Nuclear Regulatory Commission sends special inspection team to Global Nuclear Fuel plant

THIS INFORMATION FROM A NEWS RELEASE SENT TO THE WWAY NEWSCHANNEL 3 NEWSROOM

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sent a Special Inspection Team to Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas, LLC, to examine the circumstances associated with an event in which the licensee failed to maintain required process control over a small quantity of enriched uranium. The nuclear fuel manufacturing facility is located in Wilmington.

The event, reported to the NRC on March 2, occurred in a grinding station in one of the facility’s process lines. A quantity of uranium dioxide beyond prescribed limits was found to have accumulated in a filter in the grinding station.

Upon discovery of the condition, all of the facility’s grinding stations were shut down to assess their conditions. No other examples of powder accumulation were discovered. Other process controls and systems ensured that event posed no danger to plant employees or the public.

The three-member NRC special inspection team, which is expected to begin its work at the facility today, will determine the safety implications of the event and the adequacy of the licensee’s corrective actions.

The NRC will issue a publicly available inspection report documenting the findings within 30 days after the inspection is completed.