The Westinghouse Electric Company’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina, has been given a renewed operating license that extends their mission through 12 September 2062.
The Columbia facility produces fuel for nuclear power plants. The original license issued to the plant was granted in by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1969. That license was extended in 2007 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Renewal follows completion of the NRC staff’s safety and environmental reviews of the application. The final environmental impact statement was published July 29, cataloguing “small” impacts on most resources, and “small to moderate” impacts on groundwater and waste generation during decommissioning. The final safety evaluation report was published today and will be available through the NRC’s webpage on the Westinghouse facility.
The NRC safety review concluded that the company’s programs are adequate to ensure safe operation of the facility for the 40-year period. The staff did not identify safety risks or new processes or technologies that might introduce new safety concerns. The staff also considered the company’s safety performance and efforts to mitigate onsite contamination, with oversight by South Carolina, before renewing the license.
Anonymous comments will be moderated. Join for free and post now!
