-related aspects of the construction authorization request based on information received through April 30. The staff expects to issue a revised draft and a final safety evaluation report on construction of the facility, after evaluating additional information from DCS.

If NRC authorizes construction, DCS could begin building the MOX facility to convert surplus weapons-grade plutonium, supplied by DOE, into MOX fuel for use in those commercial nuclear power reactors authorized to use such fuel. Converting weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel is seen to advance the cause of nonproliferation by converting the material into a form unsuitable for use in weapons. DCS is required to submit a separate application to NRC for a license to operate the proposed MOX facility.

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