Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Paducah, Kentucky, Site
This document is a site-specific environmental impact statement (EIS) for construction and operation of a proposed depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF{sub 6}) conversion facility at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Paducah site in northwestern Kentucky (Figure S-1). The proposed facility would convert the DUF{sub 6} stored at Paducah to a more stable chemical form suitable for use or disposal. In a Notice of Intent (NOI) published in the ''Federal Register'' (FR) on September 18, 2001 (''Federal Register'', Volume 66, page 48123 [66 FR 48123]), DOE announced its intention to prepare a single EIS for a proposal to construct, operate, maintain, and decontaminate and decommission two DUF{sub 6} conversion facilities at Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (''United States Code'', Title 42, Section 4321 et seq. [42 USC 4321 et seq.]) and DOE's NEPA implementing procedures (''Code of Federal Regulations'', Title 10, Part 1021 [10 CFR Part 1021]). Subsequent to award of a contract to Uranium Disposition Services, LLC (hereafter referred to as UDS), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on August 29, 2002, for design, construction, and operation of DUF{sub 6} conversion facilities at Portsmouth and Paducah, DOE reevaluated its approach to the NEPA process and decided to prepare separate site-specific EISs. This change was announced in a ''Federal Register'' Notice of Change in NEPA Compliance Approach published on April 28, 2003 (68 FR 22368); the Notice is included as Attachment B to Appendix C of this EIS. This EIS addresses the potential environmental impacts from the construction, operation, maintenance, and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the proposed conversion facility at three alternative locations within the Paducah site; from the transportation of depleted uranium conversion products to a disposal facility; and from the transportation, sale, use, or disposal of the fluoride-containing conversion products (hydrogen fluoride [HF] or calcium fluoride [CaF{sub 2}]). Although not part of the proposed action, an option of shipping all cylinders (DUF{sub 6}, low-enriched UF{sub 6} [LEU-UF{sub 6}], and empty) stored at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Paducah rather than to Portsmouth is also considered. In addition, this EIS evaluates a no action alternative, which assumes continued storage of DUF{sub 6} in cylinders at the Paducah site. A separate EIS (DOE/EIS-0360) evaluates the potential environmental impacts for the proposed Portsmouth conversion facility.
- Research Organization:
- U.S. Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office of Environmental Management (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42) (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 823179
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EIS-0359; TRN: US0401670
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 28 Nov 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
08 HYDROGEN
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
CALCIUM FLUORIDES
CONSTRUCTION
DEPLETED URANIUM
DECOMMISSIONING
DECONTAMINATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUORIDES
HYDROGEN
REGULATIONS
STORAGE
URANIUM
US NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
EIS
KY