[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33954-33956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15981]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Oak Ridge Operations Office; Certification of the Radiological 
Condition of the B&T Metals Site in Columbus, OH, 1996

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE), Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) Office 
of Environmental Management.

ACTION: Notice of certification.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy has completed remedial action to 
decontaminate the B&T Metals Site in Columbus, Ohio. Formerly this 
property was found to contain quantities of residual radioactive 
material from activities conducted under contract to DuPont, acting as 
a contractor for the Manhattan Engineer District. Based on the analysis 
of all data collected, DOE has concluded that any residual radiological 
contamination remaining on-site at the conclusion of DOE's remedial 
action falls within radiological guidelines in effect at the conclusion 
of such remedial action.

ADDRESSES: The certification docket is available at the following 
locations:


[[Page 33955]]


U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, Room 1E-190, Forrestal 
Building, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20585
State Library of Ohio, Documents Division, 65 South Front Street, 
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Public Document Room, Oak Ridge Operations Office, U.S. Department of 
Energy, 200 Administration Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert G. Atkin, Project Engineer, 
Office of Assistant Manager for Environmental Management, Oak Ridge 
Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 2001, Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee 37831, phone: (865) 576-1826 fax: (865) 574-4724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE, ORO Office of Environmental 
Management, has conducted remedial action at the B&T Metals site in 
Columbus, Ohio, under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action 
Program (FUSRAP). The objective of the program is to identify and 
remediate or otherwise control sites where residual radioactive 
contamination remains from activities carried out under contract to the 
Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission (MED/AEC) during 
the early years of the nation's atomic energy program.
    In October 1997, the U.S. Congress assigned responsibility for 
management of the program to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). 
Completion of the Certification process was delayed pending preparation 
of a Memorandum of Understanding between the DOE and USACE with regard 
to completed, remediated sites such as B&T Metals. The Memorandum of 
Understanding between the U.S. DOE and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Regarding Program Administration and Execution of the Formerly Utilized 
Sites Remedial Action Program was signed by the parties in March 1999. 
Funding to proceed with the completion of DOE closure documentation for 
several FUSRAP sites, including B&T Metals, was obtained from USACE in 
late 2000.
    In 1943, the DuPont Company, acting as an agent of MED, contracted 
with the B&T Metals Company to extrude rods from uranium metal billets. 
The rods were destined for the Hanford reactor. Production extrusion 
began in March 1943 and continued until August of that year. It is 
likely that more than 50 tons of uranium was extruded.
    The B&T Metals site consists of three buildings: the main building, 
a storage building, and an aluminum extrusion building. A review of 
historic Sanborn insurance maps from 1941 indicate that all three 
buildings were standing at the time of the MED activities.
    Radiological protection during the MED work was provided by 
Metallurgical Laboratories of the University of Chicago. Measurements 
taken in March and April 1943 indicated significant amounts of airborne 
material, and the extension process was modified to reduce suspended 
particulate matter. Upon completion of the project, MED and DuPont 
representatives visually inspected the site to verify that the residue 
had been shipped offsite. Although some industrial monitoring was 
performed during the extrusion operations, there are no records of 
extensive decontamination or surveys after completion of MED 
activities. Machinery used for processing uranium has been sold or 
removed with no records indicating its final disposition. In 1992, the 
B&T Metals site was designated for cleanup under FUSRAP.
    An initial screening of the B&T Metals property was conducted by 
members of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Measurements 
Applications and Development Group on August 2, 1988. ORNL made a 
subsequent visit to the site on April 25, 1989, to collect air samples 
in the main building. A radiological assessment of soil and dust 
samples measured concentrations of radium and thorium at or near the 
background level, and indoor air samples were below the minimum 
detectable amounts for gross alpha and beta radiation. However, direct 
beta/gamma measurements at floor and overhead beams locations exceeded 
the allowable surface contamination guidelines. Elevated concentrations 
of uranium were found inside the main building in several floor, sump, 
and drain locations and in dust on building support beams. Elevated 
external gamma radiation readings were also found in soil samples taken 
from the outdoor area where process fluids or shavings from the MED 
activities reportedly were disposed of.
    Post-remedial action surveys conducted in 1996 have demonstrated, 
and DOE has certified, that the subject property is in compliance with 
the Department's radiological decontamination criteria and standards in 
effect at the conclusion of the remedial action. The standards are 
established to protect members of the general public and occupants of 
the property and to ensure that reasonably foreseeable future use of 
the property will result in no radiological exposure above applicable 
radiological guidelines. These findings are supported by the 
Department's Certification Docket for the Remedial Action Performed at 
the B&T Metals Site in Columbus, Ohio. DOE makes no representation 
regarding the condition of the site as a result of activities conducted 
subsequent to DOE's post-remedial action survey conducted in 1996.
    The Certification docket will be available for review between 9:00 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays) in 
the Department's Public Reading Room Located in Room 1E-190 of the 
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
20585. Copies of the certification docket will also be available in the 
DOE Public Document Room, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge 
Operations Office, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, and at the State Library 
of Ohio, Documents Division, 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 
43215.
    DOE, through the Oak Ridge Operations Office of Environmental 
Management, Oak Ridge Reservation Remediation Management Group, has 
issued the following statement:

Statement of Certification: B&T Metals in Columbus, Ohio

    The Department of Energy (DOE), Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) Office 
of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) Remediation 
Management Group, has reviewed and analyzed the radiological data 
obtained following remedial action at the B&T Metals site in Columbus, 
Ohio [Parcels 158 and 159, Map F-15, filed in Deed Books 2829, 1227, 
and 1301 Pages 125, 419, and 154 respectively; and Parcels 1 through 9, 
Map F-24, filed in Deed Books 3450, 3490, and 2786, Pages 43 (135m 136, 
342) and 280, respectively, all in the records of Franklin County, 
Ohio]. Based on analysis of all data collected, including post-remedial 
action surveys conducted in 1996, DOE certifies that any residual 
contamination remaining onsite falls within the guidelines, in effect 
at the conclusion of remedial action, for use of the site without 
radiological restrictions. This certification of compliance provides 
assurance that reasonably foreseeable future use of the site will 
result in no radiological exposure above radiological guidelines, in 
effect at the conclusion of the remedial action, for protecting members 
of the general public as well as occupants of the site.

Property owned by: David L. Tolbert, B&T Metals Company, P.O. Box

[[Page 33956]]

163520, 425 West Town Street, Columbus, Ohio 43216-3520

    Issued in Oak Ridge, TN, on June 13, 2001.
William M. Seay,
Group Leader, ORR Remediation Management Group.
[FR Doc. 01-15981 Filed 6-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P