NRC APPROVES USEC’S PLAN TO RETURN PORTSMOUTH GASEOUSDIFFUSI

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NRC APPROVES USEC’S PLAN TO RETURN PORTSMOUTH GASEOUSDIFFUSION ENRICHMENT PLANT TO DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the United States Enrichment Corp. (USEC)’s plan to return the remainder of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (GDP) to theregulatory control of the Department of Energy (DOE) and to terminate the NRC’s Certificate of Compliance for the plant.USEC requested termination of its certification in letters to the NRC dated March 15 and June 28. As part of the termination process, USEC will terminate its lease with DOE for the remaining facilities at the plant still under USEC control. The Portsmouth plant, located near Piketon, Ohio, was a DOE-owned uranium enrichment plant that was transferred to USEC when that company was created and laterprivatized in the 1990s. USEC terminated enrichment operations in 2001 and has maintained theplant in cold standby since. In September 2010, USEC transferred the main process buildings back to DOE control. As part of the current certificate termination, USEC will transfer theremainder of the facility, including NRC-regulated material, to DOE, which will regulate the plant under 10 CFR 830. At that point, NRC regulation under 10 CFR 76 will no longer benecessary.DOE has agreed to assume regulatory authority over the plant and take possession and ownership of USEC-generated nuclear material at the site. Before the Certificate of Compliancecan be terminated, USEC must certify to the NRC that all material has been transferred to DOE’s possession and ensure proper accounting of all material in the Nuclear Material Management and Safeguards System. Upon receiving and verifying USEC’s certification of the transfer, the NRCwill issue a letter terminating the Certificate of Compliance.USEC’s Lead Cascade and American Centrifuge Plant, under construction, are unaffected by the termination of the GDP decertification. They remain under NRC license and regulationunder 10 CFR 70.###