[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 125 (Thursday, June 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15942]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 30, 1994]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket 70-143; License SNM-124]

 

Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately)

I

    In the Matter of: Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Erwin, Tennessee.

    Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS), located at Erwin, Tennessee, is 
the holder of License SNM-124 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70. The license authorizes the 
licensee to receive, possess, use, and transfer special nuclear 
material under the conditions specified in the license. The license was 
originally issued on September 18, 1957, and was last renewed on June 
9, 1992.

II

    During the course of licensed activities and until June 28, 1981, 
when on-site burial of waste contaminated with special nuclear material 
was no longer permitted by former 10 CFR 20.304, NFS buried certain 
wastes contaminated with special nuclear material, such as specific 
process wastes, contaminated equipment, and other like debris, in an 
area on the licensee's premises now designated as ``Pond 4.'' Pond 4 
has also been designated by the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) as Solid Waste Management Units 2, 4, and 6, and is 
subject to the requirements for remediation and management for ground 
water protection of the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC 
Sec. 6901-6986.
    In order to comply with the decommissioning requirements of the 
Commission, NFS must ultimately decontaminate the above identified 
areas used for waste management and disposal to a level suitable for 
release of the property for unrestricted use. 10 CFR 70.38. To do so 
requires the removal or reduction of the special nuclear material 
present, either in its discrete form or as part of other materials 
present.

III

    In order to comply with requirements of the Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act, regarding solid waste management, and with NRC 
decontamination and decommissioning requirements, the licensee proposes 
to engage in a program of remediation of the Pond 4 area, as detailed 
in its ``Decommissioning/Interim Measures Workplan for the Pond 4 Area, 
Solid Waste Management, Units 2, 4, and 6'' (Interim Workplan).
    Although the licensee believes that its license already contains 
adequate authority to carry out Phase I source removal of the 
decontamination and decommissioning activities outlined in the Interim 
Workplan for Pond 4 and other areas, the staff of the NRC has concluded 
that the decontamination and decommissioning activities proposed 
represent a significant change from past practices so as to require 
additional license conditions to assure protection of the health and 
safety of the public, workers, and the environment from unexpected 
radiological conditions resulting from the material excavated, stored, 
and ultimately disposed of.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 70.38(c)(2)(i)(A)-(D), the licensee is 
required to submit a decommissioning plan for approval by the NRC prior 
to undertaking decommissioning work, which poses potential health and 
safety impacts, if procedures would involve techniques not applied 
routinely during cleanup or maintenance operations; or if workers would 
be entering areas not normally occupied where surface contamination and 
radiation levels are significantly higher than routinely encountered 
during operation; or if procedures could result in significantly 
greater airborne concentrations of radioactive materials than are 
present during operation; or if procedures could result in 
significantly greater release of radioactive material to the 
environment than those associated with operation.
    Pursuant to Clause H.015 of the NFS/U.S. DOE contract DE-A-C12-90 
SN 39106 incorporated into NFS license Chapter 7, the United States 
Deepartment of Energy (DOE) is responsible for providing funds to 
decommission and decontaminate Pond 4 and other areas covered by the 
Interim Workplan. DOE has established funding to recognize and support 
the immediate commencement of the decontamination and decommissioning 
of Pond 4 and other areas subject to the Interim Workplan and as 
directed by this Order. NFS has kept DOE, EPA, and the State of 
Tennessee informed of the schedule for commencement of decontamination 
and decommissioning activities under the Interim Workplan.
    Decontamination and decommissioning activities proposed by the 
Interim Workplan will involve techniques not applied routinely during 
operation, cleanup, or maintenance operations, in that bulk soil and 
waste material excavation will take place using heavy equipment in an 
enclosed structure. Additionally, procedures used in the excavation and 
processing of contaminated soils and debris will result in the material 
becoming highly disturbed and thereby creating a potential for release 
of radioactivity to the environment through liquid and gaseous 
effluents, and a greater potential for exposure of workers though 
inhalation of airborne radioactivity, than that associated with 
operation. The currently scheduled date for commencement of those 
activities is June 23, 1994.
    Therefore, the Commission finds that the public health, safety, and 
interest requires that the NFS license be further conditioned and 
modified with special conditions to protect the health and safety of 
workers and public in the performance of the decontamination and 
decommissioning of the Pond 4 area of the NFS site, with respect to 
activities proposed by the Interim Workplan. The licensee has consented 
to these conditions and modification of the license by issuance of this 
Order.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(d), I have determined that, based on the 
licensee's consent to the issuance of this Order and the public health, 
safety, and interest, this Order shall be immediately effective.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 53, 161b, 161i, 161o of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations 
in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 70, it is hereby ordered, effective 
immediately, that License SNM-124 is modified by addition of the 
following conditions, to require Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. to:
    1. By November 1, 1994, submit a technically derived 
characterization plan. The characterization plan must provide a program 
to reasonably define the extent and nature of the contamination in Pond 
4 and other areas of the plant site used for waste management and 
disposal, denoted as the crosshatched area on the attached plane 
outline of the licensee's facility. (Appendix I)
    2. Perform all current decommissioning and decontamination of the 
Pond 4 area within Building 410 in accordance with the 
``Decommissioning/Interim Measures Workplan for the Pond 4 Area, Solid 
Waste Management, Units 2, 4, and 6,'' dated December 7, 1993, Revision 
1 of the Interim Workplan dated June 16, 1994, and the letter dated 
June 1, 1994, signed by Andrew Maxin and addressed to Robert Pierson, 
``Responses to NRC Questions/Comments, dated May 20, 1994,'' which are 
hereby incorporated by reference and made part of this Order. The 
licensee may make changes to the Interim Workplan without notification 
to the NRC as long as those changes do not decrease the effectiveness 
of its safety program as determined by the NFS Safety and Safeguards 
Review Council (SSRC). Proposed changes which decrease the 
effectiveness of its safety program shall not be implemented without 
prior approval of the NRC. Revisions to the Interim Workplan 
implemented without NRC review and approval shall be reported to the 
NRC within 15 days.
    3. Not undertake any decommissioning and decontamination activities 
of the Pond 4 area outside of the confines of Building 410 prior to the 
approval by the NRC of a remediation plan for such outside areas. The 
remediation plan must include an evaluation of estimated worker and 
public radiation exposures that takes into account the experience from 
work performed within Building 410 for partial remediation, and for the 
partial remediation of Impoundments 1, 2, and 3. The remediation plan 
for outside areas must describe and analyze the impact of the proposed 
remediation of the outside areas on groundwater.
    4. Install and use an environmental air sampling device in a 
location that will most effectively monitor airborne releases from 
Building 410. To ensure that all potential pathways are monitored, 
Trailer T-20 must be moved so that it does not obstruct the free flow 
of air around the air sampling device presently located immediately 
north of Trailer T-20, or the air sampling device must be repositioned 
to accomplish the same objective.
    5. Return processed soil only to the remediated areas within 
Building 410 or ship to a licensed burial site.
    6. Analyze excavated material for radioactivity levels and submit 
data to NRC for review prior to removal of Building 410 and the 
licensee's securing of the groundwater drawdown system. After reviewing 
data, NRC will determine when Building 410 may be removed and when the 
licensee may secure the groundwater drawdown system, and if additional 
measures are needed to avoid unacceptable groundwater contamination.
    7. Not release any liquids to the sanitary sewer system prior to 
the approval by the NRC of the licensee's evaluation and demonstration 
that the release will conform to 10 CFR 20.2003.
    8. In the absence of, or in lieu of, monitoring effluents in air at 
the point of release to the ambient atmosphere from Building 410, not 
allow concentrations of radioactive elements in air within Building 410 
in the immediate vicinity of areas under remediation to exceed the 
exposure rates in 10 CFR 20.1302.
    The Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon 
demonstration by the licensee of good cause.

V

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., may request a hearing within 20 days 
of the date of this Order. Any request for a hearing must be submitted 
to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Chief, 
Docketing and Service Section, Washington, DC 20555. Copies must also 
be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; 
Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement at the same 
address; Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, 101 Marietta Street, 
NW., Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30323-0199; and Nuclear Fuel Services, 
Inc., P.O. Box 337, MS 123, Erwin, TN 37650-9718. Any person requesting 
a hearing shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his 
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the 
criteria in 10 CFR 2.714(d) of the Commission's regulations.
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and 
place of hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at 
such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be 
sustained.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), any person, other than the 
licensee, adversely affected by this Order may, in addition to 
demanding a hearing, at the same time the answer is filed or sooner, 
move the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of 
the Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for 
immediate effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere 
suspicion, unfounded allegations, or error.
    In the absence of any request for a hearing, the requirements 
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. An answer or request 
for a hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day of June 1994.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert M. Bernero,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 94-15942 Filed 6-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P