WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has formed an Augmented Inspection Team to further review an Oct. 13 incident at the Nuclear Fuel Services facility in Erwin, it was announced Thursday.

The incident involved unexpected levels of heat and nitrogen compound gas fumes during the dissolution of scrap material from Department of Energy projects containing low levels of uranium, according to the NRC.

An Augmented Inspection Team, or AIT, is formed by the NRC to review more significant events or issues at NRC-licensed facilities, and the AIT will expand the scope of the special inspection team sent to the site earlier this week, the news release said.

The AIT will include members of the special inspection team as well as at least one additional inspector. The AIT will be led by NRC Region II Branch Chief George Hopper.

"This particular incident did not involve nuclear criticality issues, but it shows the need for NFS management to improve some aspects of their operational and decision-making processes," said NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes.

"Upgrading our inspection to an AIT underscores our commitment to evaluate these issues thoroughly and ensure they are being properly addressed," Reyes said.

The AIT will hold an exit meeting with the company upon completion of the inspection to discuss its preliminary findings.

That meeting will be open to interested members of the public, and the news media.

Team members will be available to answer questions after the results are presented, according to the news release.

The AIT will also issue a written report 30 days after the completion of the inspection, the release said.