[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59528-59529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16647]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-06652]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 47-00260-02, for the Unrestricted Release of Building B-747 
and an Associated Storage Shed Located at the Union Carbide Corporation 
Site in South Charleston, WV

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: Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health 
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, (610) 337-5040; 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. 47-
00260-02. This license is held by Union Carbide Corporation (the 
Licensee), located at 3200 Kanawha Turnpike in South Charleston, West 
Virginia. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Building 
B-747 and an associated storage shed (together identified herein as the 
Facility) at the South Charleston site for unrestricted use. The 
Licensee requested this action in a letter dated August 3, 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 
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 August 3, 3006, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 47-00260-02 was issued on August 15, 
1956, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically 
since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed 
hydrogen-3 (tritium) and carbon-14, and various sealed sources, for 
purposes of conducting research and development activities on 
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility is situated on 600 acres and is surrounded by multiple 
buildings containing office space and laboratories. The Facility is 
located in a commercial area. Use of licensed materials occurred 
throughout the Facility, an area totaling 1,536 square feet.
    In 2001, the Licensee ceased licensed activities within the 
Facility 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 in the 
Facility and seeks the unrestricted use of the 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 
unsealed radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: tritium 
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 July 27, 2006. The 
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment 
request dated August 3, 2006. 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 thus finds that the Licensee's final status 
survey results are 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). 
The staff finds 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

[[Page 59529]]

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 identified 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. Although the 
Licensee will continue to perform licensed activities at other areas of 
the South Charleston site, the Licensee must ensure that this 
decommissioned area does not become recontaminated. Before the license 
can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to show that its 
entire site, including previously-released areas, complies with the 
radiological criteria in 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, 
denying the amendment request 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 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 EA to the State of West Virginia for 
review on August 28, 2006. On September 15, 2006, the State of West 
Virginia Radiological Health program responded by electronic mail. 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. Letters dated August 3, 2006 [ML062220617], June 19, 2006 
[ML061720331], and January 27, 2006 [ML060320507].
    2. Facsimile dated January 31, 2006 [ML060320519].
    3. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.''
    4. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination.''
    5. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions.''
    6. 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 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 
29th day of September 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E6-16647 Filed 10-6-06; 8:45 am]
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