[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61649-61651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5878]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Number 030-28641]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for 
Department of the Air Force's Request for 10 CFR 20.2002 Authorization, 
for Disposal of Four Tanks Containing Depleted Uranium to a Subtitle C 
RCRA Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel S. Browder, M.S., Health 
Physicist, Nuclear Materials Licensing Branch, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 611 
Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011; Telephone: (817) 
276-6552; fax number: (817) 860-8122; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
approval of a request dated June 23, 2004, by the U.S. Department of 
the Air Force (Air Force), for disposal of four M-47 tanks containing 
depleted uranium (DU) from the 98th Range Wing at Nellis Air Force 
Base, Nevada, to a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility. 
The request for approval is submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, 
``Method of Obtaining Approval of Proposed Disposal Procedures.'' NRC 
staff evaluated the licensee's analyses of disposal to a Subtitle C 
RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility, to demonstrate compliance with 
10 CFR 20.2002. The staff used the general guidance for dose modeling 
as documented in NUREG-1727, SRP 5.2, and supplemented by the 
decommissioning-specific guidance of the license termination rule. The 
dose assessment for the disposal of the subject material would result 
in doses less than 0.01 millisievert (1 millirem) per year. This action 
will revise the Air Force Master Materials License No. 42-23539-01AF, 
to authorize the specific disposal of four M-47 tanks containing DU 
material to a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, for procedures not otherwise authorized in 
the regulations of this chapter. This proposed action would also exempt 
the low-contaminated material authorized for burial from further Atomic 
Energy Act (AEA) and NRC licensing requirements. The NRC staff has 
prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this action in 
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51. The NRC has 
determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is 
appropriate for the proposed action.

II. Environmental Assessment

Background

    The Air Force used four U.S. Army M-47 tanks as target practice at 
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The M-47 tanks were contaminated with 
DU, as a result of A-10 aircraft target penetrator rounds. Each tank 
contains less than forty GAU-8 30mm DU rounds; each round contains 300 
grams of DU. As a result of the kinetic energy released when a tank is 
hit by a DU round, some of the DU from the round will bond with the 
metal surrounding the entry point and the interior of the chamber. The 
DU is a metal form with a minor contribution as an oxide. The mass of 
the DU per tank is approximately 12 kg, and when averaged over the mass 
of the tank (60 tons), the source material is less than one-twentieth 
of 1 percent (0.05 percent) of the mixture. The Air Force demonstrated 
by calculation that the potential dose consequence is less than 1 mrem 
per year, based on the proposed burial of the M-47 tanks in a RCRA 
facility.

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is approval of the disposal of four (4) M-47 
tanks from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to U.S. Ecology facility in 
Grand View, Idaho, which is a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste disposal 
facility. The Air Force has conservatively assumed the inventory of DU 
in each of the four M-47 tanks and calculated the potential dose as 
being less than 1 mrem per year, if all four tanks were to be disposed 
of,

[[Page 61650]]

in such a facility. This proposed action would also exempt the low-
contaminated material authorized for burial from further Atomic Energy 
Act (AEA) and NRC licensing requirements.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed to dispose of four M-47 tanks at a 
RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste disposal facility. The Air Force 
maintains the clean-up of the range at Nellis Air Force Base by 
implementing an on-going process to dispose of objects that require 
disposition or decontamination in lieu of postponing clean-up efforts 
until there are extensive objects which require disposition. Therefore, 
the disposal of the four M-47 tanks are part of the Air Force on-going 
maintenance efforts on the range.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The alternatives to the proposed action include: (1) No action 
alternative, (2) decontamination of the M-47 tanks, or (3) handling the 
M-47 tanks as low-level radioactive waste and shipping the tanks to a 
licensed low-level waste facility. The Air Force performed an 
evaluation to determine if the costs to decontaminate the M-47 tanks 
would be comparable to or less than the costs for burial in a Subtitle 
C RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility. For the respective four M-47 
tanks, the Air Force determined the costs for burial would be less than 
the cost to decontaminate the tanks. Disposal of the four M-47 tanks in 
the manner proposed is protective of the health and safety, is 
consistent with as low as reasonably achievable, and is the most cost-
effective alternative.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The four M-47 tanks were used as target practice in Range 63, 
Target Area 10, at Nellis Air Force Base. Nellis Air Force Base is 
located approximately 8 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The base 
itself covers more than 14,000 acres, while the total land area 
occupied by Nellis and its restricted ranges is about 5,000 square 
miles. The 98th Range Wing is responsible for the 2.9 million acre 
Nevada Test and Training Range, located just north of Las Vegas. The 
distance between Las Vegas and US Ecology, Idaho, is approximately 800 
miles. The driving time would be approximately 16 hours (assuming 
average speed of 50 miles per hour). The Air Force's dose analysis 
conservatively assumed the same driver transported all four tanks in 
four separate shipments.
    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the disposal of four M-47 tanks to US Ecology, Idaho, 
which is a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility. The Air 
Force's analyses conservatively assumed the inventory of DU in each of 
the four M-47 tanks was the maximum number of penetrators (i.e., 40 
rounds) which potentially hit each tank. The Air Force analyzed the 
dose to a transport driver, loader, burial worker, and long-term 
impacts to a residence. While the Air Force did not analyze the 
groundwater impacts from the disposal, the NRC staff reviewed previous 
analyses in support of NUREG-1640, ``Radiological Assessment for 
Clearance of Materials from Nuclear Facilities,'' which indicated that 
the groundwater pathway is not a controlling factor for DU. Each of the 
analyses conservatively estimated the exposure to less than 1 mrem 
total dose per year.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not involve any historic sites nor does it affect non-
radiological plant effluents. There may be a slight increase in air 
quality and noise impacts during the loading and transportation of each 
tank. However, there are no expected adverse impacts to air quality as 
a result of the loading and transportation of the four M-47 tanks. 
These activities will be short in duration and minimal as compared to 
other activities at the base. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    The NRC has evaluated whether cumulative environmental impacts 
could result from an incremental impact of the proposed action when 
added to other foreseeable actions in the area. The proposed NRC 
approval of the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternative disposal procedure, when 
combined with known effects on resource areas of the site, are not 
anticipated to result in any cumulative impacts at the site.
    The proposed action and attendant exemption of the material from 
further AEA and NRC licensing requirements will not significantly 
increase the probability or consequence of accidents, no changes are 
being made in the types of effluents that may be released off site, and 
there is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation 
exposure. Accordingly, the NRC concludes there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
The implications from the no-action alternative is that the tanks would 
remain on the range until disposition sometime in the future. The 
impacts would therefore be limited to the site, and there would be no 
transportation impacts and no disposal considerations or impacts until 
sometime in the future.
    Another alternative to the proposed action, is that the Air Force 
may consider decontamination of the four M-47 tanks. The environmental 
impacts would increase as a result of this alternative from the air 
quality, noise and water usage during the decontamination process. 
Additionally, there would be an increase in occupational exposure as a 
result of the decontamination process.
    Disposing of the four M-47 tanks in a low-level waste disposal 
facility is another alternative to the proposed action. This 
alternative has similar environmental impacts as the proposed action.

Conclusion

    Based on its review, the NRC staff finds that the environmental 
impact of the proposed action are either similar to, or less impactive 
than, the alternatives to the proposed action. If the proposed action 
is denied, the licensee may be required to ship the material to an off-
site low level radioactive waste disposal facility. The costs 
associated with off-site disposal at a low-level waste facility greatly 
exceeds the cost of burial under the proposed action, with no 
significant benefit to the environment. Since the proposed action will 
not significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and the 
proposed action complies with the criteria in 10 CFR 20.2002 for 
alternate disposal procedure, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed 
action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not a 
major decommissioning activity and will not affect listed or proposed 
endangered species, nor critical habitat. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, NRC staff determined that the proposed action is not the type 
of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic 
properties, as the M-47 tanks are

[[Page 61651]]

currently residing in Range 63, Target Area 10, at Nellis Air Force 
Base. Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act.
    On September 23, 2004, the staff consulted with two Nevada State 
officials, Mr. Stan Marshall of the Radiological Health Section of the 
Nevada State Health Division, Bureau of Health Protection Services and 
Ms. Jolene Johnson of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, 
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. Neither 
State Official had any comments regarding the draft EA. Additionally, 
the staff consulted with the Idaho State official, Mr. Doug Walker of 
the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. On November 2, 2004, the 
State of Idaho, Department of Environmental Quality, provided comments 
regarding the draft EA, and those comments have been incorporated in 
the final EA.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the license amendment 
request and supporting documentation, are available electronically at 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you may access the NRC's Agencywide 
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for 
the documents related to this notice are: U.S. NRC Radioactive 
Materials License: Department of the Air Force, Docket Number 030-
28641, License Number 42-23539-01AF; Request letter dated June 23, 
2004, U.S. Department of the Air Force (ML041810555); NRC Technical 
Review of Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 20.2002 request by 
U.S. Department of the Air Force (ML042120512); Safety Evaluation 
Report, August 5, 2005 (ML052170209); Environmental Assessment and 
FONSI. August 5, 2005 (ML052170216); Title 10 Code of Federal 
Regulations, 20.2002, ``Method of Obtaining Approval of Proposed 
Disposal Procedures''; and Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 
51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions.''
    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems with 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at (800) 397-4203, (301) 415-4737, 
or by e-mail to [email protected]. These documents may also be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located the NRC's PDR, O1 F21, 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The 
PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. The PDR is 
open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on 
Federal holidays.

    Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 12th day of October 2005

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack E. Whitten,
Chief, Nuclear Materials Licensing Branch, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region IV.
 [FR Doc. E5-5878 Filed 10-24-05; 8:45 am]
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