Radioactive Waste 866 - New 40-year License Granted For Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility In Spite Of A History of Problems - Part 1 of 3 Parts

Radioactive Waste 866 - New 40-year License Granted For Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility In Spite Of A History of Problems - Part 1 of 3 Parts

Part 1 of 3 Parts
     The Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in eastern Richland County of South Carolina makes fuel rods for commercial nuclear fission power reactors. It is one of the only nuclear fuel factories in the U.S. The South Carolina CFFF is considered vital to U.S. nuclear energy production. Despite a history of accidents and water pollution, following years of monitoring, the CFFF won a key approval last Friday to continue operating for another forty years. Federal regulators approved an environmental study that recommends that the CFFF southwest of Columbia be granted a new forty-year license. This virtually assures that the license will be issued this fall.
     The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had considered issuing only a twenty-year license because of the safety problems and water pollution that have occurred at the CFFF. However, in a federal notice posted on Friday, the NRC stated that its staff had reviewed a list of environmental issues associated with the CFFF and determined that the new forty-year license was justified.
     Westinghouse has been working for eight years to obtain a new operating license for the CFFF which sits on an eleven-hundred-acre site in eastern Richland County about four miles from Congaree National Park. Groundwater contamination and spills of radioactive materials are among the environmental problems that Westinghouse has had at the CFFF. These problems have only increased in recent years. Neighbors of the facility have voiced their concerns with how the factory has operated in the predominantly Black communities.
     Federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, have added their weight to the chorus of concerns. Last year, the federal agencies said that the new license should not be approved unless an array of environmental problems was resolved. The Interior Department even suggested a twenty-year license instead of the requested forty year license partly because of multiple leaks and spills that have polluted the ground and ground water. The Interior Department oversees the nearby Congaree National Park.
     Westinghouse’s troubles were severe enough that the NRC took the unusual step of conducting two major environmental studies to determine how the plant’s future operations might affect the environment. The first environmental study initially recommended continued operation of the CFFF but was deemed inadequate. The second study that was approved last Friday looked more deeply at the potential effect the plant could have on the surrounding environment if it continues to operate for the next forty years.
The question has been whether the license should be extended for forty years as Westinghouse has requested or for a lesser amount of time because the environmental and safety concerns. Many of these have surfaced in the last five years. Some environmentalists and people who live near the plant have said that the new license should be for ten or twenty years if it is issued at all.
     Westinghouse has said that it is working to make improvements. Records indicate that it has had fewer problems in the last two years. The company said that it was satisfied with the NRC’s decision. In an email, Westinghouse said, “We are proud of the positive impact that the Columbia fuel fabrication facility has maintained for more than 50 years, and we remain committed to the safety of our employees and our local community. We are pleased with the NRC’s recommendation to renew the facility’s license for another 40 years and look forward to the agency’s final licensing decision for our plant later this year.’’
Please read Part 2 next