Talk:Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant

NRC license and docket information edit

The series of NRC issued Special Nuclear Material Licenses, associated Dockets, and licensees of centrifuge enrichment facilities since 2000 is rather convoluted and overlapping. The physical facilities housing the series of modern centrifuge machines installed in the 21st century are comprised of former portions of the gaseous diffusion process buildings, the circa 1980s abandoned DOE gas centrifuge plant, and newly-constructed buildings.

Through bankruptcy, mergers, acquisitions, wholly owned subsidiaries, etc., US Enrichment Corporation, USEC, Centrus, American Centrifuge, and varients make up a common collection of related companies.

The names of facilities and projects changed over time and are referred to inconsistently in documents. The reuse of existing buildings for multiple purposes also introduces overlaps and confusion.

The American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility holds NRC Materials License SNM-7003 on Docket 07007003. The license was granted February 24, 2004 and can be found at NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML062630432. This license and docket originated in the early 2000s with a small scale test and demonstration cascade of prototype gas centrifuges in existing Portsmouth site buildings; this license and docket is active in 2021.

Though it was never completed or entered operation, the proposed large scale commercial production cascade known as the American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) did receive a license and has a corresponding docket. The application was submitted by letter dated August 23, 2004 (see NRC Accession Number ML042800552 for submittal letter, NRC Accession Number ML043620096 for application package, and NRC Accession Number ML043620221 for Environmental Report). The license was issued April 13, 2007 and can be found at NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML070400284. This cascade is identified in NRC documents as American Centrifuge Operating, LLC's (ACO) or the American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) in Piketon, Ohio with Special Nuclear Materials License SNM-2011, Docket Number 07007004, and Case/Reference Number ACO 20-0010. See NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML20125A103 for an example. This license and docket is active in 2021.

It appears that the Docket Number 07007004 includes the broader Portsmouth site within the regulatory jurisdiction of the NRC as this docket includes documents which precede the ACP licensing effort by decades and have no clear connection to the ACP.