[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 98 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29360-29362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7791]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-01182]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 52-01986-01, for Termination of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of the University of Puerto Rico's Facility in Rio 
Piedras, Puerto Rico

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for License Amendment.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marjorie McLaughlin, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 475 Allendale Road, King of 
Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406. Telephone: (610) 337-5240; fax number: 
(610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 52-
01986-01. This license is held by the University of Puerto Rico (the 
Licensee), for its Agricultural Experiment Station (the Facility) 
located at 1193 Guayacan St., Botanical Gardens, Rio Piedras, San Juan, 
Puerto Rico. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of the 
Facility for unrestricted use and termination of the NRC license. The 
Licensee requested this action in a letter dated September 28, 2004. 
The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of 
this proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 51 (10 CFR part 51). Based on 
the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The 
amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of 
this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Licensee's September 28, 
2004, license amendment request resulting in release of the Facility 
for unresticted use and the termination of its NRC materials

[[Page 29361]]

license. License No. 52-01986-01 was issued on February 13, 1957, 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. The license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed 
byproduct material for conducting research and development activities 
on laboratory bench tops and in hoods. The license also authorized the 
use of sealed byproduct material for sources for gas chromatograph (GC) 
detectors and moisture/density gauges.
    The Facility is situated on just under 200 acres, and consists of a 
botanical garden, conservatories, office space, and laboratories. The 
Facility is located on a university campus within a largely residential 
area. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was confined to 
the Central Analytical Laboratory (21 feet by 13 feet (21' x 13')), a 
sample processing room (10' x 20'), and a soil laboratory (20' x 40'). 
The sealed source gauges were stored in the Old Phytotron Building (12' 
x 24') and in a storage room within the soils laboratory (10' x 10').
    In 1998, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and initiated 
transfer of all radioactive materials and a survey and decontamination 
of the Facility. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the 
site and the conditions of the Facility, the Licensee determined that 
only routine decontamination activities, in accordance with their NRC-
approved, operating radiation safety procedures, were required. The 
Licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC 
because worker cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with 
those approved for routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys 
of the Facility and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that 
it meets the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted 
release and for license termination.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility and the 
termination of its NRC materials license. Termination of its license 
would end the Licensee's obligation to pay annual license fees to the 
NRC.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: Sealed tritium and 
nickel-63 sources for GC detectors and sealed americium-241 and cesium-
137 in moisture/density gauges. The only long-lived unsealed 
radionuclide authorized by this license was carbon-14, which was used 
infrequently and in small amounts. Licensed materials were not used in 
outdoor areas, although the NRC staff identified one occurrence in 1964 
in which plants and soil containing a small amount of carbon-14 may 
have been inadvertently discarded or buried at the site. The NRC staff 
evaluated the potential impact of this event by performing a dose 
assessment (described below). Prior to performing the final status 
survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as 
necessary, in the areas of the Facility affected by these 
radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey that covered the 
Central Analytical Laboratory, sample processing room, soil laboratory, 
the storage room within the soils laboratory, and the Old Phytotron 
Building. The final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's 
amendment request dated September 28, 2004. The Licensee elected to 
demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using the screening approach 
described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning 
Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee used the radionuclide-specific 
derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) developed there by the 
NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. These 
DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual radioactivity on building 
surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in soils, that will satisfy the 
NRC requirements in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted 
release. The Licensee's final status survey results were below these 
DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable 
(ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC concludes that the 
Licensee 's final status survey results are thus acceptable.
    Based on its review, the staff has determined that, with one 
exception, the affected environment and any environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action 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) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, 
ML042320379, and ML042330385).
    The one impact not bounded by the generic evaluation is the 
potential discarding or burial of carbon-14 that occurred in 1964. NRC 
staff reviewed licensee records and conducted interviews with past and 
present AES staff, and determined that a small amount (0.5 microcuries) 
of carbon-14 incorporated in soil and plants may have been discarded 
inadvertently at the site. The NRC staff performed a dose assessment to 
evaluate the potential health and safety impact of this event. The 
staff determined that the highest potential dose from the material is 
less than 1 millirem/year (mrem/yr), and is well below the 25 mrem/yr 
value in 10 CFR 20.1402. No other incidents were recorded involving 
spills or releases of radioactive material at the Facility. 
Accordingly, there were no significant environmental impacts from the 
use of radioactive materials at the Facility.
    The NRC staff reviewed the docket file records and the final status 
survey report to identify any non-radiological hazards that may have 
impacted the environment surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or 
impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC has found no other 
radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that could 
result in cumulative impacts. The NRC staff finds that the proposed 
release of the Facility for unrestricted use and the termination of the 
NRC materials license is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on 
its review, the staff considered the impact of the residual 
radioactivity at the Facility and concluded that the proposed action 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action, 
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative 
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the 
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment 
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it 
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC 
after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's 
final status survey data confirmed that the Facility meets the 
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. Additionally, 
this denial of the application would result in no change in current 
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action 
and the no-action alternative are therefore similar, and the no-action 
alternative is accordingly not further considered.

[[Page 29362]]

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided drafts of its Environmental Assessment and Dose 
Assessment to the Department of Health of Puerto Rico for review on 
February 21, 2006. On March 29, 2006, the Department of Health of 
Puerto Rico responded by letter. The State agreed with the conclusions 
of the EA, and otherwise had no comments.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a 
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical 
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that 
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential 
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
license amendment 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 can access the 
NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents 
related to this action are listed below with their ADAMS accession 
numbers:
    1. Final Status Survey Results for the Rio Piedras Research Center 
of the University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, dated 
September 28, 2004 [ADAMS Accession No. ML042780499];
    2. Telephone Logs Containing Additional Site History Information, 
dated January 28, 2005 [ADAMS Accession No. ML050330622], February 10, 
2005 [ADAMS Accession No. ML050430017], April 11, 2005 [ADAMS Accession 
No. ML051050036], August 31, 2005 [ADAMS Accession No. ML052450026], 
and February 9, 2006 [ADAMS Accession No. ML060400169];
    3. Dose Assessment Evaluating Potential Burial of Carbon-14 at 
University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station [ADAMS 
Accession No. ML061090546];
    4. Federal Register Notice, Volume 65, No. 114, page 37186, dated 
Tuesday, June 13, 2000, ``Use of Screening Values to Demonstrate 
Compliance With The Federal Rule on Radiological Criteria for License 
Termination'';
    5. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';
    6. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions'';
    7. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities''.
    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if 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]. These documents may also be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's 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 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this 12th day of May, 
2006.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marie Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E6-7791 Filed 5-19-06; 8:45 am]
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