International Isotopes Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: INIS) announces completion of an agreement with URENCO USA to provide assistance to International Isotopes on its Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and State of New Mexico permitting processes.
INIS submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in December 2009 for the construction of its planned depleted uranium de-conversion facility, and has been working with the NRC staff as they progress through their review process.
Steve T. Laflin, President and CEO of International Isotopes Inc. said, "We are very pleased with the quality of the license application and the progress the NRC team has made reviewing this application. While we remain confident we will be able to support the completion of the NRC review in a timely fashion, we recognize the considerable recent experience URENCO USA has had with its successful NRC licensing and State of New Mexico permitting, and we have entered into a consulting agreement with URENCO USA in order to take full benefit from their experience."
Under the terms of the agreement, URENCO USA will perform a detailed review of the INIS Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) that was submitted to the NRC as part of the licensing process and work with INIS in the preparation of the State of New Mexico permits.
Steve Laflin went on to note that, "We believe URENCO USA's experience and expertise in licensing and permitting will provide us with an opportunity to lower our costs and help us avoid possible schedule delays related to licensing issues during the construction phase of this 'green technology' project. This agreement gives us an additional level of confidence in our ability to complete our required licensing in a timely fashion and contain our future operating costs related to licensing to the greatest extent practical."
Gregory Smith, President and CEO of URENCO USA, noted the agreement is a natural product of his company's experience and its support for INIS's decision to locate in Lea County's EnergyPlex. "We are pleased to apply our experience to assist INIS through NRC licensing and New Mexico's permitting processes so it can enjoy the many benefits of operating in a state that values nuclear energy."