Download Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
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) Portsmouth site in Ohio (Figure S-1). The proposed facility would convert the DUF{sub 6} stored at Portsmouth to a more stable chemical form suitable for use or disposal. The facility would also convert the DUF{sub 6} from the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In a Notice of Intent (NOI) published in the Federal Register 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 Portsmouth site; from the transportation of all ETTP cylinders (DUF{sub 6}, low-enriched UF6 [LEU-UF{sub 6}], and empty) to Portsmouth; 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}]). An option of shipping the ETTP cylinders to Paducah is also considered. In addition, this EIS evaluates a no action alternative, which assumes continued storage of DUF{sub 6} in cylinders at the Portsmouth and ETTP sites. A separate EIS (DOE/EIS-0359) evaluates potential environmental impacts for the proposed Paducah conversion facility.