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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION |
| Office of Public Affairs |
Telephone: 301/415-8200 |
| Washington, DC 20555-001 |
E-mail: opa@nrc.gov |
No. 96-105 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Thursday, July 25, 1996)
NRC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON DRAFT REPORT REGARDING CLEANUP
OF SHIELDALLOY SITE IN CAMBRIDGE, OHIO
The NRC has published for public comment a draft environmental
impact statement on the proposed decommissioning of the Shieldalloy
Metallurgical Corporation's facility in Cambridge, Ohio.
The plant currently manufactures ferrovanadium, an alloy used in
high-grade steel. Shieldalloy has a license to possess radioactive source
material (thorium, uranium, and radioactive decay products) left on site
when Shieldalloy acquired the property in 1987. This material is not
used in the company's current manufacturing process.
Interested persons may submit written comments on the report to the
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, Mail Stop
T7F-27, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
20555-0001. Comments should be submitted by October 31. NRC plans to
hold a public meeting this fall in the Cambridge area to hear views on
the draft impact statement, the time and place to be announced later.
The previous owner, Foote Mineral Company, processed columbium ore
from the early 1950s until 1973. These operations generated slightly
radioactive slag in the form of a glass-like rock. Since that time, no
NRC-licensed material has been processed at the Cambridge facility. The
slag is NRC-regulated material, but the agency does not believe it
threatens the safety of nearby residents.
Shieldalloy has been cleaning up the site since its purchase, and
has consolidated the slag into two piles: the west pile, containing about
548,000 tons, and the east pile, with about 58,000 tons. The larger west
pile has already been covered with clay, sand, and other materials. The
company proposes to cover both slag piles, revegetate the area, institute
long-term surveillance, and permanently restrict future use of the site.
The report, entitled "Draft Environmental Impact Statement;
Decommissioning of the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, Cambridge,
Ohio Facility," (NUREG-1543), describes the various decommissioning
options available and weighs their effects on public health, safety and
the environment. After the comment period, a final environmental impact
statement will be prepared which will guide the NRC in reaching a
decision on the cleanup plan.
Interested persons may obtain free single copies of the draft
environmental impact statement by writing the NRC Publications Section,
Attention: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082, or by calling 202-512-1800. A
copy of the report is also available in the NRC Public Document Room,
2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC.
More information on the document is available in a notice published
in the July 25 edition of the Federal Register.
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