[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 187 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54945-54947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19078]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-17052]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 37-11185-04, for Unrestricted Release of a Franklin & 
Marshall College Facility in Lancaster, PA

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: Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
1, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone 610-
337-5366; fax number 610-337-5393; 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-
11185-04. This license is held by Franklin & Marshall College (the 
Licensee), for its Main Campus Facilities located off Harrisburg Pike 
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Issuance of the amendment would authorize 
release of the Fackenthal Laboratories Building (the Facility) for 
unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 
June 28, 2007, and responded with additional information by letters 
dated August 7 and 24, 2007. The NRC

[[Page 54946]]

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 June 28, 2007, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 37-11185-04 was issued on October 22, 
1979, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically 
since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed 
byproduct material at the Facility for purposes of conducting research 
and development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods. This 
license, if amended as requested, will continue to authorize the 
licensee to use unsealed byproduct material at other facilities located 
on its Main Campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
    The Facility is located on the Licensee's 182 acre campus and 
consists of a 41,215 square foot building containing office, classroom, 
and laboratory space. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials 
was confined to laboratories F-214, F-304, and F-306. The area of use 
totaled 2,522 square feet. The Facility is located in a mixed 
residential and commercial area.
    On January 30, 2003, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at 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 at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its 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 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: Hydrogen-3 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 final status surveys on June 28, August 7, 
and August 24, 2007. 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 
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 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 including the 
impact of residual radioactivity at previously-released site locations 
of use. 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 Environmental Assessment to the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, 
Bureau of Radiation Protection for review on September 4, 2007. On 
September 9, 2007, the Bureau of Radiation Protection 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

[[Page 54947]]

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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    2. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    3. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    4. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities;''
    5. Franklin & Marshall College, Amendment Request Letter dated June 
28, 2007 [ML071860199];
    6. Franklin & Marshall College, Deficiency Response Letter dated 
August 7, 2007 [ML072210540];
    7. Franklin & Marshall College, Deficiency Response Letter dated 
August 24, 2007 [ML072410250].
    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 Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia this 20th 
day of September 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E7-19078 Filed 9-26-07; 8:45 am]
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