[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 57100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21341]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Radiac Research Corporation, Brooklyn, NY; Notice of Issuance of 
Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that by petition dated November 4, 2003, 
Michael Gerrard of Arnold and Porter, representing Neighbors Against 
Garbage (the Petitioners), filed a Petition pursuant to Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations, Section 2.206. The Petitioners requested 
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) immediately revoke, 
suspend or modify the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) 
license held by Radiac Research Corporation under the NRC's authority 
pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended to protect 
the common defense and security.
    The basis for this request was that Radiac's radioactive waste 
storage operation adjoining the Radiac hazardous waste transfer and 
storage operation in Brooklyn, New York represented a significant risk 
to the common defense and security.
    In a letter dated December 17, 2003, the NRC informed the 
Petitioners that the request for immediate action was denied because 
the limits on types and activity of radioactive material that Radiac 
was authorized to possess were below the levels of concern. The letter 
added that the issues identified in the petition would be reviewed 
under 10 CFR 2.206 and that this review would be conducted by the 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS).
    The Petitioner and the Licensee both participated in a meeting with 
the NMSS Petition Review Board (PRB) on February 20, 2004. At this 
meeting, the Petitioner provided additional information concerning the 
bases for the Petition, and the Licensee provided additional 
information concerning their response to the Petition. A concerned 
citizen and a representative of the Honorable Nydia M. 
Vel[aacute]zquez, US. House of Representatives, provided statements. 
Two other concerned citizens present at the public meeting later 
provided written statements via e-mail on February 27, 2004. The 
written presentations of the parties, as well as the transcript of this 
meeting, have been treated as a supplement to the Petition and are 
available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of the NRC's public 
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public 
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. The ADAMS Accession Numbers for the packages containing all 
the publicly available documents regarding this petition are 
ML041040731 and ML041240485. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact 
the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 
301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
    In a letter dated December 10, 2003, addressed to the Honorable 
Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, NRC, the Honorable Nydia M. Vel[aacute]zquez, 
U.S. House of Representatives, requested the NRC to investigate the 
risk of an accident or terrorist event at the Radiac facility. By 
letter dated February 10, 2004, Chairman Nils J. Diaz informed 
Congresswoman Vel[aacute]zquez that the NRC is reviewing similar common 
defense and security issues identified in the Neighbors Against Garbage 
2.206 petition and that she would be informed of the results of that 
review.
    In a letter dated February 19, 2004, addressed to the Honorable 
Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, NRC, Mr. Vincent V. Abate, Chairman, Community 
Board No. 1, representing Brooklyn, New York, presented information 
pertinent to the Petition. By letter dated March 30, 2004, the PRB 
informed Mr. Abate that the information would be considered as a 
supplement to the Petition.
    In letters dated February 27, 2004, the Petitioner and Licensee 
provided supplemental information concerning the petition. In the 
Licensee's letter was a request to reject the petition based on 
procedural issues. In a letter dated April 27, 2004, the NRC staff 
informed the Petitioner and the Licensee that the Licensee's request to 
reject the petition was denied, that the PRB accepted the petition for 
review because it satisfied the criteria under 10 CFR 2.206 and 
Management Directive 8.11, and that the NRC staff would review the 
technical merits of the petition.
    In a letter dated March 18, 2004, the Licensee provided 
supplemental information concerning the petition. In a letter dated, 
April 12, 2004, the Petitioner provided supplemental information 
concerning the petition.
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the 
Petitioners and to the licensee for comment on June 14, 2004. The 
Petitioners responded with comments on July 15, 2004. The licensee did 
not provide comments. The comments and the NRC staff's response to them 
are Enclosures to this Director's Decision.
    The NMSS Office Director has denied the request of the Petitioner 
to revoke, suspend, or modify the NYDOL license held by Radiac Research 
Corporation under the NRC's authority to protect the common defense and 
security. The reasons for the decisions are explained in the Director's 
Decision pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 [DD-04-04], the complete text of 
which is available in ADAMS for inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and from the ADAMS public access 
component on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov, under the ``Public 
Involvement'' icon.
    A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary 
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.206 of the Commission's regulations.
    As provided for by this regulation, the Director's Decision will 
constitute the final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of 
the decision, unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a 
review of the Director's Decision within that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of September 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack R. Strosnider,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-21341 Filed 9-22-04; 8:45 am]
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