Uranium Enrichment/Fuel Fabrication - Decommissioning Issues (USA) 
(last updated 9 Feb 2008)
Contents:
> See also Current Issues for
Status of Decommissioning Program, 2004 Annual Report, Final Report,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-1814, January 2005
> Download full report 
· alternate source (660k PDF 
)
Fuel Cycle Facilities Undergoing Decommissioning (NRC)
NUREG-1757 , Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance, September 2006
NUREG-1757 , Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance, Rev. 1, September 2003
> See also Federal Register: September 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 180)
p. 54503-54504 (download full text )
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) is announcing the availability of
a final document ''Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance:
Decommissioning Process for Materials Licensees'' (NUREG-1757, Vol. 1).
This document provides guidance for planning and implementing the
termination of licenses issued through NMSS's licensing programs. [...]"
> View announcement in Federal Register: September 26, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 187) p. 60706-60707
> Download NUREG-1757 Vol.1
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) is announcing the availability of
a draft document ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance:
Characterization, Survey, and Determination of Radiological Criteria''
(NUREG-1757, Vol. 2), for public comment. This document provides
guidance for compliance with the radiological criteria for termination
of licenses. [...]"
Comments on this draft document should be submitted by December
26, 2002.
> View announcement in Federal Register: September 26, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 187) p. 60707-60708
> Download NUREG-1757 Vol.2 Draft
"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) is announcing the availability of
a draft document ''Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance:
Decommissioning Process'' (NUREG-1757, Vol. 1), for public comment.
This document provides guidance for the planning and implementation of
the termination of licenses issued through NMSS's licensing programs."
> View announcement in Federal Register: January 31, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 21) p. 4764-4765
Draft Scientific Committee 87-4 report: Managing Potentially Radioactive Scrap Metal (December, 2001), U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. 234 p.
> Download full text (4414k)
Deadline for comments: February 1, 2002
Forward comments to ncrpexec@ncrp.com .
This report covers, among others, the U.S. enrichment plants.
Federal Register: September 6, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 173) p. 46613-46614 (download full notice ):
The scoping period on the PEIS is extended 60 days until November 9, 2001.
Federal Register: July 12, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 134)]
p. 36562-36566 (download full notice ):
"SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department of Energy's (DOE's) intention to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), under the National Environmental Policy Act, on the policy alternatives for the disposition of DOE scrap metals that may have residual surface radioactivity. The primary metals to be considered in the analysis are carbon steel and stainless steel. Other metals [e.g., copper, aluminum, lead, and precious metals (silver, gold, platinum)], which exist in smaller quantities, will also be addressed in the PEIS.
The disposition alternatives to be analyzed include: continuation of
the suspension on unrestricted release of scrap metals from DOE
radiological areas for recycling; unrestricted release of scrap metals for recycling under existing DOE requirements; unrestricted release of scrap metals for recycling under alternative requirements; and no unrestricted release for recycling of scrap metals with any potential for residual surface radioactivity.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with publication of this Notice and concludes September 10, 2001. DOE invites Federal agencies, Native American tribes, state and local governments, and members of the public to comment on the scope of this PEIS. DOE will consider all comments received by the close of the scoping period and will consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable. DOE will conduct public scoping meetings to assist in defining the appropriate scope of the PEIS, including the alternatives and significant environmental issues to be considered. [...]
[...] More than half of the current and forecast scrap metal amounts, including almost all of the scrap nickel, will result from the decommissioning of the Gaseous Diffusion Plants in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The estimated average generation rates through the year 2015 are 50,000 tons per year for carbon steel, 4,000 tons per year for stainless steel, and 3,000 tons per year for nickel. [...]"
> for further information, see:
DOE NEPA · DOE EM
> see also: DOE Seeks Comment on Directives for Release of Scrap Metals
Federal Register: May 1, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 84)]
p. 21793-21796 (download full notice ):
"SUMMARY: The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) intends to consolidate and update the policy and guidance for NMSS's decommissioning program. This endeavor is in response to the NMSS performance goals, in the NRC's Strategic Plan, of: (1) Making NRC activities and decisions more effective, efficient, and realistic; and (2) reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on stakeholders.
DATES: Comments on this plan should be submitted by June 15, 2001. The comments will be considered by NRC in the process of updating and consolidating the policy and guidance for NMSS's decommissioning
program."
NRC Docket No. 07001100 / 03003754
License No. SNM-1067 / 06-00217-06
Aerial view: Google Maps 
· Terraserver
NRC and ABB, Inc., to discuss proposed change to decommissioning plan
for former nuclear materials site in Windsor, Conn.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff and representatives of ABB, Inc., will meet on Friday, Sept. 14, 2007, to discuss the company's plans to supplement the decommissioning plan for a former nuclear materials site in Windsor (Hartford County), Conn.
> View NRC release Sep. 11, 2007
NRC issues notice on opportunity to request a hearing on decommissioning plan for former Combustion Engineering Windsor nuclear fuel plant
The NRC must receive requests for a hearing on or before March 8, 2004.
Federal Register: February 6, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 25) p. 5879-5880
(download full text )
NRC issues Finding of No Significant Impact for decommissioning
Federal Register: October 17, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 201) p. 64147-64150 (download full text ):
"SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
the issuance of a license amendment to ABB Prospects, Inc. Materials
License No. 06-00217-06 to authorize dismantlement and deconstruction
to grade level of the buildings in Building Complexes 2, 5, and 17 at
the CE site in Windsor, CT and has prepared an Environmental Assessment
in support of this action. Based upon the Environmental Assessment, the
NRC has concluded that a finding of No Significant Impact is
appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement is
unnecessary."
NRC to approve decommissioning plan
Federal Register: April 10, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 69) p. 17472 (download full text ):
"The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering issuance of a
license amendment to By-Product Materials License No. 06-00217-06
(License No. 06-00217-06), issued to ABB Prospects, Incorporated, to
authorize decommissioning of Building Complexes 2, 5 and 17 at the CE
Windsor Site in Windsor, Connecticut. [...]"
By letter dated May 8, 2002, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection submitted a Request for Hearing and Petition to Intervene for several deficiences identified in the decommissioning plan.
Site Name and No.: Former Sylvania Electric Products Facility, Site No. V00089-1
Project Location: 70, 100, & 140 Cantiague Rock Road, Hicksville, NY Nassau County, NYSDEC Region 1
New York State DEC site documents
Residents file $1.6 billion lawsuit
A lawsuit filed on April 3, 2002, in federal court contends that a former nuclear processing plant in Hicksville leaked radioactive materials and toxins into the air, soil and water, causing a host of cancers and deaths in the area.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip on behalf of 25 families, mostly from the Jericho Gardens neighborhood, also says that GTE and Sylvania, which operated the plant, and Verizon, their parent company, conspired to keep the contamination secret from residents.
The suit alleges that the facility, which operated from 1952 to 1966, discharged uranium, thorium and other toxins and caused various illnesses, including lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma and cancers of the kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver and breasts.
(Newsday April 4, 2002)
Soil Remediation Work Plan available for comment
> View NYSDEC ENB Region 1 notice, March 27, 2002
The public comment period is: March 27, 2002 to April 27, 2002.
Note: The public meeting originally scheduled for April 9, 2002, has been postponed.
(formerly Combustion Engineering, Inc.)
License No. SNM-33, Docket No. 07000036
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
NRC issues Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for building demolition at former Hematite fuel facility
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to issuance of Amendment No. 52 to Materials License No. SNM-00033, Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC Hematite former fuel fabrication facility located in Festus, Missouri site (TAC NO. L52641) , June 14, 2006 (ADAMS ML061170282)
Federal Register: June 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 125) p. 37124-37129 (download full text )
NRC staff proposes $16,250 fine against Westinghouse for safety violations at shutdown Hematite fuel facility
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $16,250 fine against Westinghouse Electric Co. for violations of NRC safety requirements during decommissioning activities at the company's Hematite Fuel Manufacturing Facility in Festus, Mo.
The fine is proposed for two violations of requirements for assuring that uranium used in nuclear fuel processing is properly controlled and stored to preclude any accidental nuclear reaction. The violations were identified in an NRC inspection conducted from January through April 2005.
> View NRC release Aug. 26, 2005
> View Notice of Violation EA-05-104, Aug. 25, 2005
Missouri Department of Natural Resources invites comment on Consent Decree with Westinghouse on Hematite fuel plant cleanup
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Attorney General's Office have entered into a consent decree with Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. This consent decree pertains to the Hematite Radioactive Site. The consent decree states Westinghouse will reimburse the state for past and future costs of oversight of response actions at the Hematite Radioactive Site. Westinghouse will also perform studies and response work consistent with the National Contingency Plan, 40 C.F.R. Part 300, including a remedial investigation and feasibility study, with a baseline human health risk assessment and ecological risk assessment.
The Department of Natural Resources invites the public to review and offer written comments on the consent decree until August 29, 2005.
> View DNR release (July 26, 2005)
> Download Consent Decree and Settlement between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the State's Attorney Generals Office and Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, July 2005 (343k PDF)
Westinghouse seeks public comment on soil-removal plan for former Hematite nuclear fuel plant
Westinghouse Electric Co. seeks public comment on a plan to remove about 1,100 cubic yards of uranium-contaminated soil from the grounds of the company's shuttered nuclear fuel plant in Hematite, as part of a planned decommissioning of the facility.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dec. 16 2004).
Westinghouse issues Hematite decommissioning plan
Westinghouse - Hematite Former Fuel Cycle Facility Decommissioning - Hematite
Decommissioning Plan, Revision 0, License SNM-33, April 30, 2004, 95 p.
> Download full report (3.4MB PDF)
Inadvertent shipment of nuclear fuel pellets in "empty" zirconium tubes
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection at the former Hematite Fuel Fabrication Facility in Festus, Missouri, to review the circumstances around an inadvertent shipment of nuclear fuel pellets, which were included in a shipment of zirconium metal tubes for reprocessing, from the facility to a recycling facility in Canada. The employees of Mississauga Metals and Alloys, Inc. , a recycling company located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada discovered 36 fuel pellets containing low-enriched uranium in the zirconium tubes.
> View NRC release July 31, 2003
On September 4, 2003, Westinghouse informed the NRC that 63 additional fuel pellets were
discovered in scrap zirconium tubes that had been shipped on June 18 and 25, 2003, to the
Mississauga Metals and Alloys (MM&A) facility in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, for recycling.
(NRC Event Report Sep. 5, 2003)
On December 22, 2003, NRC issued a Notice of Violation (EA-03-182 ), but NRC did not propose a civil penalty in this case.
Chemicals from old nuclear plant are found in two more wells
Two more drinking wells in Jefferson County are contaminated with chemicals from a closed nuclear fuel plant in Hematite owned by Westinghouse Electric Co.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch Aug. 30, 2002)
Residents sue over well-water contamination
Three families whose drinking wells were contaminated with chemicals from the shuttered nuclear fuel plant in Hematite have sued Westinghouse Electric Co. and the previous owners of the plant.
The suits, filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court, allege that the companies knowingly deposited and released radioactive and chemical wastes at the plant site. The suits seek unspecified damages and name Westinghouse, its parent company, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., ABB C-E Nuclear Power, Inc., and the plant's founder, Mallinckrodt chemical company, as defendants.
The plant was in operation from 1956 to 2001. Initially, it was used to fill military contracts, and later it manufactured nuclear-fuel-rod assemblies for commercial power plants.
The suits name as plaintiffs three of six families whose wells in 2002 were found to be contaminated with the chemicals, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene and their byproducts. The chemicals were used as cleaning agents at the plant in the 1950s and 1960s and have been linked to cancer and other health problems.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 10, 2002)
NRC updates decommissioning of former nuclear fuel plant
Jefferson County residents concerned about possible well contamination from the former Hematite nuclear fuel plant got the chance on Apr. 3, 2002, to hear the government's update on the site's decommissioning and the planned cleanup.
State officials continued last week to take water samples from wells near the plant, about 35 miles south of St. Louis. Previous tests have showed four wells contaminated with traces of two chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. (Carthage Press Apr. 4, 2002)
> View older issues
Settlement offered to some residents near former Apollo nuclear fuel plant (Pennsylvania)
Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) has offered $27.5 million to settle claims that pollution from a nuclear fuel processing plant damaged nearby residents' property and caused cancer and other illnesses.
ARCO and plaintiff attorneys asked a federal judge to approve the proposed settlement in a joint motion filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh this week.
The case concerns the former Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp., or NUMEC, which processed uranium and plutonium for nuclear submarines and other purposes at a plant in Apollo borough and another in neighboring Parks Township, about 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The Apollo plant was built in 1957, and the Parks plant was built a few years later.
Residents say they inhaled white radioactive dust for three decades and that microscopic particles of uranium from the plant caused an unusually high cancer rate. A doctor once testified that 351 of Apollo's 1,895 residents, or nearly one in five, had been diagnosed with some form of cancer.
Atlantic Richfield Co. bought both plants in 1967 and sold them to Babcock & Wilcox Co. in 1971.
(PennLive Feb. 8, 2008)
NRC License No. SNM-2001, Docket No. 07003085
Army Corps of Engineers to remove radioactive material from Parks Township nuclear waste site
Five years after its initial assessment of a former nuclear waste dump in Armstrong County, the Army Corps of Engineers has decided to pursue a $53 million plan to excavate and remove soil from the 40-acre site along the Kiskiminetas River.
Based on the decision announced by the corps on Dec. 11, 2007, a contractor will dig out an estimated 40,000 cubic yards [30,582 cubic metres] of radioactive waste material and soil from the property known as the "Shallow Land Disposal Area." It is a former disposal site for the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Co., or NUMEC, in Parks, 32 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The soil will be taken to a radioactive dump site in Clive, Utah.
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Dec. 12, 2007)
> Download USACE release Dec. 11, 2007 (PDF)
> Download Record of Decision for Shallow Land Disposal Area in Parks Township, August 2007 (5.5MB PDF)
Bill calls for cleanup plan
A bill submitted by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, mandates that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers develop a cleanup plan for the Parks Township SLDA. (Post Gazette March 30, 2002)
"Until 1970, the SLDA was used for the disposal of hazardous and low-level wastes from a nuclear fuel fabrication facility in nearby Apollo, Pennsylvania. Based on available records, the radioactive material was placed in the trenches in the SLDA and consists of natural uranium, enriched and depleted uranium, and lesser quantities of thorium, americium, and plutonium. It is estimated that up to 700,000 cubic feet [20,000 cubic meters] of radioactive material is involved. [...]
An abandoned coalmine lies between 60 and 100 feet [18 and 30 meters] beneath the upper trench area. Mine subsidence and underground mine fires are a concern. Progressive collapse of an abandoned mine over several years recently caused structural damage to residential foundations in nearby Leechburg." (Pennsylvania DEP Site Summaries )
> View USACE FUSRAP site info
> Download USACE Preliminary Assessment, March 11, 2002 (1.3M PDF)
In H.R. 3338 ("Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes.") the cleanup of the site had been transfered to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This bill on Jan. 10, 2002, became Public Law No: 107-117.
Further delay for demolition of former Oak Ridge enrichment plant
The demolition of the shuttered, mile-long K-25 Building where uranium was enriched for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War has been pushed back more than two years to 2010, officials say.
Department of Energy contractor Bechtel Jacobs Co. was supposed to have K-25 - once the largest building under one roof in the world - torn down by Sept. 30, 2008, as part of a $1.6 billion accelerated cleanup contract signed in 2003.
But a lack of funding, safety concerns - including a worker falling through a floor in 2006 - and project revisions have delayed the undertaking, which is proving to be almost as much work as constructing K-25 in the first place during World War II's Manhattan Project.
(The Oak Ridger Aug. 21, 2007)
Cleanup of former Oak Ridge uranium enrichment plant behind schedule
Federal officials say the former Oak Ridge uranium enrichment plant is not expected to be cleaned up on time and the government's contractor may lose millions of dollars as a result.
U.S. Department of Energy's environmental manager Steve McCracken says a revised timeline calls for closure of the K-25 plant site at Oak Ridge in the summer of 2009, nearly 10 months past the earlier forecast.
Officials say a number of factors have contributed to the delay, including inadequate funds, increasing cost of materials and complexity of some clean-up tasks. (AP April 15, 2006)
ATSDR report finds no public exposure to contaminated groundwater from the Oak Ridge Reservation
The public comment version of the public health assessment evaluating off-site groundwater adjacent to the Oak Ridge Reservation was released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
> View ATSDR release July 8, 2005 · ATSDR release Aug. 4, 2005
> Download Draft ATSDR Public Health Assessment, Contaminated Off-Site Groundwater from the Oak Ridge Reservation, July 2005
ATSDR releases public health assessment on Oak Ridge Y-12 uranium releases
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) evaluated past and current exposure to uranium released from the Y-12 plant and found that the off-site exposures to uranium were too low to be a health hazard for either radiation or chemical health effects.
> View ATSDR release, March 24, 2004
> Download ATSDR Public Health Assessment, Y-12 Uranium Releases, May 2004
DOE releases 2002 Oak Ridge Environmental Report
The 2002 Annual Site Environmental Report for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation facilities is now available.
> Oak Ridge release, March 8, 2004
> Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental Report for 2002
Report on the security of UF6 at the former Oak Ridge enrichment plant classified
On Dec. 18, 2003, DOE's Inspector General finalized an inspection report on the security of UF6 at the former Oak Ridge site. The inspection report is classified.
Inspection Report on "The Security of Uranium Hexafluoride at the East Tennessee Technology Park (U)", DOE - Report IG-0633 (PDF)
> Download classification notice (PDF)
Oak Ridge water study called off
The U.S. Department of Energy has called off its investigation of water-quality problems at the former K-25 uranium enrichment site, saying the study has accomplished all that's reasonable achievable. Richard Frounfelker, DOE's project manager, said he has "very high confidence" that the Oak Ridge plant's drinking water in past years was not contaminated, as has been alleged.
Several workers at K-25 came forward a couple of years ago and said cross-connection of pipes allowed untreated or chemically contaminated water to potentially enter the plant's potable water supplies. There was speculation that water problems might explain some of the illnesses of plant employees, especially office workers who didn't have known exposures to nuclear materials or toxic chemicals.
(caller.com Feb. 10, 2002)
DOE releases independent investigation report on former Oak Ridge, Tennessee, enrichment plant
An Energy Department report for the first time details the radioactive and chemical hazards faced by workers at the old Oak Ridge, Tennessee, uranium enrichment plant, which used to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs.
The report is based on a six-month investigation into how practices at the old K-25 uranium enrichment plant may have affected the environment and endangered workers.
During World War II and the Cold War, K-25 workers were exposed to radiation from uranium, plutonium and neptunium at higher than allowable levels. Workers also were exposed to toxic substances such as beryllium and fluorine.
DOE news release Oct 11, 2000
> Download Independent Investigation of the East Tennessee Technology Park, October 2000 , U.S. DOE Office of Oversight
Environment, Safety and Health
License No. SUB-1010; Docket No. 04008027
Aerial view: Google Maps · Terraserver
NRC Facility Info
NRC invites comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the reclamation of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation site in Gore, OK
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Reclamation of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Site in Gore, OK, NUREG 1888, and Notice of Public Meeting for Comment.
Written comments submitted by mail should be postmarked by November 5, 2007 to ensure consideration.
> Federal Register: September 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 183) p. 54080-54082 (download full text )
> View NRC release Sep. 24, 2007
> Download Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Reclamation of the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Site in Gore, Oklahoma, License No. SUB-1010, Draft Report for Comment, NUREG-1888, September 2007 · alternate source (ADAMS Acc. No. ML072570039)
Sequoyah Fuels reports continuing exceedance of contaminant permit limits for effluants at former Gore conversion plant
- the ammonia permit limit was exceeded at Outfall 008 on May 8, 2007
- the nitrate permit limit was exceeded at Outfall 008 on May 9, 2007.
- the ammonia permit limit of 10.5 mg/l was exceeded at Outfall 008 on July 1, 2007 when an ammonia analysis of 23.3 mg/l was measured.
- the nitrate permit limit of 32 mg/l was exceeded at Outfall 008 on July 3, 13 and 14, 2007 when nitrate analyses of 45.9, 66.4, and 107 mg/l, respectively, were measured.
"The source of these exceedances is contaminated water present in Pond 2."
Sequoyah Fuels issues Environmental Report for Reclamation Plan of former Gore conversion plant
Environmental Report, Reclamation Plan, Sequoyah Facility, Oct. 2006 (ADAMS Acc. No. ML063050298 )
Disposition of depleted uranium stored at former Gore conversion plant
Depleted uranium shipments completed
On March 26, 2007, the last truckloads of depleted uranium left Sequoyah Fuels of Gore headed for disposal at a former atomic bomb testing site in Nevada.
(Sequoyah County Times March 28, 2007)
Depleted uranium shipments suspended after leakage
Sequoyah Fuels halted shipments of depleted uranium after authorities in Nevada found some of the substance had seeped through a steel shipping container.
Sequoyah Fuels president John Ellis says the five containers still at the plant may have to be reopened, lined and resealed before being transported to a former atomic-bomb test site in Nevada, where the waste eventually will be buried.
Ellis suspects the breach occurred because the drums have been exposed to the elements for the past 13 or 14 years.
(AP Feb. 16, 2007)
Depleted uranium being relocated from former SFC Gore plant to Nevada
The U.S. Army has begun removing about one million pounds of depleted uranium, or DUF4, from Sequoyah Fuels at Gore.
John Ellis, Sequoyah Fuels president, said the removal began Feb. 4, 2007, and will most likely continue throughout the week.
He said the DUF4 is stored in sealed 55-gallon drums. The drums are stacked into steel containers, which are then welded and sealed. Each container holds about 38,000 pounds of DUF4, he added.
Both the drums and the steel containers are checked for leaks, he added. The containers are being taken to a former atomic bomb testing site in Nevada.
"It will actually will be buried at that site," Ellis said.
(Sequoyah County Times Feb. 7, 2007)
U.S. Army must remove depleted uranium stored at former Gore conversion plant
Sequoyah Fuels, the former uranium processing plant near Gore, is one step closer to closing after a clause to have the U.S. Army remove depleted uranium from the plant was included in the Defense Authorization Act signed by President George W. Bush last week.
(Sequoyah County Times Nov. 1, 2006)
SFC calls for disposition of depleted uranium stored at former Gore conversion plant
Sequoyah Fuels Corp. officials have asked U.S. legislators to assist in removing about 1,200 drums of depleted uranium from the closed uranium processing plant near Gore. The barrels containing 1.5 million pounds (680 metric tonnes) of depleted uranium have been stored at the site when the facility finished government-contract work involving uranium provided by the federal government. The site was used to convert DUF6 to DUF4 for use by the U.S. Army in anti-tank ammunition.
(Sequoyah County Times May 26, 2006)
NRC approves SFC Gore conversion plant raffinate sludge dewatering proposal
On Jan. 12, 2005, NRC issued a Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the raffinate sludge dewatering proposal at the SFC Gore conversion plant.
The raffinate sludge is currently stored onsite in three lined ponds, which contain about 1,000,000 cubic feet [28,316 m3] of sludge containing 15 to 20 percent solids. The sludge must be dewatered before it can be properly disposed of in the on-site disposal cell. SFC has proposed to dewater the raffinate sludge using a pressurized filter press system, which will increase the solids content to approximately 45 to 50 percent and reduce the volume to approximately 485,000 cubic feet [13,734 m3]. The dewatered raffinate sludge will be put into polypropylene bags and stored onsite prior to disposal in the cell.
Federal Register: January 25, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 15) p. 3568-3569
(download full text )
> See also: Federal Register: March 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 52) p. 12715-12716 (download full text )
NRC approves SFC Gore conversion plant Ground Water Monitoring Plan
On Aug. 19, 2005, NRC issued a Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Ground Water Monitoring Plan at the SFC Gore conversion plant.
Federal Register: August 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 160) p. 48785-48786 (download full text )
Notice of Receipt of License Amendment Request from the Sequoyah
Fuels Corp. To Approve a Ground Water Monitoring Plan for Its Gore,
Oklahoma Facility, and Opportunity To Request a Hearing
Federal Register: August 25, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 164) p. 51034 (download full text )
NRC announces opportunity for hearing on SFC Gore conversion plant Ground Water Corrective Action Plan
Notice of Receipt of License Amendment Request From the Sequoyah
Fuels Corp. To Approve a Ground Water Corrective Action Plan for Its
Gore, Oklahoma Facility, and Opportunity To Request a Hearing
Federal Register: August 25, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 164) p. 51033-51034
(download full text )
A request for a hearing must be filed within 30 days of August 25, 2003.
NRC announces opportunity for hearing re reclamation plan for Gore conversion plant
"The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by
letter dated January 28, 2003, a request from Sequoyah Fuels Corp.
(SFC) for approval of a license amendment to Materials License SUB-
1010, to address clean up and reclamation of the SFC site."
Federal Register: April 15, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 72) p. 18268-18269 (download full text )
A request for a hearing must be filed within 30 days of April 15, 2003.
Reclamation Plan for Gore conversion plant available
Reclamation Plan Sequoyah Facility
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, Gore, Oklahoma, January 2003
(available for download through ADAMS )
NRC changes legal status of wastes at Gore conversion plant
Federal Register: November 14, 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 220) p. 69048-69049 (download full text ):
"On January 5, 2001, SFC requested that the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) determine if waste material from the solvent
extraction process at its site could be classified as AEA 11e.(2)
byproduct material. By Staff Requirements Memorandum to SECY-02-0095,
dated July 25, 2002, the Commission concluded that some of the waste at
the SFC site could properly be classified as AEA 11e.(2) byproduct
material. By letter dated September 30, 2002, SFC requested license
SUB-1010 be amended to possess 11e.(2) byproduct material. An NRC
administrative review found the request for license amendment (LA)
acceptable to begin a technical review. If NRC approves the amendment
request, SFC will be required to submit a reclamation plan for the site
that meets the requirements of Appendix A to 10 CFR 40. If that plan is
approved and SFC remediates the site to the specified criteria, the
U.S. Department of Energy would become the owner of the land and
responsible for long term stewardship under provisions of Title II to
the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act."
A request for a hearing must be filed within thirty (30) days of Nov. 14, 2002.
On Dec. 11, 2002, NRC issued the requested license amendment.
> See also NRC release Nov. 18, 2002
> See also: SECY-02-0095, APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 11e.(2) OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
TO MATERIAL AT THE SEQUOYAH FUELS CORPORATION URANIUM CONVERSION FACILITY (June 4, 2002): HTML · PDF (3.5M)
NRC to hold public meeting on Decommissioning of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Uranium Conversion Facility in Gore, Oklahoma
Federal Register: October 2, 2000 (Vol. 65, No. 191) p. 58832-58833 (download full text ):
"SUMMARY: The NRC will conduct a meeting to discuss the status of the
environmental review of decommissioning activities at the SFC facility
near Gore, Oklahoma, and to obtain public comments on the environmental
impacts that need to be addressed. Ample time will be provided for
public comment at the meeting, although comments and questions will
generally be limited to the remediation of the SFC facility. This
meeting is part of the continuing process to keep affected stakeholders
and the public informed of plans, schedules and important issues
related to the remediation of the SFC facility.
DATES: The NRC will meet with the public on Tuesday, October 17, 2000,
from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m."
> See also NRC news release Oct. 10, 2000
Decommissioning of the Sequoyah Fuels Corp. site near Gore, Oklahoma to be licensed
from Federal Register, June 9, 1999 (Vol. 64, No. 110) p. 31023 (download full text ):
"Notice of Consideration of an Amendment Request for Sequoyah
Fuels Corp., Gore, Oklahoma and Opportunity for a Hearing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of a license amendment to materials license SUB-1010 to
authorize decommissioning of the Sequoyah Fuels Corp. (SFC) site near
Gore, Oklahoma. This license is issued to SFC to possess contaminated
material at its Gore site. NRC licenses these facilities under 10 CFR
part 40. Specifically, the license authorizes SFC to possess up to 20 million metric tons of source material in any form. The contaminated
material at the Gore site is in the form of uranium, uranium oxides,
uranium fluorides, thorium, radium, and decay-chain products in process
equipment and buildings, soil, sludge, and groundwater." [...] (emphasis added)
The shutdown Sequoyah Fuels uranium conversion plant is
disposing of low-level radioactive waste by spraying it on 9,000
acres of company-owned grazing land.
(The Seattle Times, July 4, 1997)
In 1999, a total of 5.53 million gallons (20.9 million litres) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer was applied to 80 acres (32 hectares) of a control plot which is located within the facility boundary. Forage samples collected from the first cutting had excess molybdenum concentrations of 47 mg/kg, while the caution level is 20 mg/kg.
(Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Application Program, 1999 Completion Report, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, April 28, 2000)
In 2006, a total of 7.4 million gallons (28 million litres) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer was applied.
The forage sample collected for the first cutting during 2006 had elevated
molybdenum concentrations of 53.8 mg/kg. SFC determined that use of the hay should be restricted.
(Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Application Program, 2006 Completion Report, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, April 25, 2007)
License No. SNM-696; Docket No. 07000734
NRC Facility Info