[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 31 (Thursday, February 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8717-8719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2774]


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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 Seattle, WA

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 proposing to amend 
a materials permit held under Byproduct Materials License No. 03-23853-
01VA. The permit is held by the Department of Veterans Affairs (the 
Licensee), for its Puget Sound VA Health Care System facilities, 
located at 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle, Washington (the 
Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Waste 
Area 3 (described below) for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested 
this action in a letter dated July 5, 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 July 5, 2007, 
materials permit amendment request, resulting in release of Waste Area 
3 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 several Licensee facilities around the 
country, as authorized on a site-specific basis by permits issued by 
the Licensee's National Radiation Safety Committee. Under the license, 
the permits authorize the use of by-product materials for various 
medical and veterinary purposes, and for use in portable gauges.
    The Facility is situated on a 44 acre site comprised of 20 
buildings and five parking areas, and is located in a metropolitan area 
of Seattle, Washington which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods 
and commercial enterprises. Within the Facility, Waste Area 3 was 
constructed in 1988 as a temporary storage site for decay-in-storage 
radioactive waste, and was a single floor, sheet-metal enclosed 
structure bolted onto an 8 x 14 x 8 foot chain-link fence. The floor 
consisted of \3/4\ inch thick asphalt. The structure had no electrical, 
ventilation, heating system, drainage system, water, sewer, or septic. 
The Licensee ceased using licensed materials in Waste Area 3 on 
November 15, 2006, and initiated surveys and decontamination of the 
building. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and 
the conditions within Waste Area 3, 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 final 
status surveys of Waste Area 3 on November 17, 2006. Additional surveys 
were conducted on April 10, 2007, of the waste barrels that had been 
removed from Waste Storage Area 3 in November 2006. The results of 
these surveys along with other supporting information were provided to 
the NRC to demonstrate that the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 
for unrestricted release have been met.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities in Waste 
Area 3, and seeks the unrestricted use of Waste Area 3.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Waste 
Area 3 shows that such activities involved use

[[Page 8718]]

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 Waste Area 3 affected by these 
radionuclides.
    The Licensee completed final status surveys on Waste Area 3 on 
November 17, 2006. The surveys covered all areas of Waste Area 3. The 
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment 
request dated July 5, 2007. The Licensee elected to demonstrate 
compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as 
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 using release criteria for building 
surfaces based on NUREG-1556, Volume 7, ``Program-Specific Guidance 
about Academic, Research and Development, and Other Licenses of Limited 
Scope Including Gas Chromatographs and X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzers--
Final Report,'' Appendix Q, ``Radiation Safety Survey Topics.'' These 
release criteria are the same as the radionuclide-specific dose-based 
release criteria, described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS 
Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. These values provide acceptable 
levels of surface contamination to demonstrate compliance with 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 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 Waste Area 3. The NRC staff reviewed 
available docket file records and the final status survey report to 
identify any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the 
environment surrounding Waste Area 3. 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 Waste Area 3 for 
unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR Part 20. Based on its 
review, the staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity 
from Waste Area 3 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 Waste Area 3 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 State 
of Washington Department of Health, Office of Radiation Protection, for 
review on January 2, 2008. On January 8, 2008, the Office of Radiation 
Protection responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions 
of the EA.
    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 July 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071900464);
    2. Thomas Huston, Department of Veterans Affairs, e-mail to William 
Snell, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, dated December 
12, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073610490); 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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,''
    6. NUREG-1556, Volume 7, ``Program-Specific Guidance About 
Academic, Research and Development, and Other Licenses of Limited Scope 
Including Gas Chromatographs and X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzers--Final 
Report,'' Appendix Q, ``Radiation Safety Survey Topics.''

[[Page 8719]]

    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 4th day of February 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E8-2774 Filed 2-13-08; 8:45 am]
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