[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59839-59842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16738]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 030-29288]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 37-17860-02, to Incorporate Revision Four of the 
Decommissioning Plan for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection, Bureau of Radiation Protection's Quehanna Facility in 
Karthaus, PA

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kottan, Senior Health Physicist, 
Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 
475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406; telephone (610) 337-
5214; 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. 37-
17860-02. This license is held by the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, Bureau of Radiation Protection (PADEP, BRP) 
(the Licensee), for its Quehanna Facility (the Facility), located in 
Karthaus, Pennsylvania. Issuance of the amendment would incorporate 
revision four of the Decommissioning Plan (DP) into the license to 
allow completion of decommissioning activities at the site and eventual 
unrestricted release of the Facility.
    The Quehanna Facility is located near Karthaus, Clearfield County, 
Pennsylvania, in the Quehanna Wild Area of the Moshannon State Forest. 
The site is approximately seven acres in size, and the area is heavily 
wooded and sparsely populated. The land in the vicinity of the Facility 
is used for recreational activities, including hiking, camping, and 
hunting. The site contains one large building, several smaller 
buildings, asphalt parking lots and driveways, a septic system leach 
field used for sanitary sewer waste, and an approximately one acre 
pond. The main building was constructed to house a pool reactor and 
associated laboratories,

[[Page 59840]]

hot cells, and offices. Auxiliary buildings included the waste water 
treatment building with associated underground tanks and piping and the 
water storage building.
    The Facility was constructed in 1957 after the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania enacted legislation for the location of a research 
facility at the Quehanna site. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
anticipated that the project would be a contributor to the economy in 
the area. The facility was to be operated by Curtiss-Wright 
Corporation. Plans for the facility included development of nuclear jet 
engines, and research in nucleonics, metallurgy, and other areas. In 
1958, the AEC issued a license to the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to 
operate a pool reactor at the facility. The license also included use 
of the hot cells and laboratories.
    In September 1960, Curtiss-Wright Corporation donated the Facility 
to the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). PSU planned to use the 
reactor for training and research and leased the hot cells to Martin-
Marietta Corporation. Beginning in 1962 Martin-Marietta Corporation 
used the hot cells to manufacture thermoelectric generators, known as 
SNAP generators. The SNAP generators contained Sr-90, with as much as 
80,000 Curies per generator. In 1967, Martin-Marietta Corporation 
terminated its lease for use of the hot cells after performing a 
partial decontamination. However, licensable quantities of Sr-90 
contamination remained in the hot cells and associated facilities. 
Martin-Marietta Corporation was the last user of Sr-90 at the facility.
    Also in 1967, PSU returned the site back to the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth then leased the site to NUMEC, a 
subsidiary of the Atlantic-Richfield Corporation. NUMEC used the 
reactor pool, after removal and shipment of the reactor components and 
nuclear fuel, as a storage pool for a large (approximately one million 
Curies) Co-60 irradiator. The irradiator was used for various projects, 
including food irradiation, sterilization, and irradiation of polymer-
impregnated hardwood.
    In 1978, a group of Atlantic-Richfield Corporation employees 
purchased the wood irradiation process, including the Co-60 pool 
irradiator. The new company was named Permagrain Products Corporation 
(Permagrain), and this company was issued NRC Byproduct Materials 
License No. 37-17860-01. Permagrain also assumed responsibility for the 
radioactive material left on site by the previous tenants. In 1998 NRC 
Byproduct Materials License No. 37-17860-02 was issued to Permagrain 
for the radioactive material remaining on site from past operations. In 
December 2002, Permagrain initiated bankruptcy proceedings, and NRC 
Byproduct Materials License No. 37-17860-02 was transferred to PADEP, 
BRP. In 2003, the Co-60 in the irradiator was removed from the pool and 
shipped to a licensed disposal site, and in 2004 Permagrain's NRC 
Byproduct Materials License No. 37-17860-01 was terminated.
    No information is available regarding decontamination of the site 
by previous tenants, Martin-Marietta Corporation, and Atlantic-
Richfield Corporation. In the early 1990s, the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania contracted with Canberra, Inc. to perform a site 
characterization. The characterization determined that the radioactive 
contaminants of concern were Co-60 and Sr-90. In 1998, a DP for the 
site was submitted to the NRC, and decommissioning of the site began. A 
revision to the DP was submitted to the NRC in 2003, and 
decommissioning of the site continued under this revision to the DP. In 
February 2005 a Final Status Survey Report (FSSR) was submitted to the 
NRC for review. The FSSR indicated that the site met the release 
criteria specified in the NRC approved DP.
    A subsequent confirmatory survey by the NRC in May 2005 indicated 
that the site did not meet the release criteria specified in the NRC 
approved DP. An investigation by the licensee determined that the site 
failed to meet the release criteria, because Sr-90 had leached to the 
surface of the concrete resulting in contamination levels in excess of 
the release limits. This finding indicated that concrete thought to 
contain only surface contamination was volumetrically contaminated. 
Therefore, the previous criteria for release of the site for 
unrestricted use, which were based on surface contamination only, were 
no longer applicable.
    In a letter dated March 9, 2006, the Licensee submitted revision 
four of the DP which included dose based criteria for unrestricted 
release of the site in accordance with 10 CFR 20, Subpart E, taking 
into account the volumetrically contaminated concrete. The Licensee's 
March 9, 2006 license amendment request was noticed in the Federal 
Register on May 22, 2006 (71 FR 29357). This Federal Register notice 
also provided an opportunity for a hearing on this licensing action. No 
hearing requests were received. 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 March 9, 2006 
license amendment request to incorporate revision four of the DP into 
the license resulting in final decommissioning of the Facility and 
subsequent release of the Facility and surrounding site for 
unrestricted use. In addition to granting the licensee's license 
amendment request, the proposed action would also grant, pursuant to 10 
CFR 30.11(a), an exemption to the Onyx Greentree Landfill, LLC (located 
in Kersey, Pennsylvania) from 10 CFR Part 30 licensing requirements. 
This disposal facility will receive the low-contaminated above-grade 
demolition material generated during the Facility and site remediation 
activities. 10 CFR 30.11(a) provides that the Commission may, upon 
application by an interested person, ``or upon its own initiative, 
grant such exemptions'' from the 10 CFR Part 30 requirements ``as it 
determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property 
or the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public 
interest.'' Under the exemption granted to the Onyx Greentree Landfill, 
any low-contaminated demolition material from the Facility and site 
would, upon its receipt at the Onyx Greentree Landfill, no longer be 
subject to NRC regulation and would no longer be NRC licensed material.

 Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to approve revision four of the DP so that 
the Licensee may complete Facility decommissioning activities. 
Completion of decommissioning activities will reduce residual 
radioactivity at the Quehanna site and Facility. NRC regulations 
require licensees to begin timely decommissioning of their sites, or 
any separate buildings that contain residual radioactivity, upon 
cessation of licensed operational activities, in accordance with 10 CFR 
30.36(d). Additionally, due to the fact that the site is located in the 
Quehanna Wild Area of the Moshannon State Forest, the Licensee plans to 
eventually restore and return the land to beneficial unrestricted use. 
The proposed licensing action will support such an ultimate goal. NRC 
is fulfilling its responsibilities under the

[[Page 59841]]

Atomic Energy Act and the National Environmental Policy Act to make a 
decision on a proposed license amendment for decommissioning that 
ensures protection of the public health and safety and the environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The affected environment was described in the Introduction section 
of this EA. The NRC staff has reviewed the license amendment request 
for the PADEP, BRP Quehanna site in Karthaus, Pennsylvania and examined 
the impacts of this license amendment request. Potential impacts 
include water resource impact (e.g., water may be used for dust 
control) , air quality impacts from dust emissions, temporary local 
traffic impacts resulting from transporting demolition debris to a 
landfill, beneficial local economic effects due to the creation of jobs 
to perform the decommissioning, human health impacts, noise impacts 
from equipment operation, scenic quality impacts, and waste management 
impacts. The resultant dose arising from granting the related exemption 
would be less than one mrem per year.
    Based on its review, the staff has determined that no surface water 
or ground water impacts are expected from the dismantlement, 
deconstruction, and decontamination activities. Additionally, the staff 
has determined that significant air quality, noise, land use, and off-
site radiation exposure impacts are also not expected. No significant 
air quality impacts are anticipated because of the contamination 
controls that will be implemented by PADEP, BRP during dismantlement 
and deconstruction. In addition, the environmental impacts associated 
with dismantlement and deconstruction and the decontamination 
activities are bounded by impacts evaluated by NUREG-0586, ``Final 
Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Decommissioning of 
Nuclear Facilities,'' (GEIS). Generic impacts for this type of 
dismantlement and deconstruction and decontamination process were 
previously evaluated and described in the GEIS, which concludes that 
the environmental consequences are small. The risk to human health from 
the transportation of all radioactive material in the U.S. was 
evaluated in NUREG-0170, ``Final Environmental Statement on the 
Transportation of Radioactive Materials by Air and Other Modes.'' The 
principal radiological environmental impact during normal 
transportation is direct radiation exposure to nearby persons from 
radioactive material in the package. The average annual individual dose 
from all radioactive material transportation in the U.S. was calculated 
to be approximately 0.5 mrem, well below the 10 CFR 20.1301 limit of 
100 mrem for a member of the public. Additionally, PADEP, BRP estimates 
that approximately 2,800 cubic yards of low-contaminated demolition 
material waste will leave the site over the course of the 
decommissioning project for disposal at Onyx Greentree Landfill (a non-
NRC licensed landfill). The trucks will travel on local roads then on 
Commonwealth highways to their intended destinations. This proposed 
action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences 
of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of any effluents 
that may be released off site, and there is no significant increase in 
occupational or public radiation exposure. Thus, waste management and 
transportation impacts from the building dismantlement and 
deconstruction will not be significant.
    Occupational health was also considered in the ``Final 
Environmental Impact Statement on the Transportation of Radioactive 
Material by Air and Other Modes.'' The Department of Transportation 
(DOT) regulations in 49 CFR 177.842(g) require that the radiation dose 
may not exceed 0.02 mSv (2 mrem) per hour in any position normally 
occupied by an individual in a motor vehicle. Shipment of these 
materials would not affect the assessment of environmental impacts or 
the conclusions in the ``Final Environmental Impact Statement on the 
Transportation of Radioactive Material by Air and Other Modes.''
    The Staff also finds that the proposed license amendment will meet 
the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 
CFR 20.1402. The Licensee demonstrated this through the development of 
derived concentration guideline limits (DCGLs) for its Facility. The 
Licensee conducted site specific dose modeling using parameters 
specific to the Facility that adequately bounded the potential dose. 
This included dose modeling for three scenarios: building surfaces, 
remaining concrete, and soil. The building surface scenario was based 
on the disposal of the above-grade structure demolition debris in an 
industrial landfill, and the concrete and soil dose modeling were based 
on a hunting camp scenario.
    PADEP, BRP will maintain an appropriate level of radiation 
protection staff, procedures, and capabilities, and, through its 
Radiation Safety Officer, will implement an acceptable program to keep 
exposure to radioactive materials as low as reasonably achievable 
(ALARA). Work activities are not anticipated to result in radiation 
exposures to the public in excess of 10 percent of the 10 CFR 20.1301 
limits.
    The NRC also evaluated whether cumulative environmental impacts 
could result from an incremental impact of the proposed action when 
added to other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions 
in the area. The proposed NRC approval of the license amendment 
request, when combined with known effects on resource areas at the 
site, including further site remediation, are not anticipated to result 
in any cumulative impacts at the site.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action of decommissioning the 
Facility is no action. The no action alternative is not acceptable 
because it conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d) which requires that 
decommissioning of byproduct material facilities be completed and 
approved by the NRC after licensed activities cease. The no action 
alternative would keep radioactive material on site without disposal. 
Maintaining the buildings on site would provide negligible, if any, 
environmental benefit, but would greatly reduce options for future use 
of the site, including restoring the site to its wild state.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent 
with NRC guidance and regulations. 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 prepared this EA with input from the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service in its letter dated August 22, 2006. The Fish and 
Wildlife Service indicated, in its letter, that on the basis of current 
information, no current Federally identified or proposed threatened or 
endangered species under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction 
are known to occur in the site project area. Additionally, NRC had 
contacted the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for 
Historical Preservation, in June 2003 regarding preparation of an EA 
for a previous licensing action for this Facility. At that time the 
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historical 
Preservation stated

[[Page 59842]]

that ``there are no National Register eligible or listed historical or 
archaeological properties in the area of the proposed project and your 
responsibility for consultation with the State Historic Preservation 
Office for this project, under Section 106, is complete.'' Therefore, 
no further consultation is required under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act for this EA.
    NRC provided a draft of this EA to PADEP, BRP for review. On July 
27, 2006, PADEP, BRP responded by e-mail. PADEP, BRP agreed with the 
conclusions of the EA, and otherwise had no substantive comments.

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 FONSI 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. Amendment request with revision four of the DP (ML060790152);
    2. The Licensee's March 9, 2006, license amendment request was 
noticed in the Federal Register on May 22, 2006 (71 FR 29357). This 
Federal Register notice also provided an opportunity for a hearing on 
this licensing action;
    3. NUREG-0170, ``Final Environmental Impact Statement on the 
Transportation of Radioactive Material by Air and Other Modes;''
    4. NUREG-0586, ``Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on 
the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities;''
    5. NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing 
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs;''
    6. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    7. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    8. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    9. 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 29th day of 
September 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James Kottan,
Acting Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E6-16738 Filed 10-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P