NFS is licensed by the State of Tennessee, Department of Environment and Conservation and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to possess, store, transfer, and process a wide variety of radioactive materials. These materials include source material, by-product material, and special nuclear material. Although authorized to store nuclear materials, NFS does not conduct long-term storage as a significant part of our business. NFS is a processing facility, and our focus is on production of valuable nuclear materials. Our storage areas are primarily used to stage material for processing.

Natural Uranium and Thorium is a class of radioactive material that is in the same form in which it is found in nature. This includes uranium (natural – not enriched in U-235) and thorium. NFS uses source materials primarily for enrichment blending and as surrogates during testing of new processes.

Fissioned Materials is a name given to a broad class of radioactive material produced in nuclear reactors by the fission (or splitting) process. NFS uses a number of these radionuclides, primarily for calibrating radiation detection instruments.

Special nuclear material (SNM) is a name reserved for the various isotopes of plutonium, uranium-233, and uranium that has been enriched in the isotope U-235. Special nuclear material is most commonly used in commercial nuclear power reactors (typically uranium with U-235 enriched to ~5%). Research and pebble-bed type reactors may use uranium with higher enrichments. The highest enrichments are used in naval reactors or in nuclear munitions. Plutonium (some isotopes) and U-233 find use in certain special power or research reactors, and plutonium (again, certain isotopes) is also useable in nuclear munitions.

NFS uses highly-enriched uranium for only two purposes: (1) to manufacture fuel for naval reactors, and (2) to blend with natural uranium to make low-enriched solutions for manufacture by another company into commercial nuclear reactor fuel.

Radiation is detected easily and is one of the most studied and best understood forms of energy. Many organizations and scientists in the United States and internationally have extensively studied the health effects of radiation exposure. The results of these studies form the scientific basis for radiation safety standards used to protect workers and the public.

Workers at NFS are protected from radiation exposure in a number of ways. NFS worker radiation exposure is a small fraction of federal and state regulatory limits. The U.S. NRC and the State of Tennessee Department of Health and Environment have established a maximum whole body exposure of 5,000 millirem annually.

The maximum radiation exposure to an NFS worker in 2008 was 361millirem, or about 7% of the regulatory limit. Workers are protected in a variety of ways including protective clothing, minimizing time in areas where exposure can occur and continuous monitoring practices.

To compare this level of exposure, airline pilots and cabin crews who routinely fly the high-altitude New York to Tokyo route experience about 900 millirem per year from cosmic radiation. The National Academy of Sciences released its 2005 report on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, concluding that the risk of health effects from exposure to low levels of radiation is small. It also shows that current radiation protection standards for workers and the public remain valid.

The following two web sites are dedicated to informing the public about radiation and radioactive materials:

Health Physics Society – Public Information
Do you have questions about radiation, radioactive materials, or radiation safety? The Health Physics Society is dedicated to providing information for you so that you can better understand these subjects.

http://hps.org/publicinformation/

American Nuclear Society – Public Information
The American Nuclear Society is a not-for-profit, international, scientific and educational organization. It was established by a group of individuals who recognized the need to unify the professional activities within the diverse fields of nuclear science and technology. The core purpose of ANS is to promote the awareness and understanding of the application of nuclear science and technology.

http://www.ans.org/pi/