[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52587-52589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14825]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-83; EA-06-210]
In the Matter of University of Florida (University of Florida
Training Reactor); Order Modifying Amended Facility Operating License
No. R-56
I
The University of Florida (the licensee) is the holder of Amended
Facility Operating License No. R-56 (the license) issued on May 21,
1959, by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and subsequently renewed on
August 30, 1982, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the NRC or
the Commission). The license authorizes operation of the University of
Florida Training Reactor (the facility) at a power
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level up to 100 kilowatts thermal. The facility is a research reactor
located on the campus of the University of Florida, in the city of
Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. The mailing address is Department
of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, 202 Nuclear Sciences Center,
P.O. Box 118300, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8300.
II
On February 25, 1986, the Commission promulgated a final rule,
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) section 50.64,
limiting the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel in domestic non-
power reactors (research and test reactors) (see 51 FR 6514). The
regulation, which became effective on March 27, 1986, requires that if
Federal Government funding for conversion-related costs is available,
each licensee of a non-power reactor authorized to use HEU fuel shall
replace it with low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel acceptable to the
Commission unless the Commission has determined that the reactor has a
unique purpose. The Commission's stated purpose for these requirements
was to reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the use of HEU fuel in
order to reduce the risk of theft and diversion of HEU fuel used in
non-power reactors.
Paragraphs 50.64(b)(2)(i) and (ii) require that a licensee of a
non-power reactor (1) not acquire more HEU fuel if LEU fuel that is
acceptable to the Commission for that reactor is available when the
licensee proposes to acquire HEU fuel and (2) replace all HEU fuel in
its possession with available LEU fuel acceptable to the Commission for
that reactor in accordance with a schedule determined pursuant to 10
CFR 50.64(c)(2).
Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(i) requires, among other things, that each
licensee of a non-power reactor authorized to possess and to use HEU
fuel develop and submit to the Director of the Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation (Director) by March 27, 1987, and at 12-month
intervals thereafter, a written proposal for meeting the requirements
of the rule. The licensee shall include in its proposal a certification
that Federal Government funding for conversion is available through the
U.S. Department of Energy or other appropriate Federal agency and a
schedule for conversion, based upon availability of replacement fuel
acceptable to the Commission for that reactor and upon consideration of
other factors such as the availability of shipping casks,
implementation of arrangements for available financial support, and
reactor usage.
Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) requires the licensee to include in the
proposal, to the extent required to effect conversion, all necessary
changes to the license, to the facility, and to licensee procedures.
This paragraph also requires the licensee to submit supporting safety
analyses in time to meet the conversion schedule.
Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) also requires the Director to review the
licensee proposal, to confirm the status of Federal Government funding,
and to determine a final schedule, if the licensee has submitted a
schedule for conversion.
Section 50.64(c)(3) requires the Director to review the supporting
safety analyses and to issue an appropriate enforcement order directing
both the conversion and, to the extent consistent with protection of
public health and safety, any necessary changes to the license, the
facility, and licensee procedures. In the Federal Register notice of
the final rule (51 FR 6514), the Commission explained that in most, if
not all, cases, the enforcement order would be an order to modify the
license under 10 CFR 2.204 (now 10 CFR 2.202).
Section 2.309 states the requirements for a person whose interest
may be affected by any proceeding to initiate a hearing or to
participate as a party.
III
On December 2, 2005, as supplemented on June 19 and 29, July 20 and
21, and August 4 and 22, 2006, the NRC staff received the licensee's
conversion proposal, including its proposed modifications and
supporting safety analyses. HEU fuel elements are to be replaced with
LEU fuel elements. The fuel elements contain fuel plates, typical of
the materials test reactor design, with the fuel consisting of uranium
silicide dispersed in an aluminum matrix. These plates contain the
uranium-235 isotope at an enrichment of less than 20 percent. The NRC
staff reviewed the licensee's proposal and the requirements of 10 CFR
50.64 and has determined that public health and safety and common
defense and security require the licensee to convert the facility from
the use of HEU to LEU fuel in accordance with the attachments to this
Order and the schedule included herein. The attachments to this Order
specify the changes to the License Conditions, Technical Specifications
and Emergency Plan that are needed to amend the facility license and
contains an outline of a reactor startup report to be submitted to NRC
within six months following completion of LEU fuel loading.
IV
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 51, 53, 57, 101, 104, 161b, 161i,
and 161o of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and to
Commission regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 50.64, it is hereby
ordered that:
Amended Facility Operating License No. R-56 is modified by amending
the License Conditions, Technical Specifications and Emergency Plan as
stated in the attachments to this Order. License Condition 2.B.(2),
allowing possession of LEU fuel, becomes effective 20 days after the
date of publication of this Order in the Federal Register. All other
changes become effective on the later date of either (1) the day the
licensee receives an adequate number and type of LEU fuel elements to
operate the facility as specified in the licensee proposal, or (2) 20
days after the date of publication of this Order in the Federal
Register.
V
Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, any person
adversely affected by this Order may submit an answer to this Order,
and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the date of
this Order. Any answer or request for a hearing shall set forth the
matters of fact and law on which the person adversely affected, relies
and the reasons why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer
or request for a hearing shall be filed (1) by first class mail
addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and
Adjudications Staff; or (2) by courier, express mail, and expedited
delivery services to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852,
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Because of continuing
disruptions in delivery of mail to the United States Government
Offices, it is requested that answers and/or requests for hearing be
transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by e-mail
addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, [email protected]; or by facsimile transmission
addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications
Staff at 301-415-1101 (the verification number is 301-415-1966). Copies
of the request for hearing must also be sent to the Director, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation and to the
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Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement,
Office of the General Counsel, with both copies addressed to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and the NRC
requests that a copy also be transmitted either by facsimile
transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to [email protected].
If a person requests a hearing, he or she shall set forth in the
request for a hearing with particularity the manner in which his or her
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309.
If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely
affected, the Commission shall issue an Order designating the time and
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered
at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.10(d) this Order is not subject to
Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended.
The NRC staff notes, however, that with respect to environmental
impacts associated with the changes imposed by this Order as described
in the safety evaluation, the changes would, if imposed by other than
an Order, meet the definition of a categorical exclusion in accordance
with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9) and (10). Thus, pursuant to either 10 CFR
51.10(d) or 51.22(c)(9) and (10), no environmental assessment nor
environmental impact statement is required.
For further information see the application from the licensee dated
December 2, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML062220375), as supplemented on June 19 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML061720498 and ML062220178) and 29 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML061840285), July 20 (ADAMS Accession No. ML062050252) and 21 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML062060139), and August 4 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML062350107) and 22 (ADAMS Accession No. ML062400265), 2006, the
staff's requests for additional information dated May 2 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML061220262 with clarification dated May 18, 2006, ADAMS
Accession No. ML061420119) and 22, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML061380167), and the cover letter to the licensee, attachments to this
Order and staff's safety evaluation dated September 1, 2006 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML062440086) available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible
electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the
Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who have problems in
accessing the documents in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to
[email protected].
Dated this 1st day of September 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J. E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-14825 Filed 9-5-06; 8:45 am]
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