State-of-the-art nuclear facility approved for NC

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved a license to build a state-of-the-art uranium enrichment facility in North Carolina — but scientific experts are worried that the new technology could pose national security concerns.

The license allows GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to build its own enrichment facility in Wilmington using classified laser separation technology, which the company says is more efficient than traditional centrifuges.

The facility would be the first of its kind in the world.

But Tom Clements, the director of nonproliferation policy for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, said he’s concerned about the capabilities of the technology and the potential for its clandestine transfer to dangerous entities outside the U.S.

“I think it’s a blow to U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy that the license for laser enrichment was approved without the nuclear nonproliferation assessment,” he said.

The new technology, known as separation of isotopes by laser excitation — or SILEX — was first developed by an Australian company of the same name and then transferred to GE through a contract between the U.S. and Australian governments.

Christopher White, a spokesman for GE, said the majority of enriched uranium used to make nuclear fuels is shipped from overseas to manufacturing facilities like the 1,600-acre site in Wilmington.

The company will decide about whether to proceed with construction of the facility in the next several months, he said.

White said GE has gone well beyond required security safeguards in order to protect the technology and the company’s intellectual property.

“Before the technology was transferred to GE, the Departments of State and Energy conducted their own proliferation assessments and determined that there was no significant risk of proliferation,” he said.

But Clements has been involved in an ongoing process to petition the commission for a change in its licensing regulations. He said that no assessment has been done since the new technology’s transfer to GE.

Although White said the license only allows them to enrich uranium up to 8 percent for use in nuclear fuel, some fear that the technology has dangerous potential.

Uranium enriched to 90 percent purity and above is considered weapons-grade — for use in manufacturing nuclear weapons.

Roger Hannah, senior public affairs officer for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s regional office in Atlanta, said it is concerned exclusively with the protection of public health, safety, and the environment.

“The NRC has no role in determining national or international policies related to the development of uranium enrichment facilities,” Hannah said.

He said several things about the technology are classified, but the commission is confident that current security precautions are sufficient to address threats.

Clements said the licensing itself could cause renewed global interest in the use of the new technology.

“A number of countries — including Iran — have looked into laser enrichment,” he said.

He said the approval of this technology without a formal review was “shocking,” and it undermines the U.S. government’s nuclear control policy toward foreign countries.

“I think the NRC has a chance to redeem itself by approving the petition by the American Physical Society by requiring proliferation reviews of all new technologies.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.