MC&A ISSUES AT THE MOX FUEL FABRICATION FACILITY

In April 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) admitted three contentions for adjudication in a hearing on the application for an operating license for the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) under construction at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The contentions, filed by Nuclear Watch South and other intervenors, challenged the adequacy of measures in the Fundamental Nuclear Material Control Plan (FNMCP) to comply with NRC requirements in 10 CFR Part 74 for item monitoring, alarm resolution and assessment of the validity of alleged thefts. The MFFF design was based largely on the French MELOX and La Hague facilities, and had to be adapted to meet U.S. NRC requirements. Intervenors were alerted to possible problems with the MC&A design of the MFFF after the applicant, Shaw Areva MOX Services, submitted a request for exemptions in 2009 from certain NRC MC&A regulations, and subsequently withdrew the exemption request (after being challenged by the intervenors), asserting that the exemptions were not needed after all. The intervenors believe that rigorous compliance with NRC MC&A requirements should be a fundamental aspect of MFFF operations, given the facility's role in the bilateral U.S.-Russian weapon plutonium disposition program. A hearing on these contentions was scheduled to take place in March 2012. This paper will draw on all publicly available documents related to the case to explain the issues in the proceeding and their resolution.