[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 227 (Monday, November 27, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58391-58392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28828]



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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No: 040-08948 040-07397]


Information Meeting Concerning the Development of an 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical 
Corporation, Cambridge, Ohio, Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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

SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public of a meeting to discuss 
the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's process for decommissioning 
nuclear facilities and the development of an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation (SMC), 
Cambridge, Ohio, facility, one of the key steps in this process. A 
brief status report will also be provided for the remediation of 
properties, in the Cambridge, Ohio, area, that contain slag that may 
have been removed from the Shieldalloy facility. Interested individuals 
are invited to attend this meeting. NRC, SMC, Cyprus Foote Mineral 
Company (CFMC), State and local officials, and citizen groups will 
share information concerning these topics in a facilitated roundtable 
discussion.

Background

    The SMC facility processes ores for the production of metal alloys. 
The SMC license (SMB-1507) authorizes the possession of the 
radionuclides uranium and thorium as contaminants in slag from previous 
operations at this site. The previous owners (Vanadium Corporation of 
America, now Newmont Mining Corporation, and Foote Mineral Company 
(FMC), now Cyprus Foote Mineral Company) had processed an ore 
containing licensable quantities of natural uranium and thorium, and 
radionuclides resulting from their radioactive decay. The processing of 
this ore started in the late 1950s and ended in the early 1970s. In 
processing this ore to produce metal alloys, the radioactive material 
contained in the ore was segregated into slag. The waste slag is 
currently in a dense, rock-like form and stored in two piles on the 
site. In 1987, SMC purchased the facility from FMC. SMC continues to 
process ores for the production of metal alloys. However, these ores do 
not contain licensable quantities of radioactive material. With the 
exception of radioactive contamination that exists in, or originated 
from, the two slag piles, SMC has remediated the radioactive 
contamination at the site. NRC staff is developing an EIS to evaluate 
alternatives associated with decommissioning the slag piles.
    In a possibly related matter, it was determined, in 1993, that slag 
from the site, when it was owned by FMC, may have been used as fill at 
offsite locations. Radiation surveys and slag analyses that NRC 
conducted in 1994 indicate that the slag does not pose an immediate 
health and safety risk to residents. However, some action may be 
necessary at specific locations, to minimize the long-term risk 
associated with the slag. In a letter dated January 25, 1995, SMC 
requested that the EIS be modified to include an analysis of the 
relocation of the offsite slag to the SMC, Cambridge, Ohio, site.
    In addition to the issues that fall under NRC's jurisdiction, there 
are other environmental issues, associated with decommissioning the 
Cambridge site, 

[[Page 58392]]
that are regulated by State and other Federal agencies, including the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Environmental Protection 
Agency, and the Ohio Department of Health. As a result of these other 
environmental issues, SMC and CFMC are conducting a remedial 
investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for the SMC, Cambridge, Ohio, 
facility. In a letter dated July 5, 1995, SMC requested that the EIS be 
further expanded to examine the impacts of depositing, on one of the 
slag piles, contaminated soils and sediments resulting from site 
remediation under the RI/FS.1

    \1\ Related documents (letters and reports) are available for 
public review at the Guernsey County District Public Library, 800 
Steubenville Avenue, Cambridge, Ohio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A notice of intent to revise the scope of this EIS--to consider the 
impacts of depositing soils and sediments on the West Slag Pile and 
relocating slag from offsite--was published in the Federal Register on 
August 21, 1995 (60 FR 43477). In addition, SMC has stated that some of 
the slag may have a commercial use. Further information is needed from 
SMC to evaluate the impacts of this use. An additional expansion in 
scope may be needed to include this alternative.
    The NRC hopes to accomplish three main objectives at the December 
5, 1995, meeting;
     To describe NRC's overall decommissioning process for a 
nuclear facility, with an emphasis on opportunities for public 
involvement and participation, and the EIS portion of the process.
     To provide a status report on the EIS, including the 
additional alternatives of returning offsite slag and contaminated 
soils and sediments to the existing slag piles for permanent disposal.
     To provide a brief status report on the offsite slag 
situation.
    NRC anticipates that the information provided at the public meeting 
will stimulate additional public comment. NRC will keep the roundtable 
participants, and the general public, informed of its decision-making 
process on this issue, and provide opportunities for public comment, 
including additional meetings such as this.
    NRC recently prepared a preliminary draft of the EIS for the 
Cambridge facility and requested agencies cooperating in its 
development (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Department of 
Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to provide 
comments on this preliminary draft, consistent with their 
responsibilities under law. This is a preliminary draft that will be 
revised, based on these agencies' comments, and issued in the spring of 
1996 as a draft for public comment. NRC will be soliciting public 
comments on the EIS at that time, after consideration and resolution of 
the cooperating agencies' comments.

Conduct of Meeting

    The meeting will be held on December 5, 1995, in the Pritchard-
Laughlin Civic Center, Cambridge, Ohio. The meeting will begin at 7:00 
p.m. and will end at 10:00 p.m. The meeting will be facilitated by F.X. 
Cameron, NRC's Special Counsel for Public Liaison. The purpose of this 
meeting is to discuss, with representative stakeholders and the public, 
information concerning NRC's decommissioning process. The meeting will 
involve invited representatives from the following groups: NRC, SMC, 
CFMC, State and local officials, local citizen groups, and the public. 
These representatives will participate in a facilitated round-table 
discussion. An agenda for the meeting will be prepared and distributed 
to all invited representatives, as well as placed in the local public 
document room, in advance of the meeting. The public will be present 
during the meeting and time will be provided for public comment. Future 
information meetings will be held periodically concerning other issues 
relating to the decommissioning of the Shieldalloy facility and the 
remediation of offsite contamination.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: James E. Kennedy, Division of Waste 
Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-7-F-27, 
Washington, D.C., 20555, telephone (301) 415-6668.

    Dated at Rockville, MD this 17th day of November, 1995.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael F. Weber,
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of 
Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 95-28828 Filed 11-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P