[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]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M