After public outcry, feds will conduct extensive study of SC nuclear fuel plant
Following state concerns about previously unknown pollution at an atomic fuel plant near Columbia, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday that it will conduct an extensive environmental study of the Westinghouse fuel factory.
The detailed study is expected to delay by a year any decision on a new license for the plant while the agency looks into problems that have surfaced in recent years.
Westnghouse’s plant has polluted groundwater, and some of that contamination has only been discovered since 2018. Neighbors have raised concerns about safety and well water contamination.
Friday’s NRC decision marks the first time the agency has ever conducted a full environmental impact statement before deciding if a nuclear fuel fabrication plant should be relicensed, NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said. The plant’s owner, Westinghouse, wants a new 40-year-operating license for the plant, built in 1969.
Read more: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/environment/article243310956.html