[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 229 (Thursday, November 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67611-67612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23161]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-34325]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for Amendment of a Materials Permit in Accordance 
With Byproduct Materials License No. 03-23853-01va, for Unrestricted 
Release of a Department of Veterans Affairs' Facility in Coatesville, 
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: William Snell, Senior Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9871; fax 
number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
amendment of a materials permit held under Master Byproduct Materials 
License No. 03-23853-01VA. The license is held by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (the Licensee). The permit pertains to its VA Medical 
Center facility located at 1400 Black Horse Hill Road, Coatesville, 
Pennsylvania (the Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize 
release of the Facility's Building 11 for unrestricted use and 
termination of the permit. The Licensee requested this action in a 
letter dated June 28, 2007. 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 June 28, 2007, 
materials permit amendment request, resulting in release of Building 11 
for unrestricted use. License No. 03-23853-01VA was issued on March 17, 
2003, pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 30 and 35, and has been amended 
periodically since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to 
use byproduct materials at Licensee facilities, as authorized by 
permits issued by the Licensee's National Radiation Safety Committee 
for: Medical use defined in 10 CFR part 35; research and development as 
defined in 10 CFR part 30; portable gauge use; and veterinary use.
    Building 11 is a three-story brick building containing 65 rooms, is 
approximately 40 by 200 feet in size, and was used for research. The 
site is located in a semi-rural area of mixed residential and 
commercial land use. Between 1964 and 1996, the VA Medical Center in 
Coatesville possessed numerous Atomic Energy Commission and NRC 
licenses. Use of licensed materials at the Medical Center ceased in 
1995, and the last of the licenses was terminated in 1996 and the site 
was released for unrestricted use. Following that action, 28 
radioactive-labeled vials were found in Building 11. Accordingly, in 
February 2006, the Licensee issued a new permit authorizing the 
Facility to store these vials pending their disposal.
    Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the 
conditions of Building 11, the Licensee determined that only routine 
decontamination activities in accordance with NRC guidance were 
required to search for any other radioactive materials and conduct 
radiological surveys of Building 11. 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 Building 11 on 
February 2, April 6, September 28, and October 4, 2006, and on March 9, 
2007, and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the 
proposed action will meet 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 in Building 
11, and seeks the unrestricted use of Building 11.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Building 
11 shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3 (H-3) 
and carbon-14 (C-14). Prior to performing the final status survey, the 
Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the 
areas of Building 11 affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee completed final status surveys on Building 11 on March 
9, 2007. The surveys covered all areas of Building 11. The final status 
survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated 
June 28, 2007. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the 
10 CFR 20.1402 criteria for unrestricted release by using release 
criteria for building surfaces based on NRC Regulatory Guide 1.86, 
``Termination of Operating Licenses for Reactors.'' The criterion used 
is 5 x 10\3\ disintegrations per minute per 100 square centimeters 
(dpm/100 cm\2\) for H-3 and C-14. These values are much more 
restrictive than the radionuclide-specific dose-based release criteria 
described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning 
Guidance,'' Volume 2, which are 1.2 x 10\8\ dpm/100 cm\2\ for H-3 and 
3.7 x 10\6\ dpm/100 cm\2\ for C-14. These values 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 values 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

[[Page 67612]]

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 in Building 11. 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 Building 11. 
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 Building 11 for 
unrestricted use and the termination of the Licensee's permit is in 
compliance with 10 CFR part 20. Based on its review, the staff 
considered the impact of the residual radioactivity from Building 11 
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 Building 11 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 
Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation Protection for review on October 5, 
2007. On October 10, 2007, the Bureau of Radiation Protection, 
responded by e-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 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. E. Lynn McGuire, Department of Veterans Affairs, letter to 
Cassandra Frazier, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, 
dated June 28, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071860254);
    2. Regulatory Guide 1.86, ``Termination of Operating Licenses for 
Reactors;''
    3. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    4. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    5. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities;''
    6. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.''
    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 16th day of November 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
 [FR Doc. E7-23161 Filed 11-28-07; 8:45 am]
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