LOCAL : NRC Hearings to Examine Rockwell License for Nuclear Work in Valley
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold hearings in Van Nuys tonight and Friday morning on Rockwell International’s request to renew its license to process nuclear fuel and to do related research at the firm’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory west of Chatsworth.
At tonight’s session, scheduled for 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., NRC administrative judge Peter B. Bloch will take public comments on Rockwell’s request for a 10-year license extension. At the Friday hearing, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Bloch will consider requests to grant formal intervenor status to Rockwell opponents, including area residents and the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental group. Both hearings will be held in Room 120 of the Van Nuys State Office Building at 6150 Van Nuys Blvd.
The NRC license covers the “Hot Lab” at Santa Susana, where the company has done fuel decladding and a variety of nuclear experiments in support of federal nuclear energy and weapons programs. Fuel decladding involves tearing open nuclear fuel rods and removing radioactive materials for shipment to other government reservations. The company currently has no contracts and last decladded fuel in 1986.
Other nuclear work at Santa Susana for the U.S. Department of Energy is exempt from NRC licensing and is not at issue in the license proceeding.
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