[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 73 (Monday, April 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19309-19311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9373]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-322; License No. NPF-82]
In the Matter of: Long Island Power Authority (Shoreham Nuclear
Power Station, Unit 1); Order Terminating the Facility Operating
License
I
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA or the licensee) is the holder of
Facility Operating License No. NPF-82, issued by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to part 50 of Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) on April 21, 1989. The license was
amended on June 14, 1991, to remove the authority to operate the
Shoreham Nuclear Power Station (SNPS), in accordance with conditions
specified therein, and authorized the possession only for SNPS. The
facility is located on LIPA's site in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk
County, New York.
II
On February 28, 1989, Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), the
former licensee, entered into an agreement with the State of New York
to transfer its Shoreham assets to an entity of the State (LIPA) for
decommissioning. LILCO, however, continued to pursue with NRC its
request for a full-power license to operate its Shoreham plant. On
April 21, 1989, NRC issued to LILCO a Facility Operating License No.
NPF-82, which allowed full-power operation of the Shoreham plant. On
June 28, 1989, LILCO's shareholders ratified LILCO's agreement with the
State. Consistent with the terms of the settlement agreement, which
prohibits further operation of the Shoreham facility,
[[Page 19310]] LILCO defueled the reactor and reduced its staff. On
February 29, 1992, NRC approved the transfer of the Shoreham license to
LIPA.
In a letter dated June 27, 1991 (SNRC-1818), the former licensee,
LILCO requested, in accordance with the requirement of 10 CFR 50.82(a),
approval for termination of SNPS License No. NPF-82. The application
for license termination was preceded by a proposed decommissioning plan
(DP) that was submitted to NRC on December 29, 1990.
In June 1992, the NRC approved the licensee's DP, which described
the planned dismantlement and decontamination methods that would be
used to reduce contamination at the facility to meet the unrestricted
release criteria. By an agreement between the Philadelphia Electric
Company (PECo) and LIPA, the slightly irradiated fuel stored in the
SNPS spent fuel pool was transferred to the Limerick Generating Station
for reuse. The fuel transfers began in September 1993, and were
completed in June 1994.
The dismantlement and decontamination tasks necessary for
decommissioning SNPS, began in June 1992, and were completed in August
1994. All contaminated waste generated during the decommissioning of
SNPS has been removed from the site.
III
The SNPS proposed DP was approved by an Order dated June 11, 1992.
Approximately 602 curies of radioactive material were present in the
RPV and internal components; 1370 curies in the control rod blades,
local-power-range monitors, and antimony/beryllium pins; 457
millicuries in the reactor bioshield wall; and 3 millicuries in
contaminated systems and areas. Approximately 593 millicuries were
present in the spent fuel storage pool water (SFSP) and on the surfaces
of the SFSP and fuel storage racks.
The SNPS was decommissioned in accordance with the approved DP, as
supplemented. The licensee decommissioned SNPS by dismantlement and
decontamination. The activated and contaminated reactor vessel
internals were removed and disposed of as radioactive waste. Activated
portions of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) that exceeded
unrestricted release criteria, were segmented, packaged, and disposed
as radioactive waste. Large contaminated components and portions of
plant systems and structures that could not be decontaminated
effectively were segmented, as necessary, and packaged and shipped
offsite for volume reduction and/or direct disposal at licensed low-
level waste disposal facilities. Contaminated water was processed and
released in accordance with approved release requirements, and
activated portions of the reactor bioshield wall exceeding unrestricted
release criteria were removed and disposed as low-level radioactive
waste.
The DP, as supplemented, contained the licensee's Termination
Survey Plan (Plan). The Plan described the methods used to demonstrate
compliance with the existing NRC unrestricted release criteria. The
guidelines used by the licensee for residual radioactivity at the SNPS
are consistent with the values provided in Table 1, of Regulatory Guide
1.86, which establishes acceptable residual surface contamination
levels. NRC approved alternative contamination limits for iron-55 and
tritium above those specified in Regulatory Guide 1.86. These
alternative criteria were presented to the Commission in SECY 94-145
and increased the allowable residual average and maximum total residual
beta activity levels for iron-55 and tritium from 5,000 average total
and 15,000 maximum total (fixed plus removable) disintegrations per
minute (dpm)/100 square centimeters to 200,000 average total and
600,000 maximum total dpm/100 square centimeters, respectively. This
permitted the licensee to safely retain on site major portions of the
reactor bioshield wall that did not exceed the gamma dose rate
criterion or the surface contamination limits for other isotopes, but
which would have required offsite disposal under the original iron-55
and tritium surface contamination limits of Regulatory Guide 1.86. A
concentration limit for cobalt-60 in soil and other bulk materials of 8
picocuries per gram was also established. An average gamma dose rate
criterion of 5 uR per hour above background, at a distance of 1 meter
from accessible surfaces, and an individual gamma exposure rates are
not to exceed 10 uR per hour above background at 1 meter were used. In
addition, the licensee's Plan also described the technical methods that
would be used for the planning and design of the Termination Survey.
The methods used by the licensee for the planning and design of the
Termination Survey were derived from regulatory guidance contained in
the NRC Regulatory Guide 1.86 and draft NUREG/CR-5849.
The licensee's Termination Plan was implemented at the individual
survey unit level. The licensee established the following three survey
units: (1) Structures, which included building interiors; (2) plant
systems; and (3) outdoor areas. The licensee used a phased approach to
conduct the actual termination surveys. Phase 1 of the termination
surveys included surveys of the main turbine internals, turbine
building, site and grounds, and the exterior of buildings. Phases 2 and
3 of the termination surveys included portions of the reactor and
radwaste buildings and the suppression pool. Phase 4 (final phase) of
the termination survey included those portions of the reactor and spent
fuel pool used to support irradiated fuel storage, before the fuel's
removal from the site. The licensee completed the Termination Surveys
in August 1994.
The licensee submitted phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Final Termination
Survey Reports to NRC in September 1993, February 1994, and June 1994,
respectively. Phase 4 of the Final Termination Report was submitted to
NRC for review in October 1994. The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Education (ORISE) performed independent confirmatory surveys at SNPS
for NRC.
Based on the licensee's completion of the decommissioning tasks at
the SNPS, as described in the approved DP, and supplements, the staff's
review of the licensee's Final Termination Survey Reports, and the
results of the ORISE confirmatory surveys, the staff has determined
that the decommissioning of the SNPS is complete, that the residual
radioactivity levels have been reduced in accordance with NRC release
criteria, and that the facility and the site are suitable to be
released for unrestricted use.
IV
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103, 161b, 161i, and 161o of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations
in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 50.82(f), NRC terminates License No. NPF-82.
Any person adversely affected by this Order may request a hearing
within 20 days of its issuance. Any request for a hearing shall be
submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN:
Chief, Docketing and Service Section, Washington, DC 20555. Copies of
the hearing request shall also be sent to the Director, Office Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and
Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC
Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406, and to the
licensee. If such a person requests a hearing, that person
[[Page 19311]] shall set forth with particularity the manner in which
his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d). The Commission will issue an
Order designating the time and place of the hearing.
If a hearing is granted, the issue to be heard is whether the
licensee complied with the Commission-approved decommissioning plan.
In the absence of any request for hearing, the provisions specified
in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of this Order
without further order or proceedings.
For further details with respect to this action, see: (1) The
licensee's request to terminate the SNPS license presented in letters
dated June 27, 1991 (SNRC-1818), and August 4, 1994 (LSNRC-2178); (2)
the Commission's Order approving decommissioning dated June 11, 1992;
(3) the licensee's Termination Survey Final Report, Phase 1 (LSNRC-
2101), dated September 30, 1993; the licensee's Termination Survey
Final Report, Phase 2 (LSNRC-2144), dated February 4, 1994; the
licensee's Termination Survey Final Report, Phase 3 (LSNRC-2173), dated
June 14, 1994; the licensee's Termination Survey Final Report, Phase 4
(LSNRC-2184), dated October 12, 1994; and (4) the ORISE Final
Confirmatory Reports dated July 1993, September 1994, and February
1995. These documents are available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2102 L Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20555, and at the Shoreham Wading River Public
Library, Route 25A, Shoreham, NY 11786. Copies may be obtained upon
request addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Director, Division of Waste
Management.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of April, 1995.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John T. Greeves,
Director, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 95-9373 Filed 4-14-95; 8:45 am]
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