[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4612-4613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1753]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Certification of the Radiological Condition of the Seymour 
Specialty Wire Site, Seymour, Connecticut, 1992-1993

AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of certification.

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SUMMARY: DOE has completed remedial action to decontaminate the process 
building at the Seymour Specialty Wire Site in Seymour, Connecticut. 
The property was found to contain quantities of radioactive material 
from work performed for the Atomic Energy Commission. Post-remedial 
action radiological surveys show that the site now meets current 
guidelines for use without radiological restrictions. This notice 
announces the availability of the certification docket for remedial 
action taken at the site.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the docket may be inspected at:
Public Reading Room, Room 1E-190, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, D.C. 20585;
Public Document Room, Oak Ridge Operations Office, U.S. Department of 
Energy, P.O. Box 2001, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James W. Wagoner II, Director, Off-
Site/Savannah River Program Division, Office of Eastern Area Programs 
(EM-421), Office of Environmental Restoration, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585, (301) 427-1721 Fax: (301) 427-1907.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE (Office of Environmental Restoration, 
Office of Eastern Area Programs, Off-Site/Savannah River Program 
Division) has implemented remedial action at the Seymour Specialty Wire 
Site in Seymour, Connecticut, (Town of Seymour, Volume 135, pages 430-
437) as part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program 
(FUSRAP). The objective of the program is to identify and clean up or 
otherwise control sites where residual radioactive contamination 
remains from activities carried out under contract to the Manhattan 
Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) during the 
early years of the nation's atomic energy program. In December 1985, 
the Seymour site was formally designated by DOE for cleanup under 
FUSRAP.
    The Bridgeport Brass Company, later known as the Seymour Specialty 
Wire Company, performed operations under contract to AEC from 1962 to 
1964. The contract was for the development of a process for the 
extrusion of natural uranium metal. The portion of the Seymour Facility 
where the AEC work was conducted, the Rufert Building, is currently 
leased by the Electric Cable Company as an industrial manufacturing 
plant.
    In 1964, AEC conducted a radiological survey of the 1.9-ha (4.8-
acre) parcel of the Seymour site that included the Rufert Building. The 
survey was conducted after the Bridgeport Brass Company terminated all 
of the AEC-related work at the Seymour site to consolidate the AEC 
contract work at the Bridgeport Brass facility in Ashtabula, Ohio. 
Although there were no AEC standards for surface contamination with 
which to compare the survey data at that time, the survey report 
completed at the time states that the radionuclide concentrations 
observed were ``* * * quite low and certainly are insignificant with 
respect to any mode of exposure that can be hypothesized.''
    After FUSRAP was established, review of former AEC records 
indicated that the Seymour site should be resurveyed because of the 
lack of satisfactory release criteria at the time of the first survey. 
At the request of DOE, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Health 
and Safety Research Division conducted a preliminary radiological 
survey of the facility on January 26, 1977. This survey consisted of 
gamma exposure measurements at 1 m (3.3 ft) from the floor surface, 
beta-gamma exposure rate measurements at 1 cm (0.4 in.) above the floor 
surface, and direct alpha radiation measurements taken on contact with 
the floor.
    Because of gamma radiation measurements observed during the 
preliminary survey, ORNL conducted a follow-up survey at the site on 
August 26, 1980. The purpose of the follow-up survey was to determine 
whether the site exceeded current DOE guidelines for residual 
contamination on structural surfaces. Therefore, this survey was 
limited to those areas of the building where the former AEC contract 
work was known to have been carried out. In addition to the same types 
of measurements that were taken during the 1977 survey, smear samples 
were taken to determine the extent of transferable contamination. Smear 
samples taken from the bowls and traps of several floor drains yielded 
transferable contamination concentrations of 70 to 150 dpm/cm2. 
Because of these readings and visual inspection of the drains, samples 
of the residue from the three drains were also collected for analysis. 
These samples contained uranium concentrations ranging from 2,860 to 
15,600 pCi/g (the 1980 report does not indicate whether this was total 
uranium or uranium-238).
    Both the 1977 and 1980 surveys indicated that radioactive 
contamination was present in the Rufert Building, primarily in the 
Dynapack [[Page 4613]] (extrusion) area, which exceeded current DOE 
guidelines for residual contamination on structural surfaces. As a 
result of these surveys, the site was designated for remediation under 
FUSRAP in December 1985.
    ORNL conducted more extensive characterization surveys in May and 
June 1992 to more precisely define the locations and delineate the 
boundaries of the radioactive contamination identified during the 
initial designation surveys. The characterization surveys confirmed 
that the primary contaminants in the areas of the Rufert Building used 
to perform AEC work were uranium-238 and its decay products. The 
contamination extended throughout a much greater portion of the first 
floor of the building than originally thought. In addition, near-
surface walkover gamma radiation surveys were conducted on exterior 
areas. Two small isolated areas were contaminated with radioactive 
material.
    Based on data collected and evaluated during the characterization 
activities, an expedited removal action was conducted at the Seymour 
site in 1992 and 1993. Post-remedial action surveys have demonstrated 
that the site now meets applicable requirements for use without 
radiological restrictions. DOE has certified that any residual 
contamination which remains on site falls within guidelines for use 
without radiological restrictions and that reasonably foreseeable 
future use of the property will result in no radiological exposure 
above these radiological guidelines established to protect members of 
the general public as well as site occupants. These findings are 
supported by the DOE Certification Docket for the Remedial Action 
Performed at the Seymour Site in Seymour, Connecticut, 1992-1993. 
Accordingly, this property is released from FUSRAP.
    The certification docket will be available for review between 9:00 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays) in 
the U.S. Department of Energy Public Reading Room located in Room 1E-
190 of the Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue S.W., 
Washington, D.C. Copies of the certification docket will also be 
available in the DOE Public Document Room, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Oak Ridge Operations Office, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. DOE, through the Oak 
Ridge Operations Office, Former Sites Restoration Division, has issued 
the following statement:
Statement of Certification: Seymour Specialty Wire Site, Former AEC 
Operations
    DOE, Oak Ridge Operations Office, Former Sites Restoration 
Division, has reviewed and analyzed the radiological data obtained 
following remedial action at the Seymour Specialty Wire site (Town of 
Seymour, Volume 135, pages 430-437). Post-remedial action radiological 
surveys show that the site now meets current guidelines for use without 
radiological restrictions. Based on analysis of all data collected, DOE 
certifies that any residual contamination which remains on site falls 
within current guidelines for use without radiological restrictions. 
This certification of compliance also provides assurance that 
reasonably foreseeable future use of the property will result in no 
radiological exposure above current radiological guidelines established 
to protect members of the general public as well as occupants of the 
site.
    Property owned by Seymour Specialty Wire Company: 15 Franklin 
Street, Seymour, Connecticut 06482.

    Issued in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 1995.
John E. Baublitz,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration.
[FR Doc. 95-1753 Filed 1-23-95; 8:45 am]
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