[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 32332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11333]



[[Page 32332]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos . 50-097 and 50-157]


Notice of License Terminations for Cornell University Zero Power 
Reactor (ZPR) and Cornell University Triga Reactor

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the 
termination of Facility Operating License No. R-89 for the Zero Power 
Reactor (ZPR) and Facility Operating License No. R-80 for the TRIGA 
Reactor.
    The NRC has terminated the license of the decommissioned ZPR and 
TRIGA reactor, at the Ward Center for Nuclear Studies (Ward Center) on 
the Cornell University campus in Cornell, New York, and has released 
the site for unrestricted use. The licensee requested termination of 
the license in a letter to NRC dated February 28, 2007. The Ward Center 
TRIGA Reactor and ZPR provided training for Nuclear Engineering 
students and various services for researchers in all departments of the 
College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences (departments 
of Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and the College of Veterinary Medicine. 
The University permanently ceased operation of the ZPR on September 6, 
1996. Cornell University stopped routine operation of the Ward Center 
TRIGA Reactor on June 30, 2002.
    Cornell submitted the Decommissioning Plan for the Ward Center on 
August 22, 2003, as supplemented on May 13, September 27, October 26 
and December 13, 2005, and February 13, 2006. The NRC approved the 
Cornell decommissioning plan by Amendment No. 8, dated June 6, 2006, 
and by Amendment No. 14, dated June 15, 2006, for the Cornell TRIGA 
reactor and Cornell ZPR facility respectively.
    Cornell submitted the Final Status Survey (FSS) Plan for the Ward 
Center on October 10, 2006. The NRC approved the FSS Plan by letter 
dated October 26, 2006, noting that the survey plan was consistent with 
the guidance in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance'' 
and the MARSSIM [Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation 
Manual] methodology.
    Cornell submitted the FSS report for the former Ward Center on 
January 19, 2007. The NRC approved the FSS report by letter dated 
February 8, 2007, noting that the survey data was in accordance with 
the Decommissioning Plan and the FSS Plan. The report documented that 
compliance with the criteria in the NRC-approved decommissioning plan 
for both reactors had been demonstrated.
    On April 27, 2007, NRC Region I issued inspection reports 05000097/
2006001 and 05000157/2006001 for the research reactors at the Ward 
Center. The inspector interviewed licensee staff, observed work in 
progress, and reviewed selected documents related to the licensee's FSS 
measurements. The inspector concluded that measurements, sampling, and 
analyses performed were consistent with criteria specified in the FSS 
Plan. The inspector also made confirmatory measurements throughout the 
facility and obtained six split samples (three exterior soil samples 
and three slag/gravel samples from beneath the reactor pool) which were 
submitted to the NRC's analytical contractor. The confirmatory 
measurements and confirmatory sample results did not identify 
radioactive material in excess of the criteria specified in the FSS 
Plan.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6), the NRC staff has concluded that 
both reactors have been decommissioned in accordance with the approved 
decommissioning plans and that the terminal radiation surveys and 
associated documentation demonstrate that the facilities and site may 
be released in accordance with the criteria in the NRC-approved 
decommissioning plans. Further, on the basis of the decommissioning 
activities carried out by Cornell, the NRC's review of the licensee's 
final status survey report, the results of NRC inspections conducted at 
the Ward Center, and the results of NRC confirmatory surveys, the NRC 
has concluded that the decommissioning process is complete and the 
facilities and sites may be released for unrestricted use. Therefore 
Facility Operating License Nos. R-89 and R-80 are terminated.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated February 28, 2007. The above referenced 
documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (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 call the NRC PDR reference 
staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or e-mail [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of June 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-11333 Filed 6-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P