NRC ATOMIC SAFETY LICENSING BOARD DELAYS RULING ON MOX LICENSE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety Licensing Board won’t provide an initial ruling on the operating license application for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility until next month, the NRC said late last week. The ASLB had expected to provide its assessment of the licensing request by Shaw AREVA MOX Services by late January. In its Jan. 24 notice, the NRC did not say why the decision by the ASLB has been delayed. “For a number of reasons, the preparation of that lengthy and complex decision has taken longer than anticipated,” the NRC said. The three-judge ASLB will make its initial ruling, but the licensing decision for the facility will be made by the five-member NRC. Environmental and peace groups have challenged the MOX license application, raising concerns about inadequate material accounting procedures inside the facility.