[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 144 (Monday, July 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44368-44369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19065]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-00044]


Notice of Consideration of Request for License Termination of 
Rolls-Royce Corporation License and Release of Its Facility In 
Indianapolis, IN; Amendment and Opportunity to Provide Comments and 
Request a Hearing

ACTION: Notice of consideration of amendment request to terminate 
Source Material License No. STB-204 and release of facility for 
unrestricted use.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Peter J. Lee, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 829-9870 
or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of an amendment to Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce) 
Source Material License No. STB-204, to terminate the License and 
release its facility located at 2355 South Tibbs Avenue in 
Indianapolis, Indiana, for unrestricted use. The site was initially 
licensed under the name of General Motors Corporation, Allison 
Division. Other names on the license were Allison Gas Turbine Division, 
General Motors Corporation, and Allison Engine Company, Inc., prior to 
the license being amended to Rolls-Royce in February 2003. In December 
1956, a license was approved for the fabrication of aircraft components 
made of magnesium alloy containing not to exceed 4 percent by weight of 
thorium. Fabrication of aircraft parts containing thorium continued 
until 1989. In 1994, the license was amended to allow possession 
incident to storage only for the licensed materials. On December 3, 
2002, Rolls-Royce submitted its request to the NRC to terminate its 
license.
    The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in 
support of this licensing action in accordance with the requirements of 
10 CFR Part 51. The conclusion of the EA is a Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI) for the proposed licensing action.

II. EA Summary

    The staff has examined Rolls-Royce's request and the information 
that the licensee has provided in support of its request, including the 
surveys performed by Rolls Royce to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402, `` `Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted Use,' '' to ensure 
that the NRC's decision is protective of the public health and safety 
and the environment. All machining operations for the fabrication of 
aircraft parts containing thorium were conducted under ``wet 
conditions,'' meaning drilling, grinding, burring, etc., were performed 
with the castings under oil/liquid coolants intended to prevent 
potential fires. This industry-wide method of machining not only 
prevents potential fires, it prevents contamination from airborne 
thorium dust. The thoriated magnesium cuttings, turnings, scraps, 
coolants, and clean-up debris were collected and sent off-site to a 
low-level radioactive waste disposal site.
    The licensee's final status survey did not show any residual 
contamination in the facility. Therefore, the staff has determined that 
there will be no environmental impacts associated with the release for 
unrestricted use of the Rolls-Royce Corporation facility.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of 
Rolls-Royce's proposed license amendment to release the Indianapolis 
facility for unrestricted use. On the basis of the EA, the staff has 
concluded that the environmental impacts from the

[[Page 44369]]

proposed action would not be significant. Accordingly, the staff has 
determined that a FONSI is appropriate, and has determined that the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.

IV. Further Information

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,'' 
Rolls-Royce's request, the EA summarized above, and the documents 
related to this proposed action are available electronically for public 
inspection and copying from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) 
component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from 
the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. These documents 
include Rolls-Royce's letters to NRC dated December 3, 2002, and May 5, 
2003, with enclosures (Accession No. ML031700067); and the EA 
summarized above (Accession No. ML031980587). Any questions with 
respect to this action should be directed to Dr. Peter J. Lee, Division 
of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region 
III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 
829-9870 or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Lisle, Illinois, this 17th day of July, 2003.
Christopher G. Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
RIII.
[FR Doc. 03-19065 Filed 7-25-03; 8:45 am]
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