ML20262H054
| ML20262H054 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 99902046, 05200049 |
| Issue date: | 09/30/2020 |
| From: | David Williams NRC/NRR/DANU/UARL |
| To: | Cochran C Oklo Inc |
| Williams D, NRR/DANU/UARL, 301-415-1322 | |
| References | |
| RIS 2017-08 | |
| Download: ML20262H054 (4) | |
See also: RIS 2017-08
Text
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001
September 30, 2020
Ms. Caroline Cochran
Co-Founder, COO
Oklo Inc.
230 East Caribbean Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
SUBJECT:
WITHHOLDING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC
DISCLOSURE - OKLO, INC. VOLUNTARY RESPONSE TO NRC
REGULATORY ISSUE SUMMARY (RIS) 2017-08
Dear Ms. Cochran:
By letter dated August 26, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML20255A291), Oklo, Inc. submitted an affidavit executed by you to
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requesting the information contained in the
following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.390:
Oklo, Inc. Response to NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2017-08
In its letter dated August 26, 2020, Oklo requested that the letter and its enclosure be withheld
from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR §2.390. In a subsequent email to the NRC staff, you
confirmed that the affidavit applies specifically to Enclosure 2 to the letter and that the letter and
affidavit can be made publicly available.
The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory
public disclosure for the following reasons:
a) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned by Oklo and has
been held in confidence by Oklo and its consultants.
b) The information sought to be protected is not available to the public to the best of your
knowledge and belief.
c) The information is of the type that would customarily be held in confidence by Oklo policy,
which holds that information is to be held in confidence if it falls in one or more of several
types, the release of which might result in the loss of an existing or potential competitive
advantage, as follows:
i.
It contains information descriptive of proprietary technology, where preventing its
use by any of Oklos competitors without license from Oklo constitutes a competitive
economic advantage over other companies.
C. Cochran
- 2 -
ii.
Its use by a competitor would reduce their expenditure of resources or improve their
competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of
quality, or licensing a similar product.
iii.
It reveals or can be used to infer cost or price information, production capacities,
budget levels, or commercial strategies of Oklo, its customers, or suppliers.
iv.
It reveals or can be used to infer aspects of past, present, or future Oklo or customer
funded development plans and programs of potential commercial value to Oklo.
v.
It contains patentable ideas, for which patent protection may be desirable.
vi.
The use of such information by Oklo gives Oklo a competitive advantage over its
competitors. It is, therefore, withheld from disclosure to protect the Oklo competitive
position.
vii.
It includes information that is marketable in many ways. The extent to which such
information is available to competitors diminishes Oklos ability to sell products and
services involving the use of the information.
viii.
Use by our competitor(s) would put Oklo at a competitive disadvantage by reducing
their expenditure of resources at our expense.
ix.
Each component of proprietary information pertinent to a particular competitive
advantage is potentially as valuable as the total competitive advantage. If competitors
acquire components of proprietary information, any one component may be the key
to the entire puzzle, thereby depriving Oklo of a competitive advantage.
x.
Unrestricted disclosure would jeopardize the position of prominence of Oklo in the
world market, and thereby give a market advantage to the competition of those
countries.
xi.
The capacity of Oklo and its investors to invest corporate assets in research and
development depends upon the success in obtaining and maintaining a competitive
advantage.
The NRC staff has reviewed the affidavit and the material in accordance with the requirements
of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, has determined that the
submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and
should be withheld from public disclosure.
Therefore, the submitted information marked as proprietary will be withheld from public
disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended.
Withholding from public inspection will not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and
directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, the NRC may send copies of
the information to our consultants working in this area. The NRC staff will ensure that the
consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.
If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future
such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, Oklo, Inc. should
promptly notify the NRC. Oklo, Inc. also should understand that the NRC may have cause to
review this determination in the future if, for example, the scope of a Freedom of Information Act
request includes Oklo, Inc. information.
C. Cochran
- 3 -
In all review situations, the NRC will follow applicable laws, regulations, and policies in
conducting its review, including the NRCs policies on notifying the owner of information in
advance of any public disclosure.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me via email at
Donna.Williams@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Donna M. Williams, Senior Project Manager
Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch
Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power
Production and Utilization Facilities
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Project No. 99902046
Docket No. 052-0049
cc: Distribution via list serv
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OFFICE
NRR/DANU/UARL/PM* NRR/DANU/UARL/LA*
NRR/DANU/UARL/BC*
NRR/DANU/UARL/PM*
NAME
DWilliams
SLent
BBeasley
DWilliams
DATE
09/15/2020
09/16/2020
09/29/2020
09/30/2020