Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor Vol. 22 No. 09
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Morning Briefing

Article of 13

March 17, 2014

NRC RELEASES FINAL EIS FOR INTERNAT’L ISOTOPES’ DECONVERSION FACILITY

By ExchangeMonitor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement on International Isotopes’ proposed depleted uranium deconversion and fluorine extraction facility in Lea County, N.M. “The FEIS contains the staff’s assessment that there are no impacts that would preclude licensing the proposed facility,” NRC said in a statement. International Isotopes applied on Dec. 30, 2009 for a license to construct and operate the facility, and in a financial statement released earlier this month the company said it expects to receive the construction and operating license—the final major regulatory approval needed to begin major work on the facility—in October. The NRC published a draft EIS for public comment on Jan. 9, and held a public meeting in Hobbs on Feb. 2 to present the draft’s conclusions and take comments from the public. The staff received more than 400 comments from members of the public, government officials and agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The comments are addressed in the FEIS.

Including the second quarter of 2012, INIS estimates it has spent $18 million thus far getting the deconversion facility approved, but the promising regulatory action allowed the company to secure a $3 million private placement in July to put toward completing the approval process. "Possession of the NRC 40-year license, our exclusive ownership of the fluorine extraction process patents, and the opportunity for significant revenue generation through the sale of products and services from the new facility, puts the company and our shareholders in an excellent position to capitalize on this green technology and unique business opportunity for the long term," Steve Laflin, president of INIS, said in a statement earlier this month.

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