The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it would begin its technical review of the Energy Department’s application for a 20-year extension of its license to store Three Mile Island nuclear power plant debris in Idaho.
Renewal would push back the expiration date for the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) license to March 19, 2039.
“The NRC staff has completed its acceptance review of the application to determine if it contains sufficient information to allow the staff to complete the detailed technical review. This e-mail acknowledges acceptance of your application for a detailed technical review,” Kristina Banovac, a project manager in the NRC’s Spent Fuel Management Division, wrote in an April 26 email to Scott Ferrara, DOE facility director and license manager in Idaho for NRC-licensed facilities.
Banovac said she will at a later date send a formal acceptance letter with the NRC staff schedule for the application evaluation.
Three Mile Island Unit 2 partially melted down in March 1979, and material from the reactor core is held in 30 dry storage casks at the ISFSI at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory. That includes the remains of 177 fuel assemblies, 61 control rods, and various canisters to hold that material.
