[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 178 (Friday, September 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53052-53054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21274]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-04794]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 21-01443-06, for Unrestricted Release of the Warner-Lambert 
Facility in Ann Arbor, MI

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:

[[Page 53053]]

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposing to terminate 
Byproduct Materials License No. 21-01443-06. This license is held by 
Warner-Lambert, LLC (the Licensee), which is a wholly owned subsidiary 
of Pfizer, Inc., for its facilities located at 2800 Plymouth Road and 
1600 Huron Parkway in Ann Arbor, Michigan (the Facilities). Termination 
of the license would authorize release of the Facilities for 
unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 
June 3, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML081610504). 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 license will be 
terminated 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 3, 2008, 
license termination request, resulting in release of the Facilities for 
unrestricted use. License No. 21-01443-06 was issued on April 20, 1959, 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. The license authorizes the use of byproduct materials for 
conducting research and development.
    The Facilities comprise a campus of research laboratories and 
offices of more than two million square feet of floor area on 
approximately 50 acres of property located in a commercial and 
residential area. The Licensee ceased using licensed materials in the 
Facilities in May 2007, and has conducted final status surveys of the 
Facilities. 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 at the 
Facilities, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facilities.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facilities shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3, 
carbon-14, sodium-22, chlorine-36, calcium-45, calcium-47, iron-55, 
cobalt-60, nickel-63, zinc-65, strontium-90, antimony-125, barium-133, 
and cesium-137. Prior to performing the final status survey, the 
Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the 
areas of the Facilities affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted onsite final status surveys on the 
Facilities from February 24 to April 23, 2008. The final status survey 
report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated June 3, 
2008. 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, 
and in soils, 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 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 termination of the license 
and release of the Facilities for unrestricted use is in compliance 
with 10 CFR 20. Based on its review, the staff considered the impact of 
the residual radioactivity at the Facilities 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 Facilities meet 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 
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for review on July 
23, 2008. By response dated July 24, 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

[[Page 53054]]

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. Carol Lentz, Pfizer, Inc., letter to Patricia Pelke, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, June 3, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML081610504);
    2. 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. By response dated July 24, 2008, the State had no comments.
    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 29th day of August 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christine Lipa,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E8-21274 Filed 9-11-08; 8:45 am]
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