[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 59 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14163-14165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6997]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-123; NRC-2009-0139]
Missouri University of Science and Technology Nuclear Research
Reactor; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of a renewed Facility Operating License No. R-79,
[[Page 14164]]
held by the Missouri University of Science and Technology (the licensee
or MST), which would authorize continued operation of the Missouri
University of Science and Technology Research Reactor (MSTR), located
in Rolla City, Phelps County, Missouri. Therefore, as required by 10
CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would renew Facility Operating License No. R-79
for a period of twenty years from the date of issuance of the renewed
license. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated August 20, 2004, as supplemented on November 16,
November 27, and December 26, 2007, and January 17, March 6, June 26,
September 16, and November 7, 2008. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.109,
the existing license remains in effect until the NRC takes final action
on the application.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to allow the continued operation of
the MSTR to routinely provide teaching, research, and services to
numerous institutions for a period of twenty years.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action
to issue a renewed Facility Operating License No. R-79 to allow
continued operation of the MSTR for a period of twenty years and
concludes there is reasonable assurance that the MSTR will continue to
operate safely for the additional period of time. The details of the
staff's safety evaluation will be provided with the renewed license
that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving its
license renewal application.
The MSTR is located in a separated building on the east side of the
main campus of the MST. The reactor is housed in a steel frame
structure with insulated metal walls. The reactor building footprint is
49 feet x 33 feet (approximately 15 meters x 10 meters). Utilities such
as electrical supply, sewage, and water are provided by the main campus
systems. There are no nearby industrial, transportation, or military
facilities that could pose a threat to the MSTR.
In December 1961, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) issued an
operating license to the University of Missouri--Rolla (renamed
Missouri University of Science and Technology) for operation of a
research reactor on its campus. The MSTR is based on the design of the
bulk shielding reactor (BSR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which
was a materials testing reactor (MTR). Reactors of this type have
common features, such as light-water moderation, natural convection
cooling, open pools, and plate-type fuel. This license, R-79,
authorized the facility to operate at steady-state power levels up to
10 kW(t). In 1967, the license was amended to allow operation up to its
current power level of 200 kW(t). In 1992, the fuel was converted from
high-enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU). The low
power level of the core allows for sufficient cooling by natural
convection. The reactor's experimental facilities include a pneumatic
transfer system, in-core irradiation tube, a beam tube, and a thermal
column. There are four control rods loaded in any particular core
configuration to allow the MSTR to routinely operate with various
powers and experiments. The MSTR has no pulse capability. The sum of
the absolute values of all experiments is limited to a maximum
reactivity of 1.2% [Delta]k/k by technical specification, which is well
below the maximum reactivity limit of 1.5% [Delta]k/k established in
the safety analysis. The licensee's analysis in Chapter 13 of the
safety analysis report (SAR) shows that a stepwise reactivity insertion
of 1.5% [Delta]k/k does not adversely affect the health and safety of
public and the reactor staff.
The licensee has not requested any changes to the facility design
or operating conditions as part of the renewal request. Therefore, the
license renewal should not change the environmental impact of facility
operation.
I. Radiological Impact
Gaseous effluents are discharged by the reactor ventilation fan at
a volumetric flow rate of approximately 140 m\3\/min (5 x 10\3\ ft\3\/
min). Other release pathways exist; however, they are normally secured
during reactor operation and have insignificant volumetric flow rates
compared to the ventilation fan. The dose rate at the reactor bridge
with the reactor operating at 200 kW is less than 5 mrem/hr. Nitrogen-
16, argon-41, and direct radiation from the reactor core contribute to
this dose rate. Nitrogen-16 has a very short half-life (7.13 sec), and
the reactor has a core diffuser system which creates a water
circulation pattern designed to suppress nitrogen-16 transported to the
surface of the pool and reduce the reactor pool surface dose rate.
Because of the short half-life of nitrogen-16 compared to the transit
time, exposure to the public is negligible. Analysis of effluent
samples has found only argon-41. The licensee measured the dose from
normal operations to a person in the unrestricted area. The
concentration of argon-41 leaving the reactor roof fan exhaust where
argon-41 is released to the general public was measured at 4.24 x
10-10 microcuries per milliliter ([mu]Ci/ml). The
calculations very conservatively assume that the reactor operates
continuously for a year and that the member of the public stands at the
point of maximum exposure continuously for the entire year. Using the
conservative assumption above, the measured result was 2 mrem. This is
below the 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B, Table 2, limit of 50 mrem for
submersion. The licensee also measured occupational exposure to argon-
41 in the reactor bay. Using the worst-case conditions, the
conservative measurement of argon-41 concentration in the reactor
building from pool release was 1.80 10-7 [mu]Ci/ml, more
than a factor of 10 below the regulatory limit of 3.0 x 10-6
[mu]Ci/ml (10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B). These calculations demonstrate
that routine airborne effluents released from the MSTR are well within
10 CFR Part 20 criteria for occupational workers and members of the
public, and are therefore acceptable to the staff.
Pool water activity is monitored monthly to ensure that no gross
pool contamination or fuel cladding rupture has occurred. Liquid
effluents are analyzed for radioactive contamination and approved by
the MSTR Radiation Safety Office before discharge.
Un-compacted solid low-level radioactive waste consists of gloves,
pads, used resins, filters, and various activation products from
experiments conducted using the MSTR. This radioactive waste is
transferred to the MSTR Dangerous Materials Storage Facility (DMSF) for
future shipment to a commercial burial site, in accordance with the
requirements of applicable NRC and Department of Transportation
regulations, including 10 CFR Part 61, 10 CFR Part 71, and 49 CFR Part
170 through 178.
Facility personnel, staff, and students involved with the operation
of the MSTR are assigned dosimeters. Personnel exposures reported to
the NRC were within the limits set by 10 CFR 20.1201, and were as low
as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Visitors are also monitored with
direct reading dosimeters. No visitors received
[[Page 14165]]
any reportable or significant exposure in the past 20 years. No changes
in reactor operation that would lead to an increase in occupational
doses are expected as a result of license renewal.
The environmental impacts of the fuel cycle and transportation of
fuels and wastes are described in Tables S-3 and S-4 of 10 CFR 51.51
and 10 CFR 51.52, respectively. An additional NRC generic environmental
assessment (53 FR 30355, dated August 11, 1988, as corrected by 53 FR
32322, dated August 24, 1988) evaluated the applicability of Tables S-3
and S-4 to higher burn-up cycle and concluded that there is no
significant change in environmental impact from the parameters
evaluated in Tables S-3 and S-4 for fuel cycles with uranium
enrichments up to 5 weight percent uranium-235 and burn-ups less than
60,000 MWt days per metric ton of uranium-235 (MWd/MTU). The MSTR
uranium enrichment limit and the burn-up limit would stay within the 5
percent and the 60,000 MWd/MTU limits. Therefore, the environmental
impacts of the fuel cycle and transportation of fuels and wastes, to
and from the site, would not be significant.
II. Non-Radiological Impact
The MSTR core is submerged in an open pool containing 30,000
gallons (113,560 liters) of demineralized light water. The core is
cooled by natural convection. Heat from the water pool is dissipated
primarily by evaporation into the reactor bay and discharged to the
environment by the ventilation system. The auxiliary cooling system
with a heat exchanger is also available to reduce the water temperature
if needed. Release of thermal effluents from the MSTR will not have a
significant effect on the environment. The small amount of waste heat,
approximately 200 kW at full power operation, is released to the
atmosphere by means of the dry cooler, and therefore will not lead to
the creation of fog. Extensive drift will not occur at this heat
dissipation rate.
Environmental Effects of Accidents
The maximum hypothetical accident (MHA) scenario is discussed in
Chapter 13 of the MSTR SAR. The accident scenario assumes that a
capsule, containing fissile material after irradiation in the fuel
experiment, breaks and releases all gaseous fission products in the
reactor building and uncontrolled environment. In analyzing the MHA,
occupational doses resulting from this accident would be 410 mrem (4.10
mSV), which is more than a factor of ten below 10 CFR Part 20 limits of
5000 mrem (50 mSV). Maximum doses for members of the general public
were conservatively calculated to be 46 mrem (0.46 mSv), and are below
the 10 CFR Part 20 limit of 100 mrem (1 mSv). The analysis shows that
the failure of an irradiated fueled experiment will not exceed 10 CFR
Part 20 limits. Therefore, it is acceptable to the staff.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Considerations
I. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The site occupied by the MSTR does not contain any Federally- or
State-protected fauna or flora, nor do the MSTR effluents impact the
habitats of any such fauna or flora.
II. Costal Zone Management Act (CZMA)
The site occupied by the MSTR is not located within any managed
coastal zones, nor do the MSTR effluents impact any managed coastal
zones.
III. National Historical Preservation Act (NHPA)
The National Register Information System lists several historical
sites located around the Missouri University of Science and Technology,
but operation of the MSTR will not impact any historical sites.
IV. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (FWCA)
The licensee is not planning any water resource development
projects, including any of the modifications relating to impounding a
body of water, damming, diverting a stream or river, deepening a
channel, irrigation, or altering a body of water for navigation or
drainage.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to license renewal, the staff considered denial
of the proposed action. If the Commission denied the application for
license renewal, facility operations would end and decommissioning
would be required with no significant impact on the environment. The
environmental impacts of license renewal and this alternative action
are similar. However, the benefits of teaching, research, and services
provided by facility operation would be lost.
Alternative Use of Resources
The proposed action does not involve the use of any different
resources or significant quantities of resources beyond those
previously considered in the issuance of Amendment No. 9 to Facility
Operating License No. R-79 for the Missouri University of Science and
Technology Research Reactor dated March 5, 1991, for the HEU to LEU
conversion.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on February 14, 2008, the NRC
staff consulted with the Missouri State official, Floyd Gilzow, of the
State Liaison Office, Department of Natural Resources, regarding the
environmental impacts of the proposed action. The State official had no
comments.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letter dated August 30, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML042820116), as supplemented by letters dated November 16, 2007 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML073240523), November 27, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML073320467), December 26, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML080070088),
January 17, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML080240307), March 6, 2008
(ADAMS Accession No. ML080930439), June 26, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML081820410), September 16, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML 082630565),
and November 7, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML083190529), and Documents
may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document
Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the NRC Web
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-
397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March, 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn Brock,
Chief, Research and Test Reactors Branch A, Division of Policy and
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-6997 Filed 3-27-09; 8:45 am]
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