[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6006-6007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2665]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-04783]


Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for the Dow Chemical 
Company and Release of Its Facility in Midland, MI

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of consideration of amendment request to Byproduct 
Material License No. 21-00265-06.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Peter J. Lee, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear

[[Page 6007]]

Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, 
Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 829-9870 or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of an amendment to the Dow Chemical Company Byproduct Material 
License No. 21-00265-06, to remove the possession or use of thorium 
from its Midland, Michigan facility license and release that portion of 
the facility for unrestricted use.
    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. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding 
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate.

II. EA Summary

    The purpose of the proposed action is to remove the possession or 
use of thorium from its Midland, Michigan facility license and release 
that portion of the facility for unrestricted use. This license was 
approved for research and development of a thorium containing catalyst. 
On September 26, 2003, Dow Chemical Company submitted a license 
amendment request to remove the possession or use of thorium from its 
license. The Dow Chemical Company has conducted surveys of the facility 
and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the site meets 
the license criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted 
release. The staff has examined the Dow Chemical Company's request and 
the information that the licensee has provided in support of its 
request, including the surveys performed by the Dow Chemical Company 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. Based 
on its review, the staff has determined that the affected environment 
and the environmental impacts associated with the removal of the 
possession or use of thorium from Byproduct Material License No. 21-
00265-06 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). Additionally, no non-radiological impacts were 
identified. The staff also finds that the proposed release for 
unrestricted use of the Dow Chemical Company facility is in compliance 
with the 10 CFR part 20.1402 and no other activities in the area that 
could result in cumulative impacts.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of Dow 
Chemical Company's proposed license amendment to remove the possession 
or use of thorium from its Midland, Michigan facility license and 
release that portion of the 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,'' 
Dow Chemical Company'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/adams.html. 
These documents include Dow Chemical Company's letter dated September 
26, 2003, with enclosures (Accession No. ML033570177); and the EA 
summarized above (Accession No. ML040280082).These documents may also 
be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Lisle, Illinois, this 27th day of January 2004.
Christopher G. Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
RIII.
[FR Doc. 04-2665 Filed 2-6-04; 8:45 am]
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