[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 118 (Monday, June 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29520-29522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14573]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-36482; NRC-2009-0253]


Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a 
License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 24-32439-01, for 
the Unrestricted Release of a Pharmacia Corporation Building in St. 
Louis, MO

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: Katie Streit, Health Physicist, 
Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, Division of 
Nuclear Materials and Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, 2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: 
(630) 829-9621; fax number: (630) 515-1259; or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of an amendment to NRC Byproduct Materials License No. 24-
32439-01, which is held by The Pharmacia Corporation (the licensee), a 
wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc. The issuance of the amendment 
would approve the licensee's April 1, 2009, request (ML090920862) to 
release for unrestricted use its building located at 645 South Newstead 
Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri (the Facility).
    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 1, 2009, 
license amendment request, resulting in the release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use consistent with the provisions of 10 CFR Part 20, 
Subpart E. The licensee was issued License No. 24-32439-01 on April 08, 
2004, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and the license has been amended 
periodically since that time. The license authorized the use of 
unsealed and sealed byproduct materials for conducting research and 
development activities, which included animal studies, gas 
chromatographs, and an irradiator. The Facility is a two story-building 
with an annex that contained research laboratories, offices, vivarium 
space, and other mechanical support areas.
    The licensee ceased licensed activities at the Facility during 
March 2009 and initiated a survey and decontamination activities there. 
Based on the licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the 
Facility, the licensee determined that

[[Page 29521]]

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. The licensee will continue licensed operations at two other 
locations authorized by License No. 24-32439-01.

Need for the Proposed Action

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

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Actions

    The licensee's historical review, determined that hydrogen-3 and 
carbon-14 were the only radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 
days used in the Facility. Prior to performing the final status survey, 
the licensee conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the 
areas of the Facility where by hydrogen-3 and carbon-14 was used.
    The final status survey of the Facility was performed during March 
2009. The final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's 
amendment request dated April 1, 2009 (ML090920862). 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 
Decommissioning Guidance, Decommissioning Process for Material 
Licensees'' Volume 1 (ML063000243). The licensee used the radionuclide-
specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) developed by 
the NRC, which conservatively 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 that will 
satisfy the NRC requirement 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 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 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.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the 
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for review on June 1, 
2009. The State responded by email on June 1, 2009, and 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 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.

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.

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 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 Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The 
documents related to this action are listed below, along with their 
ADAMS accession numbers.
    1. Newstead Avenue Site Decommissioning Final Status Report by 
Chase Environmental Group, dated March 24, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML090920862)
    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

[[Page 29522]]

Protection Regulations for Domestic licensing and Related Regulatory 
Function.''
    4. NUREG-1757, Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O1F21, 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 12th June 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

George M. McCann,
Acting Branch Chief, Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning 
Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Region III.
[FR Doc. E9-14573 Filed 6-19-09; 8:45 am]
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