[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5234]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 8, 1994]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-01786; License No. 19-00296-10]

 

National Institutes of Health; Receipt of Petition Under 10 CFR 
2.206

    Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated December 2, 1993, 
Arlene S. Allen, on behalf of the North Bethesda Congress of Citizens 
Associations, Inc. (North Bethesda Congress or Petitioner) requested 
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission take action with regard to the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Petitioner requests that: (1) The 
NRC suspend License Condition 24, which permits NIH to dispose of 
licensed materials by incineration, pending resolution of two 
regulatory issues, specifically completion of an environmental report 
or environmental assessment regarding incineration of radioactive waste 
at the NIH Bethesda campus and monitoring to ensure that radioactive 
effluent releases are within regulatory limits; (2) the NRC provide 
Petitioner with a copy of the NRC environmental assessments and/or 
safety evaluations which provide the bases for License Condition 21, 
which excepts NIH from the sanitary sewer system limits of 10 CFR 
20.303(d), and for License Condition 28, which approves the low level 
radioactive waste storage facility at NIH's Poolesville campus; and (3) 
the NRC provide Petitioner with a copy of future correspondence between 
the NRC and NIH regarding the Petition.

    Petitioner asserts as bases for these requests that: NIH has not 
completed or submitted to the NRC an environmental report regarding 
radiological releases from incinerators at the Bethesda campus, and the 
NRC has not issued an environmental assessment or impact statement 
regarding NIH radiological emissions, as required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 10 CFR 51.21, 51.45 and 51.60(b); 
licensing the disposal of radioactive waste by incineration is a 
federal action subject to the NEPA process; because releases from the 
NIH incinerators are capable of exceeding regulatory limits and will 
increase over the next few years, and because total radiological 
emissions from NIH are sufficient to warrant environmental analysis, 
the continued burning of radioactive waste by NIH without an 
environmental report and environmental assessment are in noncompliance 
with NRC environmental regulations; although NRC CITED NIH for its 
failure to adequately monitor radioactive effluents and NIH committed 
to install instrumentation for continuous monitoring as a corrective 
action for having exceeded its yearly radioactive effluent release 
limit to unrestricted areas for 1987, no continuous monitoring for 
radioactive airborne effluents exists for the NIH incinerator stacks, 
it is not clear that the box monitoring system installed by NIH 
adequately detects radioactive waste, and small amounts of iodine 
continue to be identified in the incinerator ash, indicating that 
medical waste still gets into the incinerators; and it is unclear that 
NIH methods to assess radioactive effluent releases at the incinerators 
satisfy regulatory requirements and provide assurance that part 20 
limits are being met.
    Petitioner's request for suspension of NIH's authorization to 
dispose of licensed material by incineration pending resolution of the 
regulatory concerns raised by the Petition was denied by letter dated 
February 24, 1994. In the letter it was noted that NIH has permanently 
discontinued operation of two of their three incineration units, and 
they plan to temporarily discontinue operation of the third unit within 
the next month or two to upgrade the scrubber system in that unit and 
to produce an environmental study.
    The Petition has been referred to the Director of the Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. As 
provided by Section 2.206, appropriate action will be taken with regard 
to the specific issues raised by the Petition in a reasonable time.
    A copy of the Petition is available for inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20555.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 24th day of February, 1994.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert M. Bernero,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 94-5234 Filed 3-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M