Nuclear

NRC renews license of Westinghouse fuel fabrication facility

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating license for Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina.
NRC renews license of Westinghouse fuel fabrication facility
(Source: Westinghouse.)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating license for Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina.

The Columbia facility produces nuclear fuel for use in commercial nuclear reactors.

The action authorizes the facility to continue operating through Sept. 12, 2062. Renewal follows completion of NRC staff’s safety and environmental reviews of the facility. The final environmental recorded “small” impacts on most resources, and “small to moderate” impacts on groundwater and waste generation during decommissioning. Overall, staff did not identify new processes or technologies that might introduce new safety concerns.

The Columbia facility’s license was first issued by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1969 and was last renewed by the NRC in 2007.

The site houses fuel manufacturing facilities, product engineering and testing laboratories, as well as fuel marketing and contract administration. It covers 1,155 acres that include 550,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space.

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