NRC to hold event discussion concerning Honeywell uranium incident

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Tuesday that it will be holding a public meeting on Nov. 19 in Metropolis, Illinois, to discuss findings related to an incident at the Honeywell uranium conversion plant.

This meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Community Center located on West 10 St. in Metropolis. NRC staff will be presenting information from the inspection and will be available to answer questions relating to the agency’s oversight of the facility and the inspection.

The Honeywell facility reported a leak of uranium hexafluoride during maintenance activities that took place on Aug. 1 of this year. The NRC inspection confirmed original reports that no injuries occurred as a result of the leak; the general public was not exposed to the material. Despite this, any release of uranium hexafluoride is considered to be a serious event that warrants a full investigation into the events, performance of facility detection and sampling systems, staff and company response and material information.

Included in the investigation was a review of corrective action that is planned or has taken place.

Uranium hexafluoride is utilized during the uranium enrichment process and has characteristics that pose risks to health relating to its chemical makeup and radiological properties.