[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51341-51343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24668]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-151]


University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Advanced Triga Research Reactor 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of a license amendment to Facility License No. R-
115, issued to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC or 
the licensee), for decommissioning of the UIUC Advanced TRIGA Research 
Reactor, located on the UIUC campus in Urbana, Champaign County, 
Illinois.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action is approval of the licensee's SAFSTOR 
decommissioning plan. UIUC submitted their decommissioning plan in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(b) for the UIUC Advanced TRIGA Research 
Reactor located in the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL). The reactor 
(1.5 MW thermal power) was permanently shut down on August 9, 1998. The 
licensee applied for a possession-only license amendment on October 5, 
1998. By License Amendment No. 10 issued on April 12, 1999, the NRC 
removed the authority to operate the reactor and authorized possession 
of the residual radioactive materials.
    The proposed decommissioning plan would place the NRL and reactor 
into safe storage until at least 2009 because this date is the soonest 
the Department of Energy can accept fuel from the UIUC. Domestic spent 
nuclear fuel receipts at the Idaho National Engineering and 
Environmental Laboratory have been severely constrained because of a 
settlement agreement of a lawsuit concerning spent nuclear fuel and 
nuclear waste. The only fuel storage option the licensee has is to 
maintain fuel in storage at the NRL. Decontamination and dismantlement 
activities cannot begin until fuel is removed from the NRL. The 
licensee has chosen the SAFSTOR option of decommissioning. SAFSTOR is 
the alternative in which the facility is placed and maintained in a 
condition that allows the facility to be safely stored and subsequently 
decontaminated to levels that permit release for unrestricted use. 
SAFSTOR consists of a short period of preparation for safe storage, a 
variable safe storage

[[Page 51342]]

period of continuing care consisting of security, surveillance, and 
maintenance, and ends with a period of deferred decontamination. The 
regulations in 10 CFR 50.82(b)(4)(i) allow the NRC staff to give 
consideration to an alternative which provides for delayed completion 
of decommissioning only when necessary to protect the public health and 
safety. The regulations give factors to be considered in evaluating an 
alternative which provides for delayed completion of decommissioning. 
One of these factors is the unavailability of waste disposal capacity. 
The inability of the licensee to dispose of the spent reactor fuel 
falls under this factor. The licensee will submit an updated 
decommissioning plan for NRC review and approval after fuel has been 
removed from the NRL.
    The decommissioning plan describes maintaining the facility in a 
safe storage condition. Fuel will be stored in approved storage racks 
in the Bulk Shielding Facility, which is a tank of water that is part 
of the reactor biological shield but is separate from the reactor tank. 
The licensee plans to maintain a regular surveillance schedule at the 
facility during the SAFSTOR period. The licensee will continue with 
their current health physics program and the approved emergency plan, 
security plan and operator requalification plan during the SAFSTOR 
period.
    A ``Notice and Solicitation of Comments Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405 
and 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5) Concerning Proposed Action to Decommission 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois 
Advanced TRIGA Research Reactor'' was published in the Federal Register 
on June 14, 1999 (64 FR 31882), and in the Champaign News-Gazette on 
June 13, 1999. There were no comments received on the proposed action.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application for amendment dated November 13, 1998, as supplemented by 
letters dated May 11 and August 3, 1999.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary because of the UIUC's 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 
voluntarily and to decommission the affected facility. Once the 
licensee permanently ceases operation, 10 CFR 50.82(b)(1) requires the 
licensee to make application for license termination within two years 
following permanent cessation of operations, and in no case later than 
one year prior to expiration of the operating license. UIUC is planning 
to place the facility into safe storage until such time that the 
Department of Energy can accept the fuel from the facility. After the 
fuel is removed, the licensee will continue with decommissioning 
activities. UCIC 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 maintaining the facility 
in a condition of safe storage will be minimal because fuel will be 
stored in approved storage locations under the restrictions of the 
facility license. In accordance with the conditions of the technical 
specifications, the licensee will conduct weekly physical surveillance 
of the facility to confirm that the fuel and facility are in a 
condition of safe storage and to ensure proper system performance. The 
licensee will continue surveillance of primary water quality, radiation 
monitoring systems, the ventilation system and fuel inspection. 
Likewise, the licensee will continue with their current health physics 
program, approved emergency plan, security plan and operator 
requalification plan. Any solid or liquid wastes generated during the 
storage period will be disposed of in accordance with the regulations. 
With the termination of reactor operations, effluents released from the 
site will probably decrease. No new postulated accidents have been 
identified during the safe storage period that would have greater 
radiological impact than previously evaluated accidents. The UIUC 
estimates that the typical dose commitment to a member of the public at 
the site boundary will continue to be less than 2 mrem per year as has 
been reported in annual reports from the licensee. The UIUC estimates 
that the typical occupational dose commitment to members of the staff 
will continue to be less than 50 mrem per year per person during the 
SAFSTOR period.
    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 only two alternatives to the proposed action for the UCIC 
Advanced TRIGA reactor are ENTOMB and no action. ENTOMB is the 
alternative in which radioactive contaminates 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 ENTOMB alterative could not be put into place until the fuel 
has been removed from the facility. However, the UIUC wants to use the 
space that will become available for other academic purposes and would 
enter into the decommissioning activities soon after fuel is removed 
from the facility. The alternative of not decommissioning reactors was 
rejected in the ``Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on 
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-0586. The no action 
alternative would leave the facility in its present configuration. 
Denial of the application would result in no change in current 
environmental impacts.
    The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the 
alternative actions are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    The action does not involve the use of resources different from 
those previously committed for construction and operation of the UIUC 
Advanced TRIGA reactor.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 20, 1999, the staff 
consulted with the State of Illinois official, F. Niziolek of the 
Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS), regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. The state official stated 
that the IDNS chooses not to provide any comments on the proposed 
action.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the environmental assessment, the Commission 
concludes that the proposed action will not have

[[Page 51343]]

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 this proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated November 13, 1998, as supplemented by letters 
dated May 11 and August 3, 1999. These documents are available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20003-1527.

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

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Thomas Koshy,
Acting Chief, Events Assessment, Generic Communications and Non-Power 
Reactors Branch, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-24668 Filed 9-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P