[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 152 (Thursday, August 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47106-47107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20149]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-08798]


Notice of Consideration of Request for License Termination of 
Hitchcock Industries, Inc. License and Release of Its Facility in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Amendment, and Opportunity To Provide Comments 
and Request a Hearing

ACTION: Notice of consideration of amendment request to terminate 
Source Material License No. SMB-1404 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 Hitchcock Industries, Inc. (Hitchcock) 
Source Material License No. SMB-1404, to terminate the license and 
release its facility located at 8701 Harriet Avenue South in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, for unrestricted use. In 1982, this license

[[Page 47107]]

was approved for the fabrication of magnesium and thorium alloy 
castings for the aircraft industry. This license authorized alloying 
thorium ingots, containing up to 41 percent by weight of thorium, with 
magnesium and other additives to produce magnesium/thorium alloy 
castings containing up to 4 percent by weight of thorium. On January 
28, 2003, Hitchcock notified the NRC of the license termination.
    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 Hitchcock's request and the information that 
the licensee has provided in support of its request, including the 
surveys performed by Hitchcock to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402, ``'Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted Use,''' to ensure 
that the NRC's decision protects the public health and safety and the 
environment. Based on its review, the staff has determined that the 
affected environment and the environmental impacts associated with the 
unrestricted use of Hitchcock Industries, Inc. facilities are bounded 
by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License 
Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). The 
staff also finds that the proposed release for unrestricted use of the 
Hitchcock facility is in compliance with the 10 CFR part 20.1402.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of 
Hitchcock's proposed license amendment to release the Minneapolis 
facility for unrestricted use. On the basis of the EA, the staff has 
concluded that the environmental impacts from the 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,'' 
Hitchcock'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 Hitchcock's letter dated January 28, 2003, and faxes dated 
April 8, 11, and 21, 2003, with enclosures (Accession
    No. ML031990158); fax dated May 16, 2003, with enclosures 
(Accession No. ML031990380); and the EA summarized above (Accession No. 
ML032120132). 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 31st day of July, 2003.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Christopher G. Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
RIII.
[FR Doc. 03-20149 Filed 8-6-03; 8:45 am]
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