[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 14265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6950]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 04008155]


Finding of No Significant Impact Related to H.C. Starck, Inc.'s 
Amendment Request To Authorize Decommissioning of Its Coldwater, 
Michigan Facilities

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a license 
amendment of Source Material License No. STB-1161 to authorize 
decommissioning of the H.C. Starck, Inc. facilities in Coldwater, 
Michigan, and has prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of 
this action. Based upon the Environmental Assessment, the NRC has 
concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate, and 
therefore, an Environmental Statement is unnecessary.

II. EA Summary

    The EA was prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts of the 
proposed amendment to H.C. Starck, Inc. Source Material No. STB-1161, 
to authorize H.C. Starck to remediate residual thorium contamination 
resulting from licensed activities at their facilities at 460 Jay 
Street, Coldwater, Michigan. H.C. Starck, Inc. has been licensed for 
the possession and use of thorium-232 at their facilities in Coldwater, 
Michigan, since 1973. The H.C. Starck facilities consist of six primary 
structures: A main production plant, Jolter Building, Former Polymer 
Building, a wastewater pretreatment building, and two pole-barn storage 
buildings. The facility is in a rural area of southern Michigan about 
two miles southwest of downtown Coldwater. Branch County is largely 
agricultural with farms occupying 70 percent of the land. Non-
residential land use in the vicinity of the Starck site primarily 
consists of agricultural, industrial, commercial, and retail 
facilities. The nearest residence is within 1,000 feet of the H.C. 
Starck facility. Soil sampling conducted by H.C. Starck indicates that 
no radiological contamination has migrated outside the buildings. In 
addition, there is no evidence that any onsite burial of radiological 
material ever occurred. Because no remediation is required outside of 
the buildings, decontamination activities are not expected to have any 
impact on the environment. Furthermore, no long-term environmental 
monitoring is expected to be necessary as a result of licensed 
activities. Because H.C. Starck will continue to operate the facility 
at the same staffing levels following termination of licensed 
operations, no socioeconomic impact is anticipated on the employees or 
within the community. It is anticipated that the total amount of dry 
solid low level radioactive waste (LLRW) generated from decommissioning 
activities will be less than 1,000 cubic feet. Waste may be stored 
onsite in the radioactive waste storage vault or other appropriate 
secure location while it is being consolidated for shipment to 
Envirocare of Utah. Any liquid waste generated during decommissioning 
will be sampled, and the results will be compared to current discharge 
limits prior to disposal directly into the facility effluent stream or 
to the facility treatment plant. No radiological dose is expected to a 
member of the public as a result of the decommissioning activities. For 
occupational dose estimates, H.C. Starck will employ properly trained 
and experienced personnel who will apply industry accepted ALARA (as-
low-as-reasonably-achievable) principals to minimize exposures during 
decontamination activities. Decontamination workers are not expected to 
receive a dose greater than 10 millirem during the expected 6 to 8 
weeks of decommissioning activities. Dose assessments were performed to 
estimate the potential dose to a future site occupant working at the 
H.C. Starck facility. This average member of the critically exposed 
group would be exposed to post-decontamination levels of natural 
thorium contamination. The modeling results determined that a maximum 
dose rate to a future occupant is 23 millirem/year. This dose rate 
decreases to about 2 millirem/year after 2.8 years based on the source 
lifetime for the residual removable contamination on the walls, floor 
and ceiling. Accordingly, it has been determined that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate.
    H.C. Starck's request for the proposed action was previously 
noticed in the Federal Register on October 11, 2002 (67 FR 63457), 
along with a notice of an opportunity to request a hearing and an 
opportunity to provide public comment on the action and its 
environmental impacts.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on this EA, as summarized above, the NRC has concluded that 
this licensing action would not have any significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment, and therefore, an environmental 
impact statement is unnecessary.

IV. Further Information

    Any questions with respect to this action should be referred to Mr. 
William Snell, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, 
Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 829-9871 or by email at 
[email protected].
    H.C. Starck's request for the proposed action (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML022550372) and the NRC's complete Environmental Assessment (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML030660370) are available for inspection and copying for 
a fee in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 
Warrenville Rd., Lisle, Illinois. The documents, along with most others 
referenced in the EA, are available for public review through ADAMS at 
NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

    Dated in Lisle, Illinois, this 12th day of March, 2003.
Christopher G. Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Material Safety, 
RIII.
[FR Doc. 03-6950 Filed 3-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P