[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7589-7590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3087]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-20]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact 
Regarding Proposed License Amendment; Changing Expiration Date of 
Amended Facility Operating License No. R-37 Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of a license amendment extending the expiration date of 
Amended Facility Operating License No. R-37 (the license) for the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT or the licensee) Research 
Reactor (MITR) from May 7, 1996, to August 8, 1999. This recaptures 
construction time between May 7, 1956, the issuance date of 
Construction Permit No. CPRR-5 and June 9, 1958, the issuance date of 
the license, and between May 24, 1974, the date reactor operations were 
terminated to modify the reactor under Construction Permit No. CPRR-
118, and July 23, 1975, the date of issuance of Amendment No. 10 to the 
license which authorized a return to reactor operation.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    By application dated March 31, 1994, as supplemented on September 
29, and November 4, 1994, MIT requested that the expiration date of 
Amended Facility Operating License No. R-37 be extended from midnight, 
May, 7, 1996, to midnight, April 24, 2001. MIT has requested that four 
periods of time be recaptured:
    (1) The period from May 7, 1956, the date of issuance of CPRR-5, 
until June 9, 1958, the issuance date of the license, or July 21, 1958, 
the date of initial criticality.
    (2) The period from July 21, 1958, until June 1, 1959, during which 
the first reactor (MITR-I) was operated infrequently at low power for 
startup testing.
    (3) From May 24, 1974, the date the reactor was shut down to 
perform modifications to the facility under Construction Permit No. 
CPRR-118, (CPRR-118 was issued on April 9, 1973, but component 
acquisition problems delayed the reactor shut down until May 24, 1974) 
until August 14, 1975, the date of initial criticality of the modified 
reactor (MITR-II). The NRC issued Amendment No. 10 to the license on 
July 23, 1975, which authorized operation of the modified reactor.
    (4) The period from August 14, 1975, until April 15, 1976, during 
which the modified reactor was operated infrequently at low power for 
startup testing.
    The staff has determined that the time between May 7, 1956, the 
issuance date of Construction Permit No. CPRR-5 and June 9, 1958, the 
issuance date of the license, and between May 24, 1974, the day reactor 
operations where terminated to modify the reactor under Construction 
permit No. CPRR-118, and July 23, 1975, the date of issuance of 
Amendment No. 10 to the license which authorized a return to reactor 
operation, represents time that was not available to the licensee due 
to construction. This period of time is 1188 days, which when added to 
the expiration date of the Amended Facility Operating License of May 7, 
1996, results in a extended expiration date of August 8, 1999.
    The staff has also determined that the time (a) between July 9, 
1958, the issuance date of the license, through July 21, 1958, the date 
of initial criticality, to June 1, 1959, the end of low power testing, 
and (b) between July 23, 1975, the date of issuance of Amendment No. 
10, through August 14, 1975, the date of initial criticality for the 
modified reactor, to April 15, 1976, the end of low power testing, 
cannot be added to extend the expiration date of the license. This is 
because this time was authorized by NRC in the license for reactor 
operation, was available to the licensee for operations and, after 
initial criticality in both cases, was used by the licensee for low 
power testing. A license term of 40 years from the date of issuance of 
the operating license is permitted by NRC regulations, specifically 10 
CFR 50.51. Commission approval of the proposed amendment would be 
consistent with recent NRC actions for nuclear power reactors.

Need for Proposed Action

    The granting of this request would allow the licensee to operate 
the facility for approximately three years and three months beyond the 
current license expiration date, thus recapturing construction periods. 
Over 30 similar extensions have been issued to other licensees. Without 
issuance of the proposed license amendment, an application for license 
renewal would be required to be developed and submitted before the 
expiration of the current license on May 7, 1996, or the MITR would be 
shut down and a decommissioning plan required to be developed and 
submitted.

Environmental Impact of the proposed Action

    The anticipated impact of the facility on the environment was 
evaluated in the Environmental Impact Appraisal for the MITR dated July 
23, 1975. This appraisal was prepared for the issuance of Amendment No. 
10 to the license, which authorized a return to operation for the 
facility at a power level of 5 MW(t), after modifications were 
completed to the reactor as authorized by construction permit No. CPRR-
118. The descriptions in and findings of that appraisal are still 
valid. That appraisal concluded that there will be no significant 
environmental impact associated with the licensing of the MITR to be 
operated at 5 MW(t).
    The licensee has not requested any changes to the facility as part 
of this amendment request. The environmental effects of accidents which 
were discussed and considered negligible in the 1975 appraisal have not 
changed.
    Operating data is available to replace the estimates of the 
environmental effects of facility operation in the 1975 appraisal. The 
actual environmental effects of facility operation from July 1, 1984 
(FY 85), to June 30, 1994 (FY 94), were obtained from the licensee.
    Environmental surveys within a quarter mile of the facility 
detected an average (averaged because readings are [[Page 7590]] from 
multiple monitoring stations) annual radiation exposure as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Average 
                          Year (FY)                             readings
                                                                 (mrem) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994.........................................................        0.4
1993.........................................................        0.5
1992.........................................................        0.2
1991.........................................................        0.1
1990.........................................................        0.1
1989.........................................................        0.2
1988.........................................................        0.2
1987.........................................................        1.2
1986.........................................................        1.8
1985.........................................................        2.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Annual airborne effluent releases from the facility are given in 
the next table. FY 94 is presented in two half years periods because 
amendments to 10 CFR Part 20 became effective on January 1, 1994, which 
changed the regulatory limits for release concentrations to the 
environment for certain radionuclides. Total curies released during FY 
94 is comparable to past years. The percent of Regulatory Limit column 
represents the percent of the regulatory limit for concentration of 
radionuclides in air after taking into account dilution from the 
release point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Stack      % of   
                     Year (FY)                       release  regulatory
                                                    (curies)     limit  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1/94 to 6/30/94.................................       398       21.7 
7/1/93 to 12/31/93................................       275        4.1 
1993..............................................       923        6.0 
1992..............................................       728        4.9 
1991..............................................       684        4.4 
1990..............................................       542        3.5 
1989..............................................      1529        9.8 
1988..............................................      2627       17   
1987..............................................      4223       30   
1986..............................................      3797       26   
1985..............................................      4076       26   
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Annual liquid effluent releases are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Total 
                           Year (FY)                            activity
                                                                (curies)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994..........................................................     0.025
1993..........................................................     0.007
1992..........................................................     0.036
1991..........................................................     0.121
1990..........................................................     0.080
1989..........................................................     0.110
1988..........................................................     0.072
1987..........................................................     0.098
1986..........................................................     0.288
1985..........................................................     0.099
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Low level solid waste shipped from the facility is given in cubic 
feet and total activity in curies. Increased shipments in FY 1994 and 
FY 1993 represent an effort by the licensee to remove solid waste from 
the facility before waste disposal site closures prevented future 
shipments of low level solid waste.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Total 
                      Year (FY)                         Cubic   activity
                                                         feet   (curies)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994.................................................      457     0.925
1993.................................................      210     0.218
1992.................................................      127     0.011
1991.................................................      116     0.125
1990.................................................      192     0.035
1989.................................................      135     0.053
1988.................................................       60     0.003
1987.................................................      112     0.082
1986.................................................       75     0.097
1985.................................................      120     0.067
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These releases are well within regulatory limits and will not have 
a significant impact on the environment. Releases for the proposed 
license extension are estimated to continue at levels well within 
regulatory limits.

Alternative Use of Resources

    One alternative to the proposed amendment request is to deny the 
request. If the request is denied, the MITR would be shut down or an 
application for license renewal would be developed and submitted before 
expiration of the current license on May 7, 1996. Shutting the reactor 
down would result in the loss of an educational tool for the training 
of students and the conduct of research in many areas including medical 
therapy. If the request is denied and the licensee proposes to renew 
the license, resources would have to be expended on the part of the 
licensee and the Commission sooner than if the request for license 
extension is granted. Denial of the application would result in no 
change in current environmental impacts.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff consulted no other agencies or persons in reviewing 
the request from the licensee.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The Commission has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed action based upon the foregoing 
environmental assessment. The Commission concludes that the proposed 
action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment for the reasons set out above.
    For detailed information with respect to this proposed action, see 
the application for amendment dated March 31, 1994, as supplemented, 
the Safety Evaluation prepared by the staff, the Negative Declaration 
Regarding Facility Operating License R-37 for the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology Research Reactor dated July 23, 1975, and the 
Environmental Impact Appraisal for the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology Reactor dated July 23, 1975. These documents are available 
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L 
Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20555.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of February 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Seymour H. Weiss,
Director, Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate, 
Division of Project Support, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 95-3087 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M