DOE SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT FOR DUF6 EIS

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@ICX.NET>]

DOE SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT FOR DEPLETED URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT STATEMENT

Public Meetings Planned in Portsmouth, Paducah, Oak Ridge



Oak Ridge, Tenn. -- The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Notice of

Intent to begin preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement which

will cover construction, operation, maintenance, and decontamination and

decommissioning of depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion facilities

at

Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky. 



The Department of Energy (DOE) has a legacy of approximately 700,000

metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride that was created over the

last 40 years, which is stored in 57,700 cylinders stored at Portsmouth,

Paducah, and the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge.  This

material was created at each facility during processing to make natural

uranium suitable for use as fuel, such as that used in nuclear power

plants.



Completion of an Environmental Impact Statement is a requirement under

the

National Environmental Policy Act in order to begin conversion of the

depleted uranium hexafluoride inventory.  DOE is seeking input from the

public during a scoping period which is now underway  through November

26.



The Notice of Intent (NOI) lists the DOE-preferred alternative as

construction of two conversion facilities, one at the Paducah Gaseous

Diffusion Plant site and another at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion

Plant

site.  The cylinders currently stored at Oak Ridge would be transported

to

Portsmouth for conversion.  The conversion products, such as the

depleted

uranium, as well as fluorine components, would be stored, put to

beneficial uses, or disposed of at an appropriate disposal facility.  



The Department will have three public scoping meetings to provide the

public with an opportunity to present comments on what should be

included in the Environmental Impact Statement.  The location, date, and

time for these public scoping meetings are as follows:



*       Portsmouth, Ohio:  Thursday, November 1, 2001, from 6-9 p.m., at

the Vern Riffe Pike County Vocational School, 175 Beaver Creek Road (off

State Route 32), Piketon, Ohio  45661.



*       Paducah, Kentucky:  Tuesday, November 6, 2001, from 6-9 p.m., at

the Information Age Park Resource Center, 2000 McCracken Blvd., Paducah,

Kentucky  42001. 



*       Oak Ridge, Tennessee:  Thursday, November 8, 2001, from 6-9

p.m., at the Pollard Auditorium, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and

Education, 210 Badger Avenue,  Oak Ridge, Tennessee  37830. 

                                                

DOE officials will be available at each meeting and public comments on

the

proposed scope of the document are welcomed.  Comments may also be

submitted directly to: Kevin Shaw, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of

Environmental Management, Office of Site Closure -  Oak Ridge (EM-32),

19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874, fax (301) 903-3479 or

e-mail to DUF6.Comments@em.doe.gov (please use 'NOI Comments' for the

subject).  To ensure consideration, comments must be postmarked, faxed

or e-mailed by

November 26, 2001.



The full text of the NOI, found in the September 18, 2001, edition of

the

Federal Register (66FR48123) is available on the Department's National

Environmental Policy Act web site at  http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium.   

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

                       -----                       

A schedule of meetings on DOE issues is posted on our Web site

http://www.local-oversight.org/meetings.html - E-mail loc@icx.net

.....................................................

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