[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2685-2686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-966]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-02384]


Finding of No Significant Impact Related To Amendment To 
Materials License SMB-602, RMI Titanium Company, Extrusion Plant, 
Ashtabula, Ohio

Approve Decommissioning Criterion for TC-99 in Soils

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a license 
amendment request submitted by RMI Environmental Services, A Division 
of

[[Page 2686]]

RMI Titanium Company (hereafter RMI or the licensee). The proposed 
action would (1) establish a concentration criterion for technetium-99 
(Tc-99) in soil that would allow release of the licensee's extrusion 
plant site in Ashtabula, Ohio, for unrestricted use, (2) delete the 
license condition that requires documentation of Thorium-230 (Th-230) 
levels at the site, and (3) delete the license condition that requires 
additional financial assurance submittals.
    On August 18, 1998, NRC published a Notice of Consideration of 
Amendment Request for Decommissioning the RMI Titanium Company Site in 
Ashtabula, Ohio, and Opportunity for Hearing (63 FR 44294). NRC did not 
receive any response to that notice.

Summary of the Environmental Assessment

Background

    NRC approved RMI's decommissioning plan on September 11, 1997 
(License Amendment No. 8 to License SMB-602, hereafter decommissioning 
license). To support NRC issuance of RMI's decommissioning license, NRC 
staff prepared an environmental assessment, titled ``Environmental 
Assessment Related to the Proposed Decommissioning of the RMI Titanium 
Company Extrusion Plant Facility in Ashtabula, Ohio'' (Decommissioning 
EA). The Decommissioning EA includes an evaluation of radiological and 
non-radiological impacts of the proposed decommissioning of the RMI 
extrusion plant site.
    By license amendment application dated May 13, 1998, RMI requested 
changes to its decommissioning license for the extrusion plant 
facility. This amendment (Amendment No. 9) to RMI's license is needed 
to bring to closure three license conditions on RMI's decommissioning 
license, namely: establishment of a release criterion for Tc-99 in 
soil; documentation that site soils are not contaminated with thorium-
230; and certification of authority of the signator of the U.S. 
Department of Energy's statement of intent to fund decommissioning of 
the site.
    The environmental assessment to support License Amendment No. 9 (to 
amend the decommissioning license) supplements the Decommissioning EA.

Identification of the Proposed Action

    In a letter with supporting documentation submitted to NRC on 
December 16, 1997, the licensee proposed an alternative release 
criterion of 8.1 Becquerels (Bq) (220 picocuries (pCi)/gram(g) for Tc-
99 in soil. RMI's proposal was made to bring to closure (1) License 
Condition 20.d to RMI's decommissioning license, which requires that 
RMI establish a release criterion for Tc-99 in soil, and (2) Section 
4.1, Radiological Release Criteria, of the Decommissioning EA, which 
stated that the licensee will provide alternative release criteria for 
Tc-99 in soils for review by the staff.
    License Condition 20.e (of Amendment No. 8; requiring RMI to 
document that there is no thorium-230 contamination in soils) and 
License Condition 22 (of Amendment No. 8; requiring additional 
financial assurance submittals) are proposed to be deleted from the 
license, since the licensee has provided the requisite information to 
staff. Deletion of these two license conditions is administrative in 
nature and meets the categorical exclusion conditions of 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(11).

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary to establish a concentration 
criterion for Tc-99 in soil that would allow release of the extrusion 
plant facility for unrestricted use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    Section 6.1.1 of the Decommissioning EA describes the short-term 
radiological impacts resulting from decommissioning of the site.
    To determine long-term radiological impacts associated with Tc-99 
in soils and release of the site for unrestricted use, the licensee 
performed RESRAD dose analyses for all pathways, and utilized site 
specific Kd values as requested by NRC staff. NRC staff reviewed RMI's 
submittal and also performed independent dose analyses, using RESRAD, 
for the proposed release criterion.
    The dose analyses show that the potential dose from soils 
containing 8.1 Bq (220 pCi/g) Tc-99 would initially be approximately 
0.8 millisieverts (mSv) (80 millirem (mrem))/year (yr), but would 
decrease to about 0.22 mSv (22 mrem)/yr within three years. The dose 
would remain around 0.22 mSv (22 mrem)/yr from three to ten years after 
remediation. Approximately ten years after remediation to 8.1 Bq (220 
pCi)/g TC-99, the dose would decrease to near zero. Staff finds the 
proposed release criterion acceptable, with the license condition that 
RMI maintain control of soil areas contaminated with Tc-99 until the 
dose from Tc-99 contaminated soils is less than 0.25 mSv (25 mrem)/yr.
    Non-radiological impacts, which are expected to be minimal for 
decommissioning the site, are addressed in Section 6.1.2 of the 
Decommissioning EA.

Conclusion

    The staff concludes that RMI's proposed action will not cause any 
significant impact on the human environment and is acceptable. The 
staff recommends that the proposed action be implemented.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Alternatives to the proposed action are addressed in Section 6.2 of 
the Decommissioning EA.

Agencies Consulted

    Staff prepared this environmental assessment. Staff consulted with 
the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio EPA, and the U.S. EPA for review of 
this environmental assessment.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on the NRC staff's environmental assessment related to 
amending License SMB-602, the Commission concludes that the proposed 
action will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined not to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate.

Additional Information

    The environmental assessment and the documents related to this 
proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the 
NRC's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20555.
    For additional information, contact Dr. Ronald B. Uleck, Project 
Manager, Materials Decommissioning Section, Low-Level Waste and 
Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office 
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, (301) 415-6722.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of January 1999.

    For the U.S. 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. 99-966 Filed 1-14-99; 8:45 am]
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