[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72084-72085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28130]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-03289]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 44-10187-03, for Unrestricted Release of Fletcher Allen 
Health Care's Degoesbriand Laboratory in Burlington, VT

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: Penny Lanzisera, Senior Health 
Physicist, Medical Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone 
(610) 337-5169; fax number (610) 337-5269; 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. 44-
10187-03. This license is held by Fletcher Allen Health Care (the 
Licensee), for, in part, its DeGoesbriand Laboratory (the Facility), 
located at One Prospect Street in Burlington, Vermont. Issuance of the 
amendment would authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use. 
The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated April 25, 2008. 
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 April 25, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 44-10187-03 was issued on March 18, 1968, 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. This license authorized the Licensee, in part, to use 
unsealed byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and 
development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility consists of laboratories located in a building of 
234,000 square feet. The Facility is located in a commercial area. 
Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was confined to five 
rooms of approximately 2,000 square feet.
    On May 27, 2004, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and 
initiated a survey and decontamination of the Facility. 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.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

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 
radionuclide with half-life greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3. Prior to 
performing the final status survey, the Licensee conducted 
decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the Facility 
affected by this radionuclide.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey on May 28, 2004. This 
survey covered the five rooms used at the Facility. The final status 
survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated 
April 25, 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 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

[[Page 72085]]

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 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. 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 Vermont's Office of Radiological Health for review on September 16, 
2008. On October 22, 2008, the State of Vermont's Office of 
Radiological Health responded by e-mail. The State 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. Letter dated April 25, 2008 requesting amendment (ML081270653);
    2. Letter dated July 8, 2008 providing additional information 
(ML081980145);
    3. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance'';
    4. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';
    5. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions''; and
    6. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities.''
    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 
19th day of November 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pamela Henderson,
Chief, Medical Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E8-28130 Filed 11-25-08; 8:45 am]
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