[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 55 (Thursday, March 20, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14946-14949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5647]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 51

[Docket No. PRM-51-1]


New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution; Denial of Petition 
for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition 
for rulemaking (PRM-51-1) submitted by the New England Coalition on 
Nuclear Pollution (now New England Coalition (NEC)). The petitioner 
requested that the NRC revise the value for radon-222 in Table S-3, 
``Table of Uranium Fuel Cycle Environmental Data,'' of 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions,'' because it did not disclose the long-
term and long-range health effects of radon gas released from uranium 
mill tailings piles.

ADDRESSES: For a copy of the petition, write to Michael T. Lesar, 
Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
7163; e-mail: [email protected].
    Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed 
electronically on public computers in the NRC's public document Room 
(PDR), O-1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a 
fee.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are also available electronically at the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. 
From this site, the public

[[Page 14947]]

can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide document Access and Management 
System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS contact the NRC's PDR 
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stewart Schneider, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-4123; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 25, 1975, the NRC docketed a petition for rulemaking 
(PRM-51-1) dated November 19, 1975, filed by Roisman, Kessler, and 
Cashdan, on behalf of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, 
now New England Coalition (NEC). The petitioner requested the 
Commission to issue a number of amendments to 10 CFR part 51, Table S-
3, ``Table of Uranium Fuel Cycle Environmental Data,'' and to postpone 
resolution of pending applications for construction or operation of 
nuclear power plants and to reassess the conclusions for previous 
authorizations for construction or operation of nuclear power plants. 
Table S-3 lists environmental data to be used by applicants and the NRC 
staff as the basis for evaluating the environmental effects of the 
portions of the fuel cycle that occur before new fuel is delivered to 
the plant and after spent fuel is removed from the plant site for 
light-water reactors (LWRs).
    The petitioner stated that:
    1. Table S-3 ``seriously understates'' the impact on human safety 
and health by disregarding the long-term effects of certain long-lived 
radionuclides and that the health effects of uranium mining and milling 
listed in the table fail to disclose the long-term and long-range 
health effects of radon-222 released from tailings piles;
    2. The health effects of krypton-85 and tritium releases from fuel 
reprocessing plants are underestimated in Table S-3;
    3. Releases of carbon-14 from the fuel cycle should be included in 
Table S-3;
    4. Table S-3, by the exclusive use of the term ``man-rems,'' does 
not provide a meaningful representation of these health effects, and 
that human deaths from man-rem exposures provide a more easily 
comprehended consequence of the fuel cycle activities; and
    5. The magnitude of the potential death toll from mill tailings 
alone is so great as to alter the previous judgment on these matters 
and to require, as a minimum, a reassessment of previous conclusions to 
authorize construction and operation of nuclear reactors and a 
postponement of resolution of all pending applications for construction 
or operation authority until final resolution of this issue by the 
Commission.
    The NRC published a notice of receipt of petition on January 16, 
1976 (41 FR 2448). The notice of receipt invited interested persons to 
submit written comments on the petition. Comments were received from 10 
organizations. The Commission resolved the public comments as discussed 
in a Federal Register notice published on April 14, 1978 (43 FR 15613).

Response to the Petition

    In its April 14, 1978 notice, the Commission resolved the 
petitioner's first issue (concerning the value for radon-222 in Table 
S-3), in part, when it amended Table S-3 by deleting the value for 
radon-222.\1\ The Commission, however, deferred instituting any 
rulemaking on the radon issue, including the insertion of a revised 
value for radon-222, pending generic consideration of the issue. The 
generic consideration of the radon-222 value in Table S-3 remained the 
one outstanding item of this petition and is now resolved by this 
denial, as explained under the ``Reasons for Denial'' section below.
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    \1\ The original radon-222 value in Table S-3 was 75 curies 
followed by the statement, ``Principally from mills--maximum annual 
dose rate < 4 percent of average natural background within 5 mi of 
mill. Results in 0.06 man-rem per annual fuel requirement.''
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    As reflected in the April 14, 1978 notice, the Commission resolved 
the second and third issues raised by the petition when the Commission 
published a revised Table S-3 on March 14, 1977 (42 FR 13803). In this 
revision, the Commission added carbon-14 to the table and revised the 
release values for krypton-85 and tritium upwards. Differences in the 
petitioner's release estimates and those of the NRC staff were due to 
differences in the models used. The basis for the NRC models is 
described in detail in NUREG-0116, ``Environmental Survey of the 
Reprocessing and Waste Management Portions of the LWR Fuel Cycle,'' 
October 1976, and NUREG-0216, ``Public Comments and Task Force 
Responses Regarding the Environmental Survey of the Reprocessing and 
Waste Management Portions of the LWR Fuel Cycle,'' March 1977.
    As further reflected in the April 14, 1978 notice, the Commission 
resolved the petitioner's fourth issue, namely, that Table S-3 does not 
provide a meaningful representation of health effects, by amending 
Footnote 1 to Table S-3 to indicate that health effects are not covered 
in the table and may be litigated in individual cases.
    Finally, regarding the petitioner's fifth issue, the Commission in 
the April 14, 1978 notice, denied the petitioner's request to halt the 
licensing of reactors and to reopen all proceedings where construction 
or operation had already been authorized. The Commission concluded that 
the actions it had taken (as described previously) effectively 
addressed the concerns raised by the petitioner.

Reasons for Denial

    The NRC is denying the remaining outstanding issue from the 
petition for rulemaking (PRM-51-1) submitted by the New England 
Coalition on Nuclear Pollution (now New England Coalition or NEC), 
namely, the revision of the value for radon-222 in Table S-3.
    The update to Table S-3 was delayed because, by the mid-1980s, 
there were no new applications for construction of nuclear power 
plants, nor, at that time, were any future ones predicted. 
Consequently, there was no regulatory need to update Table S-3 and 
competing priorities for rulemaking resources eventually resulted in 
the cessation of activities on the table. Since the mid-1980s, the NRC 
has revisited the issue of revising the value for radon-222 in Table S-
3 on more than one occasion, but in each case higher priority 
rulemakings led to a halt in these efforts.
    The NRC is denying the remaining outstanding issue in PRM-51-1, 
revising the value for radon-222 in Table S-3 of 10 CFR part 51, 
because the NRC has made a generic determination that the radiological 
impacts of the uranium fuel cycle, including those from radon-222 
emissions, on individuals off-site will remain at or below the 
Commission's regulatory limits, and as such, are of small significance. 
The NRC described this generic determination and conclusion in chapter 
6 of the Generic Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear 
Plants, NUREG-1437, May 1996, (NUREG-1437),\2\ which was in turn, based 
upon the findings made in NRC and Environmental Protection

[[Page 14948]]

Agency (EPA) rulemakings as described below.
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    \2\ NUREG-1437, Ch. 6., Sec.  6.2.2.1 (pp. 6-8 to 6-18), Sec.  
6.2.4 (pp. 6-27 to 6-28), and Sec.  6.6 (pp. 6-87 to 6-88).
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EPA and NRC Regulatory Programs

    Section 84a(2) of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) requires NRC to 
conform its regulations to EPA's regulations promulgated under the 
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, 42 U.S.C. 2022, 7901-7942 
(UMTRCA) for the protection of the public health, safety and the 
environment from radiological and non-radiological hazards associated 
with the processing and with the possession, transfer, and disposal of 
byproduct material as defined under section 11(e)(2) of the AEA, e.g., 
uranium mill tailings. EPA's regulations at Subpart D of 40 CFR part 
192 set forth a design standard requiring that the tailings or wastes 
from mill operations be covered to provide reasonable assurance that 
radon released to the atmosphere from the tailings or wastes will not 
exceed an average of 20 picocuries per square meter per second (pCi/
m2-s) flux for 1000 years, to the extent reasonably 
achievable, and in any case, for 200 years.\3\ In 1985, the NRC 
conformed its regulations at 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, to EPA's 
regulations at Subpart D of 40 CFR part 192, by adopting the 20 pCi/
m2-s flux standard.\4\ The NRC regulations at 10 CFR part 
40, Appendix A apply to NRC or Agreement State licensed mill tailings 
piles.
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    \3\ 40 CFR 192.32(b); see also 48 FR 45926 (October 7, 1983).
    \4\ 50 FR 41852 (October 16, 1985).
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    An EPA risk assessment conducted as part of the 1989 EPA National 
Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants rulemaking (promulgating 
40 CFR part 61, subparts T and W), consisting of a two-step analysis, 
established that compliance with the 20 pCi/m2-s flux 
standard for radon emissions from uranium mill tailings piles would 
result in an estimated lifetime risk of cancer to the maximally exposed 
individual of approximately 1E-4, a level determined by EPA to be safe, 
under the first step of the analysis, and provided an ample margin of 
safety under the second step, which considered additional factors such 
as cost and technological feasibility.\5\
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    \5\ 54 FR 51654, 51682-83 (December 15, 1989); see also 59 FR 
36280, 36281, 36287-88 (July 15, 1994).
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    On June 1, 1994, the NRC published a final rule which conformed its 
regulations at 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, to amendments made by EPA in 
1993 to Subpart D of 40 CFR part 192.\6\ The EPA amendments and the 
conforming NRC rule added provisions to fill a regulatory gap related 
to the timing and monitoring of NRC or Agreement State licensed mill 
tailings piles. In a related July 15, 1994 rulemaking, EPA found that 
the NRC regulatory program concerning radon-222 emissions from these 
tailings piles ``protect public health with an ample margin of safety'' 
and that the ``NRC's implementation criteria set forth a rigorous 
program governing the reclamation of the disposal sites so that closure 
will (1) last for 1,000 years to the extent reasonable, but in any 
event at least 200 years, and (2) limit radon release to 20 pCi/
m2-s throughout that period.'' \7\
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    \6\ 59 FR 28220 (June 1, 1994). The EPA final rule amending 40 
CFR part 192, Subpart D was published on November 15, 1993 (58 FR 
60340).
    \7\ 59 FR 36280, 36283 (July 15, 1994).
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NUREG-1437

    In 1996, the NRC incorporated the above EPA regulatory findings and 
NRC standards reflected in 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A into NUREG-1437. 
Specifically, the NRC ``supplements the data on environmental impacts 
of the uranium fuel cycle presented in Table S-3 * * * to extend the 
coverage of impacts to 222Rn,  99Tc, higher fuel 
enrichment, higher fuel burnup, and license renewal of up to 20 
additional years of operation.'' \8\
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    \8\ NUREG-1437, Sec.  6.1 (p. 6-1).
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    NUREG-1437 made the following findings:
     Principal radon releases occur during mining and milling 
operations and as emissions from mill tailings;
     The long-term integrity of the coverings for stabilized 
mill tailings piles must be maintained because the EPA and NRC 
regulatory standards (40 CFR part 192 and 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A) 
require certification of stability and the control of average radon 
flux levels to 20 pCi/m2-s;
     The design and implementation of the radon cover and 
erosion protection features are the primary reliance for maintaining 
radon emissions within the 10 CFR part 40 limits and significant 
failure of the coverings for stabilized mill tailings piles is 
considered highly unlikely;
     A combination of engineering and institutional controls 
will most likely result in compliance with the 20 pCi/m2-s 
flux standard for the foreseeable future;
     For long-term radon releases from stabilized mill tailings 
piles, the NRC staff has assumed that the tailings would emit, per 
reference reactor year (RRY),\9\ 1 Ci/year for
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    \9\ The ``reference reactor'' is a model 1000-MW(e) light-water 
reactor. One reference reactor year (RRY) would be one year of 
operation of such model reactor.
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     100 years (covering fully intact), 10 Ci/year for the next 
400 years (covering partially failed), and 100 Ci/year for periods 
beyond 500 years (covering failed).\10\
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    \10\ NUREG-1437 sets forth the NRC staff's radon-222 data in 
tabular format: Table 6.1 (p. 6-10) shows data for radon releases 
from mining and milling operations and mill tailings piles for each 
RRY; Table 6.2 (p. 6-10) shows data for the estimated 100-year 
environmental dose commitment from mining and milling for each RRY 
(i.e., prior to closure or stabilization of the tailings piles); 
Table 6.3 (p. 6-12) shows population-dose commitments from 
unreclaimed open-pit mines for each RRY; and Table 6.4 (p. 6-12) 
shows population-dose commitments from stabilized tailings piles for 
each RRY.
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     The doses from radon-222 emissions from mines and tailings 
piles consist of tiny doses summed over large populations (the doses 
are very small fractions of regulatory limits, and even smaller 
fractions of natural background exposure to the same population); and
     As each uranium fuel cycle facility licensee must ensure 
that the radioactive dose from such facility is within the limit and be 
as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), the doses to individual 
members of the public are considered by the NRC staff to be small.
    NUREG-1437 served as the basis for the NRC rulemaking which amended 
10 CFR part 51, insofar as license renewal impact considerations are 
concerned. This rulemaking summarized the NUREG-1437 findings regarding 
the impacts of radon-222 emissions and stated that ``impacts on 
individuals from radioactive gaseous and liquid releases including 
radon-222 and technetium 99 are small.'' \11\ The NRC provided ample 
opportunity for public comment on both the draft and final versions of 
NUREG-1437 and the related amendments to part 51, including the issue 
concerning the impacts of radon-222 emissions.\12\
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    \11\ 11 61 FR 28467, 28494 (June 5, 1996), now codified at 10 
CFR part 51, Subpart A, App. B, Table B-1.
    \12\ 56 FR 47016, 47022 (September 17, 1991) (proposed rule); 61 
FR 28467, 28477-78, 28494 (June 5, 1996) (final rule). The June 5, 
1996 final rule provided for an additional 30 day comment period, 
requesting that commenters give ``specific attention'' to a number 
of issues, including ``the cumulative radiological effects from the 
uranium fuel cycle.'' 61 FR 28467. In a December 18, 1996 final 
rule, the NRC responded to the one comment received on the 
radiological impacts of the uranium fuel cycle, from EPA, which 
requested clarification on the collective effects, over time, on 
human populations. 61 FR 66537, 66539-40 (December 18, 1996). The 
December 18, 1996 final rule made minor clarifying and conforming 
changes to 10 CFR part 51.
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    Although NUREG-1437 concerned license renewals, the NRC notes that 
the NUREG-1437 radon-222 impact determination is not unique to the fuel 
cycle for renewed licenses and can be applied to all NRC actions. In 
this

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regard, the NRC has received, and expects to continue to receive, 
applications for licenses to build and operate new nuclear power 
plants. For these applications, the NRC assesses the validity of the 
value for radon-222 in the environmental report submitted by the 
applicant for a construction permit, early site permit, or combined 
license for a nuclear power reactor to determine any impacts to the 
environment. The NRC staff scales data to the model reactor described 
in NUREG-1437 to arrive at figure for the expected radon-222 emissions 
resulting from the operation of the proposed plant. The health, safety 
and environmental impacts of the expected radon-222 emissions are 
evaluated on an application-specific basis, using the NUREG-1437 
generic analysis and assessment.\13\
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    \13\ See, e.g., NRC final environmental impact statements for 
early site permits to construct new nuclear reactor facilities at 
Dominion's North Anna Power Station, in Louisa County, Virginia 
(NUREG-1811, Sec.  6.1.1.5); Exelon's Clinton Power Station, near 
Clinton, Illinois (NUREG-1815, Sec.  6.1.1.5); and Entergy's Grand 
Gulf Nuclear Station, near Port Gibson, Mississippi (NUREG-1817, 
Sec.  6.1.1.5).
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    The NRC has determined that, at this time, revising the value for 
radon-222 in Table S-3, as requested in PRM-51-1, does not provide any 
benefit over the NRC's current application-specific review. In Staff 
Requirements Memorandum COMGBJ-07-0002, dated August 6, 2007, the 
Commission agreed that PRM-51-1 should be closed.

Conclusion

    For the reasons described above, the NRC finds that a rulemaking to 
revise the radon-222 value in Table S-3 is not necessary. The NRC's 
prior deletion of the value for radon-222 in Table S-3 did grant, in 
part, the petitioner's request regarding the value for radon-222. The 
Commission is now denying the remaining outstanding issue of the 
petitioner's request by not revising Table S-3 to include a revised 
value for radon-222.
    Closing the petition does not preclude the NRC from taking future 
regulatory action to amend Table S-3. The NRC will continue to 
evaluate, as part of its annual review of potential rulemaking 
activity, the need to amend Table S-3.
    For the reasons cited in this document, the NRC denies this 
petition.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of March, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Luis A. Reyes,
Executive Director for Operations.
 [FR Doc. E8-5647 Filed 3-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P