The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet virtually with Centrus Energy Corp. on April 24 to discuss the results of a year’s worth of oversight at the now-defunct American Centrifuge uranium enrichment demonstration in Ohio.
The Energy Department in 2015 canceled the industrial-scale uranium enrichment demonstration at the Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio. The NRC, which regulates the facility under a license Centrus still holds, continued to inspect the plant.
From Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2016, the NRC assessed the American Centrifuge plant “in the categories of safety operations, radiological controls, facility support and other areas.” The commission also evaluated the plant’s security, though it will not discuss that at the public meeting “due to the sensitive nature of the information,” the regulator stated in a Friday press release announcing the virtual meeting.
“The staff review determined that the facility continued to conduct its activities safely and securely, protecting public health and the environment,” the release says. “Because the NRC review found that none of the program areas at the Lead Cascade facility needed improvement, the agency will continue to implement a modified core inspection program due to limited operational activities at the facility until it is transitioned to the decommissioning inspection program.”
Those interested may register to attend the webinar and ask questions of the NRC here.
Radioactive waste from the American Centrifuge demo will be sent to the Nevada National Security Site by truck for disposal, Centrus has said in regulatory filings.
