[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 60 (Thursday, March 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16325-16327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6230]


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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 Affair's Facility in Hampton, VA

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 Hampton VA Medical Center facilities, located at 100 
Emancipation Drive, Hampton, Virginia (the Facility). Issuance of the 
amendment would authorize release of Building 72 (described below) for 
unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 
October 22, 2007. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment

[[Page 16326]]

(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 October 22, 2007, 
materials permit amendment request, resulting in release of Building 72 
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 an 85-acre site and is located in a 
residential area of Hampton, Virginia. Within the Facility, Building 72 
was constructed in 1908 and was originally used as a dining room for 
soldiers. In 1974 the 10,600 square foot structure was converted into a 
research facility. Building 72 has a single floor, and is made of brick 
with a wood frame attic. Based on a Historical Site Assessment, there 
was no evidence that radioactive material was used in Building 72 prior 
to the conversion of the building to a research facility in 1974. 
Licensed materials were used for both medical diagnostic and treatment 
purposes, as well as for research purposes, including animal studies. 
The licensee ceased using licensed materials in Building 72 in 2001, 
and conducted, but did not complete, surveys and decontamination of the 
building. In February 2007, the licensee initiated additional surveys 
and decontamination of the building. Based on the Licensee's historical 
knowledge of the site and the conditions within Building 72, 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 Building 72 on June 28, 
2007. 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 Building 
72, and seeks the unrestricted use of Building 72.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Building 
72 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 
Building 72 affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee completed final status surveys on Building 72 on June 
28, 2007. The surveys covered the floor area of Building 72, as well as 
sinks and drains, laboratory counters, hoods, refrigerators, and other 
horizontal surfaces. The final status survey report was attached to the 
Licensee's amendment request dated October 22, 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 NRC Regulatory Guide 1.86, 
``Termination of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Reactors.'' These 
release criteria are much more restrictive than 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 the Regulatory Guide 1.86 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 Building 72. 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 Building 72. 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 issuance of the proposed amendment 
authorizing release of Building 72 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 Building 72 
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 72 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

[[Page 16327]]

concludes that the proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the 
Virginia Radioactive Materials Program for review on February 25, 2008. 
The State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and otherwise provided 
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 October 22, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072980830);
    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 17th day of March 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Patrick Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E8-6230 Filed 3-26-08; 8:45 am]
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