[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29730-29732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14684]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0255; Docket No. 030-06652]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 47-00260-02, for Termination of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of Two Union Carbide Corporation Facilities 
Located in South Charleston, WV

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: Steve Hammann, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone 610-
337-5399; 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. 47-
00260-02. This license is held by Union Carbide Corporation (the 
Licensee) for its South Charleston Technology Park and South Charleston 
Plant located, respectively, at 3200 Kanawha Turnpike in South 
Charleston, West Virginia, and at 437 MacCorkle Avenue in South 
Charleston, West Virginia (the Facilities). Issuance of the amendment 
would authorize release of the Facilities for unrestricted use and 
termination of the NRC license. The Licensee requested this action in a 
letter dated March 7, 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 March 7, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facilities for 
unrestricted use and the termination of its NRC materials license. 
License No. 47-00260-02 was issued on August 15, 1956, pursuant to 10 
CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. This 
license authorized the Licensee to use sealed and unsealed byproduct 
material for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities, sample analysis and instrument calibration.
    The Facilities are situated on approximately 850 acres of land and 
consists of undeveloped land and numerous buildings used for a variety 
of purposes, including office space and laboratories, storage, and 
manufacturing. The Facilities are located in a mixed commercial and 
industrial area. Within the Facilities, use of licensed materials was 
confined to Buildings 701, 707, 712, 720, 722, 725, 727, 740, 741, 747, 
770, 771, 773, 776, 777, 778, and 785.
    In April, 2008, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and 
initiated a survey and decontamination of the Facilities. Based on the 
Licensee's historical knowledge of the sites and the condition of the 
Facilities, 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 Facilities 
and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the 
criteria in subpart E of

[[Page 29731]]

10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release and for license termination.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facilities, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facilities and the 
termination of its NRC materials license. Termination of its license 
would end the Licensee's obligation to pay annual license fees to the 
NRC.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facilities show that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3, 
carbon-14, iron-55, cobalt-60, nickel-63, strontium-90, cadmium-109, 
cesium-137, and polonium-210. 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 finished conducting a final status survey on November 
17, 2008. This survey covered all buildings which used unsealed 
materials. The final status survey report was attached to the 
Licensee's amendment request dated March 7, 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 criteria 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 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 Facilities. 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 Facilities. 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 Facilities for 
unrestricted use and the termination of the NRC materials license 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 meets the 
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release and for license 
termination. 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 West Virginia Office of Environmental Health Services for review on 
April 9, 2009. On June 4, 2009, the State responded by telephone. 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 Documents 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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance'';
    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. Termination Request Letter dated March 7, 2008 (ML083520561);

[[Page 29732]]

    6. Request For Additional Information dated April 30, 2008 
(ML081260393); and
    7. Deficiency Response Letter dated December 11, 2008 
(ML083520561).
    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, 
Pennsylvania this 15th day of June 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E9-14684 Filed 6-22-09; 8:45 am]
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