[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 169 (Thursday, August 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51859-51861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7285]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-34438]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 29-30390-01, for Unrestricted Release of the SFBC Taylor 
Technology, Incorporated Facility Located at 107 College Road East in 
Princeton, NJ

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: Steven R. Courtemanche, Health 
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
19406-1415; telephone (610) 337-5075; 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. 29-
30390-01. This license is held by SFBC Taylor Technology, Inc. (the 
Licensee), for its locations of use located at 107 and 301D College 
Road East in Princeton, New Jersey. Issuance of the amendment would 
authorize release of the location of use at 107 College Road East in 
Princeton, New Jersey (the Facility) for unrestricted use while 
retaining authorization to conduct licensed activities at the 301D 
College Road East location of use. The Licensee requested this action 
in a letter dated May 1, 2006. 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 NRC plans to take this proposed action 
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 May 1, 2006, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 29-30390-01 was issued on June 5, 1997, 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed 
byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility consists of 10,000 square feet of office space and 
laboratories and is located in a commercial area. Within the Facility, 
use of licensed materials was confined to the Mass Spectroscopy 
Laboratory (1,000 square feet), the Wet Laboratory (1,000 square feet), 
the Sample Log-In Area (350 square feet), and the Waste Storage Area 
(150 square feet).
    On June 6, 2005, the Licensee ceased licensed activities in these 
areas and initiated 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.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

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: hydrogen-3 and 
carbon-14. 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 on April 11, 2006. 
This survey covered the Waste Storage Area, the Sample Log-in Area, the 
Wet Laboratory, and the Mass Spectroscopy Laboratory. The final status 
survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated 
May 1, 2006. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the 
radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 
20.1402 by performing radiological surveys and determining that the 
contamination in the Facility areas where licensed material was used 
would not expose an individual to 25 millirem per year of radiation by 
inhalation or ingestion. The Licensee thus determined the maximum 
amount of residual radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and 
materials 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 200 disintegrations per minute for a wipe of 100 
square centimeters for the isotopes of Carbon-14 and tritium (Hydrogen-
3), 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). 
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 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.

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.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent 
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria

[[Page 51861]]

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

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the State 
of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection for review on 
June 13, 2006. On June 29, 2006, the State of New Jersey's Department 
of Environmental Protection 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, along with their ADAMS 
accession numbers.
    1. NRC License No. 29-30390-01 inspection and licensing records 
[ADAMS Accession Nos. ML031130227, ML031250277, ML042980018, 
ML060890371, ML060960381, ML060960391, and ML060960509];
    2. Request for unrestricted release of the facility at 107 College 
Road East, Princeton, New Jersey with survey results for SFBC Taylor 
Technologies, Inc., dated May 1, 2006 [ADAMS Accession No. 
ML061280123];
    3. Request for Additional Information (RAI) issued May 18, 2006, by 
the U.S. NRC [ADAMS Accession No. ML061390010];
    4. SFBC Taylor Technology, Inc.''s response dated May 26, 2006, to 
U.S. NRC's RAI [ML061510154];
    5. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance'';
    6. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';
    7. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions'';
    8. 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 Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia this 23rd 
day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. 06-7285 Filed 8-30-06; 8:45 am]
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