[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 54 (Monday, March 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13830-13831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6910]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-199]


Manhattan College; Zero Power 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 Facility Operating 
License No. R-94, issued to Manhattan College (the licensee) that would 
allow decommissioning of the Manhattan College Zero Power Reactor 
(MCZPR) located in the Riverdale section of the borough of the Bronx, 
New York City.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The MCZPR is located on the Manhattan College campus on the first 
and second floors of the Leo Engineering Building. The Leo Engineering 
Building provides classrooms, laboratories, library, and computer 
facilities for an estimated 1800 students at any one time. The Nuclear 
Engineering Facility is designed for isolation from the rest of the 
engineering building.
    The MCZPR is a very low power research reactor (100 milliwatts), 
and was in operation from 1964 until 1996, when it was shut down and 
defueled. There have been no instances of significant contamination 
during the operating lifetime of the reactor.
    The licensee submitted a decommissioning plan in accordance with 10 
CFR 50.82(b) on December 18, 1997, as supplemented on July 21, October 
29, November 10, 1998 and January 6, 1999. Decommissioning, as 
described in the plan, will consist of transferring licensed 
radioactive equipment and material from the site, and decontamination 
of the facility to meet unrestricted release criteria (this is also 
called the DECON option). After the Commission verifies that the 
release criteria have been met, the reactor license will be terminated. 
The licensee submitted an Environmental Report on July 21, 1998, 
(Section 8) which was supplemented on January 6, 1999, that addresses 
the estimated environmental impacts resulting from decommissioning the 
MCZPR.
    A ``Notice and Solicitation of Comments Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405 
and 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5) Concerning Proposed Action to Decommission 
Manhattan College Zero Power Research Reactor'' was published in the 
Federal Register on February 12, 1999, (64 FR 7214) and in the Bronx 
Press Review on February 11, 1999. There were no comments.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary because of Manhattan College's 
1997 decision to cease operations permanently. As specified in 10 CFR 
50.82, any licensee may apply to the NRC for authority to surrender a 
license

[[Page 13831]]

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. Manhattan College is planning to 
use the area that would be released for unrestricted use for other 
academic purposes.

Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that the radiological effects of the decommissioning will 
be minimal because the radiation levels of the fuel are very low (less 
than 2 mrem/hr on contact at removal from the core) due to low burnup. 
As noted in Section 3.1.3 (July 21, 1998, submittal), the collective 
dose to all on site workers of the entire decommissioning program is 
estimated to be less than one person-rem. There is no estimated 
exposure to the public from the proposed action and there are no 
postulated accident scenarios that could release radioactive material 
outside the facility.
    Occupational and public exposure may result from transportation of 
the fuel to Oak Ridge and a plutonium-beryllium (PuBe) neutron source 
to Los Alamos. The occupational transportation radiological impact is 
estimated to be 2.4 person-rem. The general public is estimated to 
receive 1.8 person-rem from transportation. Over 90 percent of this 
exposure is due to the shipment of the PuBe source to Los Alamos. All 
shipments are of sealed solid material unlikely to be dispersed under 
accident conditions. Shipment will be in compliance with all applicable 
NRC and DOT regulations and subject to physical security and safeguards 
oversight.
    Based on the review of the specific proposed activities associated 
with the dismantling and decontamination of the MCZPR, the Commission 
has determined that the proposed action will not increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in 
the types of any effluents that may be released off site, and there is 
no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not involve any historic sites. It does not affect non-
radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. 
Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The three alternatives to the proposed action for the MCZPR are: 
SAFSTOR, ENTOMB, and no action. 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 no 
action alternative would leave the facility in its present 
configuration. However, the regulations in 10 CFR 50.82(b) only allow a 
limited time for this condition to exist.
    Manhattan College has determined that the proposed action (DECON) 
is the most efficient use of the existing facility, since it wants to 
use the space that will become available for other academic purposes. 
The SAFSTOR, ENTOMB or no action alternatives would entail continued 
surveillance and physical security measures to be in place and 
continued monitoring by college personnel.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Environmental Assessment prepared for the 
renewal of Manhattan College's license in March 1985.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on December 14, 1998, the 
staff consulted with the New York State official, Barbara Youngberg of 
the Department of Environmental Conservation, regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. The state official had no 
comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of 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 NRC 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 letter dated December 18, 1997, as supplemented by letters 
dated July 21 and October 29, November 10, 1998 and January 6, 1999, 
which are available for public inspection at the NRC's Public Document 
Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20555.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Seymour H. Weiss,
Director, Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate, 
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-6910 Filed 3-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P