[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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