[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 208 (Wednesday, October 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57713-57715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28813]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No.: 71-9271]


Portland General Electric Co.; Issuance of Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Regarding the Proposed 
Exemptions From Requirements of 10 CFR Part 71

    Portland General Electric Company (PGE or applicant) has applied 
for a package approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) for the one-time shipment of the Trojan Reactor Vessel Package 
(TRVP), with internals intact, from the Trojan Nuclear Plant site at 
Rainier, Oregon, to the US Ecology radioactive waste disposal facility 
near Richland, Washington. As part of its application, PGE has 
requested exemptions, pursuant to 10 CFR 71.8, from requirements 10 CFR 
71.71(c)(7) and 10 CFR 71.73(c)(1). This Environmental Assessment (EA) 
was prepared to assess the potential environmental impacts of granting 
these exemptions as well as an exemption from 10 CFR 71.73(b) to the 
extent it is needed to grant an exemption from 10 CFR 71.73(c)(1).

Identification of Proposed Action

    By letter dated March 31, 1997, PGE requested, in part, approval 
for the one-time shipment of the TRVP by means of two specific 
exemptions, under 10 CFR 71.8, from the requirements of 10 CFR 
71.71(c)(7) and 71.73(c)(1), in the 10 CFR part 71 regulations 
governing the packaging and transportation of licensed materials.
    The TRVP is the Trojan reactor vessel prepared for transport as a 
shipping package. The reactor vessel is a large, thick-walled, steel 
structure measuring approximately 13 m (42 feet, 6 inches) in length 
and 5.2 m (17 feet, 1 inch) in outside diameter. The reactor vessel 
void space, with internals installed and intact, will be filled with 
low-density cellular concrete, to prevent movement of radioactive 
material within the reactor vessel. The vessel will be sealed and 
shielded as necessary to meet the dose limit requirements of 10 CFR 
71.47 and 10 CFR 71.51. Impact limiters will be installed to minimize 
reactor vessel stresses associated with the analyzed TRVP drops. The 
impact limiters are each approximately 1.5 m (4 feet, 10 inches) in 
width and 7.6 m (28 feet) in outside diameter. The maximum gross weight 
of the TRVP is conservatively 925 metric tons (2.04 million pounds).
    The TRVP will be shipped approximately 482 km (300 miles) as a one-
time, exclusive use, radioactive material transportation package for 
the purpose of disposal at the US Ecology low-level radioactive waste 
facility on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. 
During the shipment, the TRVP is expected to be outside the Trojan 
Nuclear Plant site and US Ecology facility boundaries less than 72 
hours.
    Section 71.71(c)(7) requires an evaluation of the package design 
under normal conditions of transport and must include a determination 
of the effect, on that design, of a free drop of the specimen through a 
distance of 0.3 m (1 foot) [for a package weighing more than 15000 kg 
(33,100 pounds)] ``* * * onto a flat, essentially unyielding, 
horizontal surface in a position for which maximum damage is 
expected.''
    Before shipment, the TRVP will be prepared as a shipping package 
and will be loaded and tied down onto a specially designed transporter. 
The loaded transporter will be moved onto

[[Page 57714]]

a specially selected barge and secured using an engineered tie-down 
system. The barge will be grounded during this evolution. The TRVP 
loaded transporter will be barged up the Columbia River to the Port of 
Benton where a heavy-haul mover will connect to the transporter and 
move it off the barge and overland to the disposal facility. The TRVP 
will be off-loaded at the disposal facility.
    The TRVP will be rotated to a horizontal position (i.e., the 
centerline longitudinal axis of the package will be horizontal) during 
preparation in the Trojan Nuclear Plant industrial area. During 
transport, the TRVP will remain oriented in the horizontal position. 
Because of the unique size and mass of the package and the method of 
support of the package, no other orientation is reasonable during TRVP 
transport. Once loaded onto the transporter, the TRVP will not be 
removed from the transporter at any time during transport.
    Based on the above conditions and the special handling and 
operational controls to be exercised, PGE requested exemption from the 
requirement to consider the 0.3 m (1 foot) drop (in any orientation) as 
a normal condition of transport. PGE has, however, designed and 
analyzed the TRVP with impact limiters to withstand the effects of a 
0.3 m (1 foot) horizontal orientation drop.
    Section 71.73(c)(1) concerns tests for hypothetical accident 
conditions and requires: ``A free drop of the specimen through a 
distance of 9 m (30 feet) onto a flat, essentially unyielding, 
horizontal surface, striking the surface in a position for which 
maximum damage is expected.'' Based on the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) 
specified transportation route, method of shipment, and special 
controls [including 18.5 km/h (10 knots) and 8 km/h (5 mi/h) speed 
limits for river and road, respectively], the PGE contends the 9 m (30-
foot) drop should not be considered a hypothetical accident condition 
for the TRVP shipment. PGE determined that the maximum postulated 
distance that the TRVP could drop during a hypothetical transport 
accident is 3.3 m (11 feet), based on the transportation system, route, 
and operational controls. This drop height and horizontal orientation 
were used as a design basis for the TRVP. Because the TRVP shipment is 
conditioned on a minimum initial TRVP temperature of 50  deg.F, and on 
a forecasted minimum daily low temperature during transport of 40 
deg.F, the 11-foot drop and puncture were evaluated at 45  deg.F, 
rather than the -20  deg.F which otherwise would be required by 10 CFR 
71.73(b).
    PGE designed the TRVP and analyzed its performance under accident 
conditions that are not as rigorous as those specified in 10 CFR 
71.73(c)(1), and therefore requested exemption from that requirement. 
To assure comparable shipment safety, PGE has committed to the use of 
stringent operational and administrative controls. The purpose of these 
controls is to ensure that the probability of the TRVP encountering 
accident conditions beyond those for which it has been analyzed is low.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Trojan Nuclear Plant was shut down in November 1992. On January 
27, 1993, PGE notified the NRC of its decision to permanently cease 
power operations and subsequently defueled the reactor, storing the 
spent fuel in the Trojan spent fuel pool. Currently, PGE has a 
possession-only license under 10 CFR part 50, and on January 25, 1995, 
applied to terminate its license by submitting a decommissioning plan. 
PGE proposed to decommission the facility using a dismantlement or 
DECON approach as defined in the ``Final Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-0586, dated 
August 1988.
    In accordance with the NRC-approved decommissioning plan, PGE's 
plans for decommissioning the Trojan Nuclear Plant include 
decontamination and dismantlement of contaminated structures, systems, 
and components. The removal of the Trojan reactor vessel and the 
internals is an evolution that is discussed in the decommissioning 
plan, and is necessary for completion of decommissioning and release of 
the site for unrestricted use.
    Certain normal- and accident-condition test requirements of 10 CFR 
71 [i.e., 10 CFR 71.71(c)(7) and 71.73(c)(1)] are impractical for the 
proposed shipment of the TRVP. They would significantly increase the 
size and cost of impact limiters attached to the reactor vessel. Larger 
impact limiters would raise the center of gravity of the TRVP in its 
transport configuration, resulting in a larger actual drop height that 
could occur during the shipment. Larger impact limiters could also make 
the shipment by barge physically impossible because a slightly taller 
package would not fit under the minimum overhead clearance point for 
the shipment route. Furthermore, installation of larger impact limiters 
would result in an increase in occupational dose to the workers 
performing the installation, which is not in keeping with the as low as 
reasonably achievable (ALARA) concept. Thus, exemptions from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 71.71(c)(7), and 71.73(c)(1) and the related 
exemption from 71.73(b), are needed to approve use of the TRVP for 
transport.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    NRC has considered the impacts of radioactive material 
transportation in general in its ``Final Environmental Statement on the 
Transportation of Radioactive Material by Air and Other Modes,'' 
(NUREG-0170, December 1977). The one-time, short-duration shipment of 
the TRVP will be made along a well-defined, favorable transportation 
route to the U.S. Ecology licensed radioactive waste disposal facility. 
The staff has established, by evaluation of the revised SAR and 
transportation Probabilistic Safety Study (PSS) and by personal 
interviews with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT), that the operational and administrative controls 
provide reasonable assurance that the TRVP will not encounter accident 
conditions during the shipment beyond those for which it has been 
analyzed. Therefore, any stress to the TRVP from normal or credible 
accidents is not expected to have impacts that would lead to 
radiological releases.
    The PSS shows that the most likely of the accident scenarios is a 
TRVP barge collision, with the TRVP lost overboard (probability of 
10-\6\ for the shipment). PGE has developed a recovery plan for this 
scenario that indicates that the TRVP would be recovered in about 30 
days. Since the probability of accidents that could damage the package 
and lead to potential health impacts is less than 10-\6\, these 
accidents were not evaluated by the staff. The staff concluded that the 
TRVP shipment will not significantly affect the public health and 
safety, or adversely impact the environment.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

    The alternative to the proposed action is to not grant the 
exemptions from 10 CFR part 71, which would then require other 
approaches to disposition of the Trojan reactor vessel and evaluation 
of its environmental impacts. Three other disposition scenarios were 
considered for the disposal of the reactor vessel and internals from 
the Trojan Nuclear Plant:

A. No Action

    Storage of the reactor vessel on site. On-site storage of the 
reactor vessel with its internals intact is not considered to be a 
viable alternative. Federal regulations (10 CFR 50.82(a)) provide for 
decommissioning within 60 years, unless a longer period is approved by

[[Page 57715]]

the Commission, in accordance with the regulations. Storing the vessel 
on-site for 50 years before removal is similar to the SAFSTOR 
decommissioning alternative, which was addressed in NUREG-0586, ``Final 
Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear 
Facilities.'' On-site storage for 50 years is not consistent with the 
DECON decommissioning alternative that was selected by PGE and approved 
by NRC. The DECON decommissioning alternative has also been accepted 
and approved by the State of Oregon for the decommissioning of the 
Trojan Nuclear Plant. On-site storage of the reactor vessel would 
result in retaining the part 50 license and necessary staff to maintain 
radiological controls and other part 50 required programs. Other 
results include, but are not limited to, performance of required 
periodic surveys, increased exposure to workers, and increased cost. 
Although radioactive decay would reduce shielding requirements, the 
reactor vessel would still have to be disposed of using one of the 
alternatives described below. Since insignificant gain would be 
realized, this scenario was not evaluated further.

B. Modified Reactor Vessel and Internals Removal (Modified TRVP)

    Disposal of the reactor vessel in one piece with only the non-
greater than Class C (non-GTCC) internals left inside. The TRVP, with 
all internals included, is classified as Class C waste. Certain 
internals, if removed from the TRVP, would likely be classified as GTCC 
waste. The GTCC internals would have to be segmented underwater, placed 
into containers, and stored in the spent fuel pool or the independent 
spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at the Trojan Site. The vessel 
and remaining internals would be shipped via barge in a single package 
similar to the TRVP alternative. Depending on the package shipped, NRC 
and/or DOT exemptions might still be required. The GTCC internals would 
be shipped at an unknown date in the future when a suitable repository 
becomes available to accept the waste.

C. Separate Disposal

    Separate disposal of the reactor vessel and internals. The reactor 
vessel internals would be segmented underwater. The non-GTCC internals 
would be placed in shielded casks and shipped to the US Ecology 
disposal facility via truck. The GTCC internals would be stored in the 
spent fuel pool or the ISFSI at the Trojan site. The reactor vessel 
would be disposed of separately from the internals and either shipped 
whole, via barge, or segmented and shipped, via truck, to the disposal 
facility. Depending on the package shipped, NRC and/or DOT exemptions 
might still be required. The GTCC internals would be shipped at an 
unknown date in the future when a suitable repository becomes available 
to accept the waste.
    Radiation exposures for the proposed action and the other 
disposition options were analyzed for on-site personnel, transportation 
personnel, general public, and disposal facility workers. The number of 
radioactive waste shipments for each scenario was based on the amount 
and configuration of the waste produced. Dose estimates do not include 
doses resulting from on-site storage and future shipment of GTCC waste 
to a waste repository (date and site unknown).
    The proposed TRVP action has one radioactive waste shipment and a 
total exposure of 0.674 person-Sv (67.4 person-rem) [0.671 person-Sv 
(67.1 person-rem) of occupational exposure to on-site personnel]. 
Alternative A is inconsistent with the NRC-approved decommissioning 
plan for the site, and the impacts do not differ significantly from the 
proposed action. Alternative B would entail three radioactive waste 
shipments and a total exposure of 0.881 person-Sv (88.1 person-rem) 
[0.878 person-Sv (87.8 person-rem) of occupational exposure to on-site 
personnel]. Alternative C would involve 47 radioactive waste shipments 
and a total exposure of 1.389 to 1.399 person-Sv (138.9 to 139.9 
person-rem) (1.332 person-Sv (133.2 person-rem) of occupational 
exposure to on-site personnel).

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    Officials from the DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Technology, 
and the U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Safety Office/Group Portland, were 
contacted regarding impacts of the proposed action and had no concerns.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed 
in accordance with the requirements of part 51. Based on the foregoing 
EA, the Commission finds that the proposed action of: (1) Granting an 
exemption from 10 CFR 71.71(c)(7), so that PGE need not evaluate a free 
drop of 0.3 m (1 foot) under normal conditions of transport; and (2) 
granting an exemption from 10 CFR 71.73(c)(1) and 71.73(b), so that PGE 
need not evaluate a free drop of 9 m (30 feet) under hypothetical 
accident conditions, will not significantly impact the quality of the 
human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has determined not to 
prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption.
    This application was docketed under part 71, Docket 71-9271. For 
further details about this action, see Dockets 50-344 and 72-017, which 
are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document 
Room, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20555, and the Local Public 
Document Room at Portland State University Library, Science Library, 
951 Southwest Hall Street, Portland, Oregon 97201.


    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 22nd day of October 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
M. Wayne Hodges,
Acting Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-28813 Filed 10-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P