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Army Depleted Munitions Get NRC's Attention

A May 10 meeting will discuss apparent violations of NRC licensing requirements, the agency announced.

• May 04, 2011

A May 10 predecisional enforcement conference in Arlington, Texas, will give Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials the chance to discuss apparent violations of NRC licensing requirements with representatives of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command. IMCOM originated in 2006; it is headquartered in San Antonio and oversees the management of U.S. Army installations: construction; barracks and family housing; family care; food management; environmental programs; well-being; soldier and family morale, welfare and recreation programs; logistics; public works; and installation funding.

The meeting concerns the use of depleted uranium spotting rounds that left fragments on training ranges in Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. The Army applied to NRC for a possession license in 2008, according to the NRC, which said a Hawaii resident also petitioned NRC last year to take enforcement action against the Army if it found the latter possessed or released depleted uranium to the environment without a license.

"Based on NRC's review of the information provided by the Army, it appears that the Army is in violation of NRC regulations on the licensing of source material, which includes DU, at several Army installations," NRC's announcement states. "It also appears that the Army performed decommissioning activities at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii without NRC authorization."