[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40295-40296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7230-7]


Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to 
Transuranic Radioactive Waste From the Hanford Site for Disposal at the 
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of, and soliciting public comments for 30 days on, 
Department of Energy (DOE) documents applicable to characterization of 
transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at the Hanford site proposed for 
disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The documents (Item 
II-A2-40, Docket A-98-49) are available for review in the public 
dockets listed in ADDRESSES. EPA will conduct an inspection of waste 
characterization systems and processes at Hanford to verify that the 
site can characterize transuranic waste in accordance with EPA's WIPP 
compliance criteria. EPA will perform this inspection the week of June 
24, 2002.

DATES: EPA is requesting public comment on the documents. Comments must 
be received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before July 12, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Docket No. A-98-49, Air 
Docket, Room M-1500, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
Street, SW., Mail Code 6102, Washington, DC 20460. The DOE documents 
are available for review in the official EPA Air Docket in Washington, 
DC, Docket No. A-98-49, Category II-A2, and at the following three EPA 
WIPP informational docket locations in New Mexico: in Carlsbad at the 
Municipal Library, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 am-9 pm, Friday-Saturday, 
10 am-6 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm; in Albuquerque at the Government 
Publications Department, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, 
Hours: vary by semester; and in Santa Fe at the New Mexico State 
Library, Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
    As provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, and in 
accordance with normal EPA docket procedures, if copies of any docket 
materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for 
photocopying. Air Docket A-98-49 in Washington, DC, accepts

[[Page 40296]]

comments sent electronically or by fax (fax: 202-260-4400; e-mail: [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rajani D. Joglekar, Office of 
Radiation and Indoor Air, (202) 564-7734. You can also call EPA's toll-
free WIPP Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP or visit our website at 
http://www.epa/gov/radiation/wipp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

Background

    DOE is developing the WIPP near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico 
as a deep geologic repository for disposal of TRU radioactive waste. As 
defined by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) of 1992 (Public Law 102-
579), as amended (Public Law 104-201), TRU waste consists of materials 
containing elements having atomic numbers greater than 92 (with half-
lives greater than twenty years), in concentrations greater than 100 
nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste. Much of 
the existing TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the 
production of nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools, and 
sludges.
    On May 13, 1998, EPA announced its final compliance certification 
decision to the Secretary of Energy (published May 18, 1998, 63 FR 
27354). This decision stated that the WIPP will comply with EPA's 
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B 
and C.
    The final WIPP certification decision includes conditions that (1) 
prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other 
than the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) until the EPA determines 
that the site has established and executed a quality assurance program, 
in accordance with Secs. 194.22(a)(2)(i), 194.24(c)(3), and 
194.24(c)(5) for waste characterization activities and assumptions 
(Condition 2 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 194); and (2) prohibit 
shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other than 
LANL until the EPA has approved the procedures developed to comply with 
the waste characterization requirements of Sec. 194.22(c)(4) (Condition 
3 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 194). The EPA's approval process for 
waste generator sites is described in Sec. 194.8. As part of EPA's 
decision-making process, the DOE is required to submit to EPA 
appropriate documentation of quality assurance and waste 
characterization programs at each DOE waste generator site seeking 
approval for shipment of TRU radioactive waste to WIPP. In accordance 
with Sec. 194.8, EPA will place such documentation in the official Air 
Docket in Washington, D.C., and informational dockets in the State of 
New Mexico for public review and comment.
    EPA will perform an inspection of Hanford's technical program for 
waste characterization in accordance with Condition 3 of the WIPP 
certification. We will reevaluate the following EPA-approved radioassay 
equipments: (1) Segmented Gamma Scanning Assay System at the Plutonium 
Finishing Plant used for characterizing repackaged debris; and (2) 
Gamma Energy Assay (GEA) System Unit A at the Waste Receiving and 
Processing (WRAP) facility used for characterizing retrievably-stored 
CH-debris waste. We will also inspect a new equipment, GEA System Unit 
B at the WRAP facility that DOE has proposed for use in characterizing 
retrievably-stored debris waste. The inspection is scheduled to take 
place the week of June 24, 2002.
    EPA has placed three DOE-provided documents pertinent to the 
inspection in the public docket described in ADDRESSES. These include: 
(1) Hanford Site Transuranic Waste Certification Plan, HNF2600, Rev. 6, 
May 2002, (2) Hanford Site Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality 
Assurance Project Plan, HNF 2599, Rev. 6, May 2002, and (3)Waste 
Receiving and Processing Facility, Gamma Energy Processing Operations 
(WRP1-OP-0906, H-2), May 2002. Also, we have placed an EPA-developed 
document that summarizes EPA's past waste characterization (WC) 
inspections at Hanford and the technical processes that EPA has 
approved to date. The documents are included in item II-A2-40 in Docket 
A-98-49. In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, as amended by the final 
certification decision, EPA is providing the public 30 days to comment 
on these documents.
    If EPA determines as a result of the inspection that the proposed 
processes and programs at Hanford adequately control the 
characterization of transuranic waste, we will notify DOE by letter and 
place the letter in the official Air Docket in Washington, DC, as well 
as in the informational docket locations in New Mexico. A letter of 
approval will allow DOE to ship transuranic waste from Hanford to the 
WIPP. The EPA will not make a determination of compliance prior to the 
inspection or before the 30-day comment period has closed. Information 
on the certification decision is filed in the official EPA Air Docket, 
Docket No. A-93-02 and is available for review in Washington, DC, and 
at three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in New Mexico. The 
dockets in New Mexico contain only major items from the official Air 
Docket in Washington, DC, plus those documents added to the official 
Air Docket since the October 1992 enactment of the WIPP LWA.

    Dated: June 6, 2002.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 02-14994 Filed 6-11-02; 8:45 am]
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