The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting July 17 in Wilmington, N.C., to discuss the agency's licensing review process for the proposed General Electric-Hitachi (GEH) Global Laser Enrichment Plant.

The meeting will be held at the Burney Center, Ballroom B, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, beginning at 7 p.m. Members of the NRC staff will discuss the agency's safety and environmental review processes and will answer questions from the public. Staff members will also be available an hour before the meeting starts to meet informally with members of the public.

GEH announced April 28 that it intends to apply for a license to build and operate a laser-based uranium enrichment facility in Wilmington. Enrichment is the process for increasing the concentration of the fissionable isotope, U-235, in uranium so that the uranium can be used in fuel for nuclear power plants. The NRC license review process includes extensive technical and environmental reviews. The public will have opportunities to comment on the environmental review and to petition for an adjudicatory hearing.