[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