Army Runs Into Snag With NRC Over DU at Schofield Barracks
Honolulu, Hawaii The USACE briefed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on plans to begin a $80M construction project at Schofield Barracks in support of the planned Stryker Brigade training area. The project, which was scheduled to begin this month with a controlled burn on a range, was not received well by the NRC. The NRC reportedly warned the USACE that they were at risk of sanctions if the project proceeded as planned due to the lack of a license to possess, decommission or transport depleted uranium (DU) at Schofield Barracks.
The use of DU at Schofield Barracks has been attributed to the training conducted between 1962 and 1968. DU was initially discovered in 2005 during a munitions clearance operation. The Army also conducted a removal action of soil suspected of containing DU at Schofield in 2008. A portion of soil from that removal was shipped off-island for disposal while additional potentially contaminated soil remains in storage awaiting shipment. This removal action is now under scrutiny from the NRC because it was the contractor and not the owner of the DU who had the NRC license to handle and transport DU.
The Army does hold a NRC license to possess 17,600 pounds of DU at its U.S. installations, including Schofield and Pohakuloa Training Area in Hawaii. However, the license is only valid for possession of DU and not decommissioning. The NRC indicated that they will be investigating the 2008 clean up as part of its ongoing review of whether enforcement actions should be taken against the Army. The Army's position is that they are not sure how much DU they actually posses because a full survey of the ranges has not been conducted and that it was not performing "decommissioning".
The outcome of the meeting will likely add delays to the construction schedule but the exact impacts have yet to be determined pending how the Army reacts to the recent NRC discussions. NRC reviews and approvals could add months or even years to the process.
