[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64090-64091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22183]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-143]
Eastman Kodak Company; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact Related to Proposed License Amendment Authorizing
Exemption to 10 CFR 70.24
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary T. Adams, Fuel Manufacturing
Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Mail Stop E-2C40M, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 492-3113
and e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is considering a
request to amend Materials License SNM-1513, issued to Eastman Kodak
Company (Kodak), to authorize an exemption to the criticality accident
alarm system requirements of 10 CFR 70.24. The NRC has prepared an
Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this action. Based upon the
EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate and, therefore, an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) will not be prepared.
II. Environmental Assessment
Introduction: Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) in Rochester, New York,
has been licensed since 1966 to possess and use special nuclear
material (SNM) in a research and development (R&D) facility. This
license was issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 70, Domestic Licensing of
Special Nuclear Material. In July 2006, Kodak notified NRC that it had
ceased principal activities and intended to decommission the facility
and terminate the SNM license. Before decommissioning activities can
begin, Kodak intends to remove the SNM by packaging the material and
transporting it to a Department of Energy facility.
Kodak possessed and used the SNM in the R&D facility with an
exemption from nuclear criticality accident alarm system requirements
of 10 CFR 70.24; NRC granted this exemption because the configuration
of the SNM was fixed and a criticality accident was not credible. Kodak
will change the SNM configuration during packaging, and will provide
portable criticality accident alarms for the packaging activity. After
packaging the SNM, Kodak will move the packages from the R&D facility
through a long corridor to a loading dock where the packages will be
loaded onto a truck for transport off the Kodak site. Kodak requested
an exemption from the alarm system requirements for the corridor and
loading dock, on the basis that the configuration of the SNM in the
transportation packages was such that an accidental criticality is not
credible. NRC staff reviewed the exemption request and determined that
[[Page 64091]]
it provided an adequate demonstration that the criteria in 10 CFR
70.17(a) for granting a specific exemption from 70.24 have been met.
Description of the Proposed Action: The proposed action is NRC's
granting an exemption from 10 CFR 70.24 for certain locations of the
Kodak facility for a very short time during movement of SNM. In a
letter dated October 5, 2007, Kodak requested an exemption to the
criticality accident alarm system requirements of 10 CFR 70.24 for
portions of the facility where SNM will be staged prior to loading onto
a truck for transportation to an offsite location. Kodak possesses a
critical mass of SNM that will be packaged into critically-safe
transportation containers inside the facility and then moved along a
corridor to a loading dock. Kodak will provide accident alarm system
coverage for the area of the facility where the SNM will be packaged,
but has requested an exemption for the corridor and loading dock.
Need for the Proposed Action: This exemption is necessary to allow
Kodak to move the SNM from the location where it has been used and
packaged to the loading dock without the necessity to provide
criticality accident alarm system coverage. Kodak provided a
criticality safety analysis that demonstrated that a criticality
accident is not credible after the SNM has been packaged for transport.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action: An alternative to granting the
exemption would be to require Kodak to provide accident alarm coverage
for the corridor and loading dock. The licensee has demonstrated that
the available fuel is much less than the critical mass for a 6M2R
shipping container. Thus, a criticality event is not credible so long
as the 6M2R containers are closed, and criticality accident alarm
system coverage is not necessary.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action and Alternatives:
There will be no environmental impact to granting this exemption. The
alarm system required by 10 CFR 70.24 does not prevent accidental
criticality; the system would reduce the dose to workers and members of
the public from a criticality accident by warning them of the
criticality event so that they can move away from the area. Kodak has
demonstrated adequately that a criticality accident in the corridor or
on the loading dock is sufficiently unlikely and that an alarm system
is not needed. There will be no environmental impact from the
alternative of requiring alarm coverage for the corridor and loading
dock.
No environmental resources will be affected.
Conclusion: NRC has concluded that granting the requested exemption
will have no significant impact on the environment, is in conformance
with NRC regulations in 10 CFR part 70, is authorized by law, and will
not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and is
in the public interest.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to
the amendment of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1513. On the
basis of the assessment, the Commission has concluded that
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action would not be
significant and do not warrant the preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement. Accordingly, the Commission is making a Finding of No
Significant Impact.
The Environmental Assessment and the documents related to this
proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the
NRC Public Document Room or through the Publicly Available Records
(PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible through the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Agencies and Persons Consulted: New York State Department of
Health.
IV. Further Information
1. Eastman Kodak Company Amendment to SNM-1513, February 9, 2007,
ML072200332.
2. Eastman Kodak Company Response to NRC Review Comments from
License Amendment Application for Decommissioning of Kodak Californium
Flux Multiplier, SNM-1513, Docket 7001703, June 18, 2007, ML071970253.
3. Eastman Kodak Company Request for exemption from 10 CFR 70.24
for License Amendment Application for Decommissioning of Kodak
Californium Flux Multiplier, SNM-1513, Docket 7001703, October 5, 2007,
ML072880667.
4. Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated
with NMSS Programs, NUREG-1748, August 2003, ML032540811.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 31st day of October, 2007.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter Habighorst,
Chief, Fuel Manufacturing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E7-22183 Filed 11-13-07; 8:45 am]
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