[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 134 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38629-38630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13685]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-09415]


Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a 
License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 24-15595-01, for 
Unrestricted Release of a Former Facility for Aptuit, Inc., Kansas 
City, MO

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: Peter J. Lee, Ph.D., CHP, Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9870; fax 
number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
is considering the issuance of an amendment to NRC Byproduct Materials 
License No. 24-15595-01, which is held by Aptuit, Inc. (licensee). The 
amendment would authorize the unrestricted release of the licensee's 
Building L, which is located at 10245 Hickman Mills Drive, Kansas City, 
Missouri (the facility). The licensee ceased all use of licensed 
radioactive materials in the facility. The licensee will continue using 
licensed materials in other facilities under its license. The NRC has 
prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of this action in 
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the 
Environmental Assessment, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate. The amendment to Aptuit, Inc.'s 
license will be issued following the publication of this Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

I. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve Aptuit, Inc.'s request to amend 
its license and release the facility for unrestricted use in accordance 
with 10 CFR part 20, Subpart E. The proposed action is in accordance 
with Aptuit, Inc.'s request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) to amend its NRC Byproduct Material License by letters dated 
January 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070080417), and May 2, 2007 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML071230265). Aptuit, Inc. was first licensed to 
use byproduct materials on May 23, 1973. The licensee is authorized to 
use byproduct materials for research and development as defined in 10 
CFR 30.4. The primary isotopes used in the facility were hydrogen-3 and 
carbon-14. On October 1, 2006, Aptuit, Inc. completed removal of 
licensed radioactive material from the facility.
    The licensee conducted surveys of the facility and provided this 
information to the NRC to demonstrate that the radiological condition 
of the facility is consistent with radiological criteria for 
unrestricted use in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E. No radiological 
remediation activities are required to complete the proposed action.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee is requesting this license amendment because it has 
discontinued licensed activities in the facility. The NRC is fulfilling 
its responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on 
the proposed action for decommissioning that ensures that residual 
radioactivity is reduced to a level that is protective of the public 
health and safety and the environment,

[[Page 38630]]

and allows the facility to be released for unrestricted use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided and surveys 
performed by the licensee to demonstrate that the release of the 
facility is consistent with the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
use specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff 
determined that there were no radiological impacts associated with the 
proposed action because no radiological remediation activities were 
required to complete the proposed action, and that the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted use in Sec.  20.1402 have been met.
    Based on its review, the staff determined that the radiological 
environmental impacts from the proposed action for the Building L 
facility are bounded by the ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in 
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination 
of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). Additionally, no 
non-radiological or cumulative impacts were identified. Therefore, the 
NRC has determined that the proposed action will not have a significant 
effect on the quality of the human environment.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action is to take no action. 
Under the no-action alternative, the licensee's facility would remain 
under an NRC license and would not be released for unrestricted use. 
Denial of the license amendment request would result in no change to 
current conditions at the Building L facility. The no-action 
alternative is not acceptable because it is inconsistent with 10 CFR 
30.36, which requires licensees who have ceased licensed activities in 
a particular building to begin decommissioning activities or submit a 
decommissioning plan, which upon approval, will be used to conduct 
decommissioning activities. This alternative would impose an 
unnecessary regulatory burden in controlling access to the former 
Building L facility, and limit potential benefits from the future use 
of the facility.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff 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

    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not 
affect listed species or critical habitats. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not 
a type of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic 
properties. Therefore, consultation under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act is not required.
    The NRC consulted with Mr. Keith Henke, Planner, Division of 
Community and Public Health, Office of Emergency Coordination, 
Department of Health and Senior Services. Mr. Henke was provided the 
draft EA for comment on June 27, 2007. Mr. Henke responded to the NRC 
by e-mail on July 2, 2007, indicating that the State had no additional 
comments for the Aptiut, Inc. NRC Environmental Assessment for the 
release of the licensee's Building L.

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA in support of the proposed license amendment 
to release the facility for unrestricted use, the NRC has determined 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Thus, the NRC has not prepared an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
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. 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]. The documents 
and ADAMS accession numbers related to this notice are:

1. Pam Barton, Aptuit, Inc., letter to Kevin Null, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, January 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070080417).
2. Pam Barton, Aptuit, Inc., letter to Mike McCann, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, May 2, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071230265).
3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Review Guidance 
for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-1748, 
August 2003.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License 
Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496, August 
1994.
5. NRC, NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' 
Volumes 1-3, September 2003.

    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 3rd day of July 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E7-13685 Filed 7-12-07; 8:45 am]
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