[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69716-69718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23902]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-19921]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment To Byproduct Materials 
License No. 52-13508-03 for Termination of the License and Unrestricted 
Release of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Facility 
in Ponce, Puerto Rico

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 
I, 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. 52-
13508-03. This license is held by Pontifical Catholic University of 
Puerto Rico (the Licensee), for its Ferre Science Building located near 
Avenue Las Americas in Ponce, Puerto Rico (the Facility). Issuance of 
the amendment would authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted 
use and termination of the NRC license. The Licensee requested this 
action in a letter dated June 16, 2006, and provided additional 
information in letters dated November 16, 2006, and August 22, 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 16, 2006, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use and the termination of its NRC materials license. 
License No. 52-13508-03 was issued on July 26, 1983, pursuant to 10 CFR 
Part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. This 
license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed byproduct material for 
purposes of conducting research and development activities on 
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility is a building containing 13,274 square feet of 
classroom, office, and laboratory space. Within the Facility, use of 
licensed materials was confined to rooms Fe-119 and Fe-120. The area of 
use totaled 468 square feet. The Facility is located in a mixed 
residential/commercial area.
    In 1989, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at the Facility 
and initiated a survey and decontamination actions there. The request 
to release the facility

[[Page 69717]]

and terminate the license was delayed due to the difficulty in finding 
a waste vendor. 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 and for license termination.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility and the 
termination of its NRC materials license. Termination of its license 
would end the Licensee's obligation to pay annual license fees to the 
NRC.

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 March 26 and during 
May 2007. This survey covered rooms Fe-119 and Fe-120. 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 and the termination of the NRC materials license is in 
compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. 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 and for license 
termination. 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 Puerto Rico for review on October 9, 2007. On November 
26, 2007, the Division de Salud Radiologica responded by electronic 
mail. The Commonwealth 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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    2. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''

[[Page 69718]]

    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. Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Termination 
Request dated June 16, 2006 [ML072630543].
    6. Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Additional 
Information letter dated August 22, 2007 [ML072420457].
    7. Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Additional 
Information letter dated November 16, 2006 [ML070590570].
    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, PA, this 
3rd day of December 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E7-23902 Filed 12-7-07; 8:45 am]
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