[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 246 (Friday, December 22, 1995)] [Notices] [Pages 66542-66543] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-31186] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Medical Isotopes Production Project: Molybdenum-99 and Related Isotopes Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Public Hearings AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Medical Isotopes Production Project: Molybdenum-99 and Related Isotopes Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS), DOE/EIS- 0249D, for public review and comment. DOE also announces the dates, times, and locations for public hearings on the Draft EIS. The alternative facilities for the proposed project that are analyzed in the Draft EIS are located at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho; Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. DATES: DOE filed the Draft EIS with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on December 15, 1995, with an expected Federal Register publication date for the notice of availability of December 22, 1995. Written comments on the Draft EIS are invited from the public. Comments must be postmarked by February 9, 1996, to ensure consideration; comments postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. The DOE will use the comments received to help prepare the final version of the EIS. Public hearings on the Draft EIS will be held as follows: Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--January 17, 1996, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Shilo Inn, 780 Lindsay Boulevard, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Oak Ridge National Laboratory--January 25, 1996, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Pollard Auditorium, 210 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico--January 30, 1996, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Main Auditorium, 2401 12th Street, Albuquerque, NM, 87104 Los Alamos National Laboratory--February 1, 1996, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Fuller Lodge, Pajarito Room, 2132 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, NM 87544. The meetings will provide opportunities for information exchange and discussion as well as for the submittal of prepared statements. ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft EIS, written comments on the Draft EIS, or other matters regarding this environmental review should be addressed to: Mr. Wade Carroll, EIS Project Manager, NE-70, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874- 1290. Mr. Carroll may be contacted by telephone at (301) 903-7731, facsimile (301) 903-5434. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by leaving a message at (800) 472-2756 or by calling (202) 586-4600. For general information on the DOE isotope production program, please contact: Mr. Owen W. Lowe, Associate Director, Office of Isotope Production and Distribution, NE-70, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. Mr. Lowe may be contacted by calling (301) 903-5161. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft EIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.], the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations [40 CFR Parts 1500-1508] and the DOE NEPA regulations [10 CFR Part 1021]. The Department proposes to establish a medical isotope production project that would ensure a reliable domestic supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and related medical isotopes (iodine-125, iodine-131, and xenon-133). Mo-99 decays to form technetium-99m (Tc-99m), an important medical isotope. Radioactive isotopes are used in more than 38,000 diagnostic medical procedures each day in the United States. Tc-99m is used in over 80 percent of these procedures. The United States medical community now relies on a single small nuclear reactor in Canada for its entire supply of Mo-99. The near term goal of [[Page 66543]] DOE is to provide a backup capability to supply a baseline production level of 10 to 30 percent of current United States demand for Mo-99. The near term goal also includes establishing the capability to supply 100 percent of the United States demand for Mo-99 should the existing Canadian source be unavailable. The baseline capability would maintain the capabilities of the facilities and staff needed to respond on short notice to supply the entire United States demand if necessary. It is the Department's position that, in the long-term, the domestic production of Mo-99 should be conducted by the private sector. The Department encourages the development of private sources in the United States for the production of Mo-99, and would phase out production if a private source begins to produce Mo-99 reliably. The long-term domestic production of Mo-99 by private sources is not within the scope of this EIS. The Draft EIS analyzes the environmental consequences of alternative ways to accomplish the proposed action. The Department's preferred alternative would be to modify and operate the Annular Core Research Reactor and associated hot cell facility at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico and the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory to produce Mo-99 and related medical isotopes. The Draft EIS also analyzes the environmental impacts of producing Mo-99 using the Omega West reactor at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Power Burst Facility at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Research Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as the impacts of not establishing a Mo-99 production source (the No Action alternative). DOE has distributed copies of the Draft EIS to appropriate Congressional members and committees, the States of Idaho, New Mexico, and Tennessee, American Indian tribal governments, local county governments, other federal agencies, and other interested parties. Additional copies are available as indicated above. Signed in Washington, D.C., this 18th day of December, 1995, for the United States Department of Energy. Ray A. Hunter, Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. [FR Doc. 95-31186 Filed 12-21-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P