[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52308-52310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26209]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-22]


CBS Corporation, Westinghouse Test Reactor; Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of a license amendment to the CBS Corporation 
(the licensee) (formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation) that would 
allow

[[Page 52309]]

decommissioning of the Westinghouse Test Reactor (WTR) located in 
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The WTR Facility is located in western Pennsylvania, near the town 
of Madison, and is on a site called the Waltz Mill site. The reactor 
operated from 1959 to 1962, primarily as a research and testing 
reactor. The facility was placed in a condition equivalent to a status 
later defined by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as 
``SAFSTOR'' (safe storage) after it was shut down in 1962, and the 
operating license was converted to ``Possession Only'' (Amendment No. 
2, dated March 25, 1963). All fuel and some of the reactor internal 
contents have been removed from the reactor vessel and from the Waltz 
Mill site.
    The licensee submitted a decommissioning plan in accordance with 10 
CFR 50.82(b) on July 31, 1997, as supplemented on March 20 and July 10, 
1998. Decommissioning, as described in the plan, will be accomplished 
by removal and disposal of the remaining reactor vessel internal 
contents, the reactor vessel, and the biological shield. The balance of 
the WTR facility components and the remaining residual radioactive 
materials will be transferred to the existing SNM-770 license at the 
Waltz Mill site. There are no radiological limits applicable to the 
transfer of structures, materials, and equipment to the SNM-770 
license, other than the radioactive materials possession limits 
specified in the SNM-770 license.
    The licensee submitted a Decommissioning Environmental Report on 
March 20, 1998, which addresses the actual or potential environmental 
impacts resulting from the decommissioning of the WTR Facility, 
including decontamination, dismantlement, and site restoration 
activities.
    Opportunity for a hearing was afforded by a ``Notice of Proposed 
Issuance of a License Amendment and an Order Authorizing Disposition of 
Component Parts, Termination of Facility License, and Opportunity for 
Hearing'' published in the Federal Register on October 21, 1997 (62 FR 
54656). There were no requests for a hearing.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary because of Westinghouse Electric 
Corporation's 1962 decision to cease operations permanently at the WTR. 
As specified in 10 CFR 50.82, any licensee may apply to the NRC for 
authority to surrender a license voluntarily and to decommission the 
affected facility. Further, 10 CFR 51.53(d) stipulates that each 
applicant for a license amendment to authorize decommissioning of a 
production or utilization facility shall submit with its application an 
environmental report that reflects any new information or significant 
environmental change associated with the proposed decommissioning 
activities. Also, decommissioning the WTR and transferring the residual 
radioactivity and remaining WTR facilities to the SNM-770 license is to 
allow efficient management of the Waltz Mill site under one license.

Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action

    All decontamination will be performed by trained personnel in 
accordance with previously reviewed procedures and will be overseen by 
experienced health physics staff. Solid and liquid waste will be 
removed from the facility and managed in accordance with NRC 
requirements. The WTR staff has calculated that the collective dose 
equivalent to the WTR staff for the project will be less than 0.39 
person-sievert (39 person-rem, Decommissioning Plan, July 25, 1991, 
page 2-29). The maximum calculated public exposure, to the most exposed 
person, from the planned decommissioning of the WTR would be less than 
1 x 10-5 sievert per year (1 mrem per year, Westinghouse 
letter, March 20, 1998, page 9).
    The above conclusions were based on all proposed operations being 
carefully planned and controlled, all contaminated components being 
removed, packaged, and shipped offsite or controlled under SNM-770. 
Furthermore, the existence of radiological control procedures that will 
be in place will help ensure that releases of radioactive wastes from 
the facility are within the limits of 10 CFR Part 20 and are as low as 
reasonably achievable (ALARA).
    Based on the review of the specific proposed activities associated 
with the dismantling and decontamination of the WTR facility, the NRC 
staff has determined that there will be no significant increase in the 
amounts of radioactive effluents that may be released offsite, and no 
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
    With regard to nonradiological impacts, the proposed action will 
not result in a change in nonradiological plant effluent and will have 
no other nonradiological impact.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The four alternatives available for disposition of the WTR are: 
DECON, SAFSTOR, ENTOMB, and no action. These alternatives are defined 
as follows:
    DECON is the alternative in which the equipment, structures, and 
portions of the facility and site containing radioactive contaminants 
are removed or decontaminated to a level that permits the property to 
be released for unrestricted use shortly after cessation of operations.
    SAFSTOR is the alternative in which the nuclear facility is placed 
and maintained in a condition that allows the nuclear facility to be 
safely stored and subsequently decontaminated (deferred 
decontamination) to levels that permit release for unrestricted use.
    ENTOMB is the alternative in which radioactive contaminants are 
encased in a structurally long-lived material, such as concrete, the 
entombed structure is appropriately maintained and continued 
surveillance is carried out until the radioactivity decays to a level 
permitting release of the property for unrestricted use.
    The licensee has evaluated the pros and cons of these alternatives 
in a letter dated March 20, 1998, and has given acceptable 
justification for proposing the modified DECON approach. It is 
considered a modified DECON approach because the WTR facility will not 
be released for unrestricted use but will be transferred to an existing 
NRC materials license. The principal reasons for this selection are as 
follow:
    1. The facility has been in the SAFSTOR mode for 35 years and the 
majority of benefit from radioactive decay has already been realized.
    2. Considering the potential for future escalation in the cost of 
radioactive waste burial and demolishment activities, the modified 
DECON alternative is most beneficial now.
    3. Integrating the remaining WTR area into the existing materials 
license at the site will improve the efficiency of the decommissioning 
activities for the entire site at Waltz Mill. Key individuals that will 
be performing the decommissioning activities have experience from other 
decommissioning and remediation projects, including performing the 
remediation of the Waltz Mill Site.

[[Page 52310]]

    The only alternative to the proposed dismantling and 
decontamination activities is to maintain possession of the reactor in 
the SAFSTOR mode. This approach would include monitoring and reporting 
for the duration of the safe storage period. However, the licensee has 
determined that it would be more efficient to terminate the reactor 
license by removing the remaining reactor vessel internal contents, the 
reactor vessel and the biological shield, and transferring the balance 
of the facility components and remaining residual radioactivity to the 
existing SNM-770 license.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Environmental Report submitted on March 
20, 1998, for the WTR.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on June 23, 1998, the NRC 
staff consulted with the Pennsylvania State Official, Ray Woods, of the 
Bureau of Radiation Protection, Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. There was no objection to the conclusions reached in 
the environmental assessment.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has 
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed action.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letters dated July 31, 1997, March 20, and July 10, 1998, 
which are available for pubic inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20555.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of September 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Seymour H. Weiss,
Director, Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning, Project Directorate, 
Division of Reactor Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-26209 Filed 9-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P