[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51648-51649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7239]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-30904]


Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a 
License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 13-17582-02, for 
Unrestricted Release of a Facility for the Rose-Hulman Institute of 
Technology, Terre Haute, IN

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: George M. McCann, Senior Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4352; Telephone: (630) 829-
9856; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
is considering the issuance of a license amendment to NRC Byproduct 
Materials License No. 13-17582-02. This license is held by Rose-Hulman 
Institute of Technology (the Licensee) for a building (the Facility) on 
its Terre Haute, Indiana campus in which NRC-licensed materials were 
formerly stored. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of 
the Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action 
in a letter dated February 14, 2006, (ADAMS Accession No. ML062230210). 
The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of this 
proposed action in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. 
Based on the Environmental Assessment, the NRC has determined that a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate for the 
proposed action. The amendment to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's 
license will be issued following the publication of this Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact in the Federal 
Register.

I. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve Rose-Hulman Institute of 
Technology's request to amend its license and release the Facility for 
unrestricted use in accordance with 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E. The 
Licensee received its initial NRC license on July 19, 1977, pursuant to 
10 CFR Part 30, and this license was superceded on February 2, 1989, by 
NRC License No. 13-17582-02. These licenses authorized the Licensee to 
use low millicurie quantities of byproduct materials in sealed and 
unsealed form for training and teaching students in nuclear and 
radiation physics. The Licensee is currently authorized to possess and 
use millicurie quantities of byproduct materials in sealed sources.
    The Licensee's Facility is a cinder block building of 100-150 
square feet located about 60 feet northwest of the north end of Moench 
Hall (the Institute's main classroom building). The Facility contained 
a lead storage vault and was used to store plutonium-239/Beryllium 
neutron sources (which have been transferred to an authorized disposal 
agent), and an americium-241 sealed source.
    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 its NRC-approved 
operating radiation safety procedures were required. The Licensee was 
not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because 
cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved 
for routine operations. The Licensee provided survey results which 
demonstrated that the Facility was in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402, 
``Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted Use.'' No radiological 
remediation activities are required to complete the proposed action. 
The NRC completed a closeout inspection and independent radiological 
surveys of the Licensee's Facility on July 13, 2006, (NRC Inspection 
Report No. 030-30904/06-001 (ADAMS Accession No. ML062140020)), which 
verified the Licensee's survey findings.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility. The NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the Atomic 
Energy Act to make a decision on the proposed action for 
decommissioning that ensures that residual radioactivity at the 
Facility is reduced to a level that is protective of the public health 
and safety and the environment, and allows the Facility to be released 
for unrestricted use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided and surveys 
performed by the Licensee to demonstrate that the release of the 
Facility is consistent with the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
use

[[Page 51649]]

specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC performed a closeout inspection 
and survey to confirm the Licensee's findings. The Licensee elected to 
demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using the screening values 
described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning 
Guidance,'' Volume 1. 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 NRC considers these DCGLs to be in compliance with the As 
Low As Is Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. 
The Licensee's final status survey results were below these DCGLs, and 
are thus acceptable. Based on its review, the staff has determined that 
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). Further, no 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 
material 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 environmental 
impacts.
    The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of the Facility 
described above for unrestricted use 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.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action of allowing 
unrestricted release is no action. Under the no-action alternative, the 
Facility would remain under an NRC license and would not be released 
for unrestricted use. Denial of the license amendment request would 
result in no change to current conditions at the Facility. The no-
action alternative is not acceptable because it would result in 
violation of NRC's Timeliness Rule (10 CFR Part 30.36), which requires 
Licensees to decommission their facilities when licensed activities 
cease. This alternative would also impose an unnecessary regulatory 
burden and limit potential benefits from future use of the Licensee's 
property.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff concluded that the proposed action is consistent with 
the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. 
Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the quality 
of the human environment, 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 will not 
affect listed species or critical habitats. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not 
a type of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic 
properties. Therefore, consultation under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act is not required.
    The NRC provided a draft of its Environmental Assessment (EA) to 
Mr. Rex J. Bowser, Program Director, Radiation Emergency Response 
Program, Radiological Health Section, Indiana State Department of 
Health for review on July 25, 2006. On July 26, 2006, Mr. Bowser 
responded back to the NRC by e-mail and indicated that ``The IN State 
Dept. of Health, Radiological Health Section has no objections to this 
proposed action.''

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA in support of the proposed license amendment 
to release the Facility for unrestricted use, the NRC has determined 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Thus, the NRC has not prepared an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
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. 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]. The documents 
and ADAMS accession numbers related to this notice are:
    1. Letter dated February 14, 2006, with ``Final Status Survey of 
the Radioactive Source Storage Building at the Rose-Hulman Institute of 
Technology,'' dated September 27, 2005, attached. (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML062230210).
    2. NRC Inspection Report No. 030-30904/06-001. (ML062140020).
    3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Review 
Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-
1748, August 2003.
    4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for 
License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496, 
August 1994.
    5. NRC, NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' 
Volumes 1-3, September 2003.
    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 18th day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Jamnes L. Cameron,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. 06-7239 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
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