IIFP Fluorine Extraction and Depleted Uranium Deconversion Plant Licensing
On December 30, 2009, International Isotopes Fluorine Products (IIFP), Inc. (a subsidiary of International Isotopes, Inc.), submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), seeking a license to construct and operate a U.S. facility for deconversion of depleted uranium. Specifically, IIFP has selected a site in Lea County, New Mexico, for its proposed facility, which will be known as the Fluorine Extraction Process and Depleted Uranium Deconversion Plant (FEP/DUP). As proposed, this facility will deconvert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) into fluoride products (for commercial resale) and uranium oxides (for disposal). The proposed facility is projected to be capable of processing up to 7.3 million pounds of DUF6 per year.
For additional information, contact us or see the following topics on this page:
- Regulation and Legislation
- License Application
- Major Milestones
- Safety Evaluation Report
- Environmental Impact Statement
- Correspondence and Other Information
- Public Involvement
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Regulation and Legislation
Source material licensees, such as IIFP, are regulated under Title 10, Part 40, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 40), in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954. The AEA does not require a formal adjudicatory hearing for this type of license application. However, the AEA does require the applicant to obtain public liability insurance for its facilities. Further, the AEA requires the NRC to inspect the facility before operations begin to ensure that the plant is constructed to meet the license requirements.
Because licensing this type of facility is considered a Federal action, the NRC must meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The NRC staff will comply with NEPA in the present case by preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with agency regulations in 10 CFR Part 51.
License Application
On December 30, 2009, INIS submitted a license application, seeking to construct and operate the proposed FEP/DUP Plant near Hobbs, New Mexico. That license application included the following documents:
- License Application, LA-IFP-001, “International Isotopes Inc. FEP/DUP Plant Public License Application” (Revision A)
- License Application, Appendix A, LA-IFP-002, "Quality Assurance Program"(Revision A)
- License Application Engineered Drawings
- Integrated Safety Analysis Summary, SA-IFP-001 (Revision A)
- Environmental Report, ER-IFP-001 (Revision A)
On February 24, 2010, the NRC accepted the application for formal review. A safety review team and environmental review team are conducting both technical and environmental reviews of the submittals, with the goal of developing a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Formal requests for additional information (RAIs) were issued to INIS concluding on December 21, 2010. The applicant is working on developing formal responses to address the issues in the RAIs. Once adequate responses have been received, the NRC will proceed with the SER and EIS.
The major milestones for the review are summarized below.
Major Milestones
Completed Milestones
- December 30, 2009 INIS submitted license application
- February 23, 2010 NRC accepted the application for formal review
- July 29, 2010 NRC conducted Public Scoping meeting
- December 21, 2010 NRC provided INIS formal RAIs
Projected Milestones
(*Note: The projected time to complete milestones are estimates only and may change based on the quality of the RAI responses, pressing safety issues which take precedence, the Commission’s direction, etc.)
Safety Evaluation Report
The NRC staff conducts a technical review of the license application and integrated safety analysis summary against applicable regulations (e.g., 10 CFR Part 40) and guidance (e.g., NUREG-1520, Standard Review Plan for the Review of a License Application for a Fuel Cycle Facility), and then prepares a safety evaluation report to document the review findings.
Environmental Impact Statement
On December 30, 2009, INIS submitted an Environmental Report (ER) for the proposed IIFP FEP/DUP deconversion facility. The ER provides the applicant’s assessment of the environmental impacts of the proposed commercial facility. As required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 51, the NRC must develop its own assessment, which will be documented in the EIS.
For more information about NEPA and the environmental review process, see Frequently Asked Questions About NRC's Role under the National Environmental Policy Act. To learn more about environmental reviews for nuclear materials sites, see Materials Environmental Reviews Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
As part of the scoping process, the NRC staff conducted a public meeting on the scope of the EIS for the proposed IIFP FEP/DUP on July 29, 2010. Comments received from the public are used by the NRC staff to determine the range of actions, alternatives, and potential impacts to be considered in the EIS, and to identify significant issues related to the proposed action, as summarized in the Scoping Report. The NRC staff is developing a draft EIS for public comment, and will publish a notice in the Federal Register once the document has been completed; see Major Milestones above.
Correspondence and Other Information
The NRC maintains IIFP-related documents in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). Publicly available documents may be located by entering the IIFP Docket Number (04009086) in the ADAMS Advanced Web Search. Some of these key documents are listed below.
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 02/24/2011 |
|
| 01/19/2011 | Enclosure 1: Public INIS Slide Presentation on the Hazards of Fossil Fuel Pipelines |
| 01/14/2011 | November 15-16, 2010 Telephone Call to Discuss Passive Engineered IROFS for Externally Initiated Events and Natural Phenomenon in the ISA (TAC No.: L32739) |
| 01/04/2011 | International Isotopes Inc. - Submittal of Responses to Requests for Additional Information (RAI) [Radiation Protection] |
| 12/21/2010 | Requests for additional information
|
| 11/24/2010 | D. Diaz-Toro Memo re: Scoping Summary Report - Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Process for the Proposed International Isotopes Fluorine Extraction process and Depleted Uranium De-Conversion Plant
|
| 07/08/2010 | Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed International Isotopes Uranium Processing Facility |
| 06/28/2010 | E-mail re: MC&A Question and Answer Regarding NMMSS Tracking of Depleted Uranium |
| 05/14/2010 | Memo to T. Hiltz: April 27, 2010, Telephone Call Summary Regarding the Status of the International Isotopes Inc. land Transfer, Site Characterization, and the Detailed Facility Design (TAC L32739) |
| 04/26/2010 | T. Hiltz Memo, re: April 12, 2010 Telephone Call Summary to Discuss Seismic and Structural Issues Relating to the International Isotopes Application for a Deconversion Facility (TAC L32739) |
| 04/05/2010 | Federal Register Notice for Opportunity to Request a Hearing for IIFP Application |
| 02/23/2010 | Letter to J. Miller re: License Application for International Isotopes Fluorine Products, Inc. Facility - Acceptance Review (TAC L32739 and L32740) |
| 01/14/2010 | NRC Handout on FCSS Safety Review for the INIS Public Meeting on January 14, 2010 |
| 01/14/2010 | NRC Slide Presentation for the INIS Public Meeting on January 14, 2010, regarding Facility Licensing for the INIS FEP/DUP Plant |
| 12/30/2009 | Cover Letter for the International Isotopes License Application — Fluorine Extraction Process Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Deconversion Plant (FEP/DUP) |
| 10/22/2009 | Memorandum of Agreement Between International Isotopes, Inc., and the New Mexico Environment Department |
| 05/26/2009 | Letter to J. Miller re: Letter re: International Isotopes' Intent To Submit License Application for Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Deconversion Facility |
| 04/13/2009 | Letter to Michael Weber (NRC) re: International Isotopes' Intent To Submit License Application for Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Deconversion Facility |
Public Involvement
Meeting Schedule
At this time there are no Public meetings scheduled for the IIFP review. All NRC Public meetings, including those for IIFP are published on the NRC’s public website under the Public Meetings & Involvement tab. For upcoming meetings, see our Public Meeting Schedule.
Meeting Archive
The following table lists, in chronological order, the public meetings that the NRC staff has conducted in regard to the application and licensing processes for the IIFP depleted uranium deconversion facility.
| Significant Meetings Between IIFP and NRC | |
|---|---|
| Meeting Date | Subject |
| 02/24/2011 | International Isotopes Inc. and NRC Management meet to discuss the ongoing licensing review for the proposed deconversion facility |
| 02/01/2011 | 01/19/11 Trip Summary for Fire Reviewer Visit to INIS Regarding Fossil Fuel Pipeline Hazards Conducted (TAC L32739) |
| 07/29/2010 | Public Scoping meeting on the environmental review for the proposed International Isotopes Fluorine Products, Inc. fluorine extraction process and depleted uranium de-conversion plant in Hobbs, New Mexico
|
| 07/06/2010 | Site visit to conduct Integrated Safety Analysis horizontal and vertical slice and discus draft requests for additional information with International Isotopes Inc. |
| 07/01/2010 | International Isotopes Inc. and agency management meet to discuss the ongoing licensing review for the proposed deconversion facility. |
| 04/27/2010 | Telephone call summary regarding the status of the International Isotopes Inc. land transfer, site characterization, and the detailed facility design. |
| 02/17/2010 | Conference Call To Discuss Environmental Report |
| 01/20/2010 | Conference Call To Discuss the Review Schedule for the License Application |
| 01/14/2010 | Public Meeting To Describe the Review Process for the International Isotopes Depleted Uranium Deconversion Application |
| 11/03/2009 | Conference Call To Discuss the Submittal Date of the License Application |
| 03/07/2009 | Closed Meeting: Discuss Security and Integrated Safety Analysis Requirements |
