[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35844-35846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17296]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 070-00364; License No. SNM-414]
Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Amendment of
Materials (Babcock and Wilcox, Nuclear Environmental Services, Inc.),
Parks Township, PA
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering issuing an
amendment to Materials License No. SNM-414, held by Babcock and Wilcox,
Nuclear Environmental Services, Inc. (B&W or the licensee), to
authorize the decommissioning of B&W's operating facility in Parks
Township, PA.
Summary of Environmental Assessment
Background
B&W is the current holder of NRC Radioactive Materials License No.
SNM-414 for the operational facility located in Parks Township, PA
(Parks Facilities). It authorizes B&W to use byproduct material and
plutonium and uranium isotopes in decontamination, packaging, storage,
and shipment activities for residual contamination and waste resulting
from the former Special Nuclear Material processing operations at B&W's
Parks Facilities and for use in service activities involving the
receipt, storage, decontamination, refurbishment, and transfer of parts
and equipment contaminated with byproduct material. By letter dated
January 26, 1996, B&W informed the NRC staff that it intended to
decommission the Parks Facilities. On October 10, 1996, the NRC
published a notice in the Federal Register summarizing B&W's intention
to decommission the Parks Facilities and offering interested
individuals with an opportunity to request a hearing on the staff's
action (61 FR 53240). The staff did not receive any requests for a
hearing from interested members of the public in response to the
Federal Register Notice.
On October 24, 1995, activities associated with the adjacent
Shallow
[[Page 35845]]
Land Disposal Area were incorporated into NRC License No. SNM-2001.
Activities and property at the adjacent Shallow Land Disposal Area were
not included in the NRC staff's review of the decommissioning plan for
the Parks Facilities.
Proposed Action
The objective of the decommissioning project is to decontaminate
and decommission the Parks Facilities to permit release for
unrestricted use and termination of NRC License No. SNM-414.
To accomplish this goal B&W will perform the following
decommissioning activities:
Remove building slabs, basements, and sub-surface
utilities and structures;
Excavate soil from under buildings and other locations on
the site;
Ship excavated soil which exceeds unrestricted use limits
to a licensed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility;
Survey and backfill excavations;
Perform a radiological survey of the site; and
Conduct a post-remediation groundwater monitoring program.
Need for Proposed Action
The proposed action is necessary to allow B&W to remove radioactive
material, attributable to licensed operations at the site, to levels
that permit unrestricted use of the site and termination of NRC License
No. SNM-414.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action and Impacts
Allowing the licensee to leave the facility in its current
radiological condition (i.e., ``No action'') would constitute a
violation of NRC's regulations at 10 CFR 70.38(d)1-4, which require
that licensees begin decommissioning of their facility at the cessation
of licensed operations. Further, the no action alternative would result
in: (1) Perpetual care of the site in its current condition to prevent
public access and exposure to the radiological contamination, thereby
foreclosing productive uses of the site; and (2) possible off site
exposure resulting from migration of the radiological contamination. In
addition, allowing the licensee to leave the facility in its current
radiological condition would require that NRC grant a request to extend
the time period for decommissioning in NRC's regulations pursuant to 10
CFR 70.38(e), if NRC determines that the extension is not detrimental
to the public health and safety and is otherwise in the public
interest. In order for a licensee's request for an extension to be
considered, the licensee must submit the request to NRC not later than
30 days before notification is required (i.e., not later than 30 days
after the facility reverts from ``active'' to ``decommissioning''
status). A request for an extension or alternative schedule for
decommissioning may be approved, if warranted, after considering the
following:
1. Whether it is technically feasible to complete the
decommissioning within the 24-month period;
2. Whether sufficient waste disposal capacity is available to allow
the completion of the decommissioning within the 24-month period;
3. Whether a significant volume reduction in waste requiring
disposal will be achieved by allowing short-lived radionuclides to
decay;
4. Whether a significant reduction in radiation exposure to workers
can be achieved by allowing short-lived radionuclides to decay; and
5. Other site-specific factors, such as the regulatory requirements
of other agencies, lawsuits, groundwater-water treatment activities,
monitored natural groundwater restoration, actions that could result in
more environmental harm then deferred cleanup, and other factors beyond
the control of the licensee.
The NRC staff has reviewed the decommissioning plan for the
facility and has determined that none of these factors is applicable to
the decommissioning of the licensee's facility.
In addition, approval of the request must also be in the ``public
interest.'' NRC has determined that it is normally in the public's
interest to have radiologically contaminated areas remediated shortly
following permanent cessation of operations. NRC has stated, ``When
decommissioning is delayed for long periods following cessation of
operations, there is a risk that safety practices may become lax as key
personnel relocate and management interest wanes. In addition,
bankruptcy, corporate takeover, or other unforeseen changes in
company's financial status may complicate and perhaps further delay
decommissioning.'' (59 FR 36027). In addition, waste disposal costs
have, in the past, increased at rates significantly exceeding the rate
of inflation and, as such, delaying remediation will result in higher
costs to the public, if the government eventually assumes
responsibility for the decommissioning. Therefore, in evaluating a
licensee's request for an extension, NRC staff should consider whether
the licensee has adequately addressed how postponing decommissioning
would be in the public's interest. For the reasons summarized above the
NRC staff has determined that postponing the decommissioning of the
Parks Facilities is not in the public's interest.
An alternative considered by the licensee was to install a crushing
plant on site, demolish the building and process the building rubble
through the crushing plant. According to the licensee, this alternative
was similar to an operation successfully performed during the
decommissioning of its Apollo, PA site under NRC License No. SNM-145.
The crushed rubble would be sampled as it came out of the plant. Any
material that exceeded the current release criteria would be shipped to
a licensed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Material
below the release criteria would remain on site and be used as fill
material after soil exceeding the release criteria had been removed and
shipped for disposal. The licensee abandoned this alternative for
several reasons. The crushed rubble remaining on the site may have
increased the radiological dose to members of the public, the cost of
this alternative far exceeds the cost of the proposed action, and the
overall decommissioning schedule would have been impacted. Given these
considerations, NRC staff has not further evaluated this alternative.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment summarizing
the results of the NRC staff's review of the licensee's final
decommissioning plan. Based on the NRC staff's evaluation of B&W's
final decommissioning plan, it was determined that the proposed
decommissioning can be carried out in a manner that is in compliance
with NRC's public and occupational dose limits, effluent release
limits, and residual radioactive material limits. As a result, the
approval of the proposed action (i.e., decommissioning of the Parks
Facilities in accordance with the commitments in NRC License No. SNM-
414 and the final decommissioning plan) will not have a significant
effect on the quality of the human environment. Based on this
assessment, the Commission has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.
Further Information
The Environmental Assessment and other documents related to this
proposed action are available for public
[[Page 35846]]
inspection and copying at the Commission's Public Document Room,
located at 2120 L Street NW., Washington DC. 20555 and NRC's Local
Public Document Room located at the Apollo Memorial Library, 219 North
Pennsylvania Avenue, Apollo, PA 15613.
For further information, contact Dominick Orlando, US NRC, Mailstop
T-8F37, Washington, DC 20555-001, telephone (301) 415-6947.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W.N. Hickey,
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of
Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-17296 Filed 7-1-97; 8:45 am]
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