[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49897-49899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23459]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0430; Docket No. 030-33542]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 29-30152-01, for Unrestricted Release of the Ligand 
Pharmaceuticals Facility in Cranbury, NJ

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: Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health 
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
19406; telephone (610) 337-5040; 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. 29-
30152-01. This license is held by Ligand Pharmaceuticals (the 
Licensee), for its Ligand Pharmaceuticals facility (the Facility), 
located at 3000 Eastpark Boulevard in Cranbury, New Jersey. Issuance of 
the amendment would authorize release of the East Wing of the Facility 
for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter 
dated July 29, 2009. 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

[[Page 49898]]

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 July 29, 2009, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the East Wing of the 
Facility for unrestricted use. License No. 29-30152-01 was issued on 
July 21, 1994, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended 
periodically since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to 
use unsealed byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and 
development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility contains approximately 58,000 square feet of office 
space, laboratories, and hallways. The Facility is located in a 
research park in a commercial area. Within the East Wing of the 
Facility, use of licensed materials was confined to nine laboratories 
and one room used for waste storage.
    In winter 2009, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and 
initiated a survey and decontamination of the East Wing of the 
Facility. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and 
the conditions of the East Wing 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 East Wing 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 in the East 
Wing of the Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of the East Wing 
of its Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in the East 
Wing of the Facility shows that such activities involved use of the 
following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: 
Hydrogen-3, carbon-14, and calcium-45. Prior to performing the final 
status survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as 
necessary, in the areas of the East Wing of the Facility affected by 
these radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey between April 13 and 
May 1, 2009. This survey covered Laboratories 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 
175, 185, and 187; the waste room; and the connecting hallways. The 
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment 
request dated July 29, 2009. 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 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 in the East Wing of 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 East Wing of 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 East Wing of 
the Facility for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. 
Although the Licensee will continue to perform licensed activities at 
other parts of the Facility, the Licensee must ensure that this 
decommissioned area does not become recontaminated. Before the license 
can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to show that the 
entire Facility, including previously-released areas, complies with the 
radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff 
considered the impact of the residual radioactivity in the East Wing of 
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 East Wing of 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 New 
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for review on August 10, 
2009. On September 10, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Environmental 
Protection responded by letter. 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

[[Page 49899]]

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 July 29, 2009 with the ``Decommissioning Survey 
for Ligand Pharmaceuticals'' ML092170692;
    [2] NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    [3] Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    [4] Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;'' and
    [5] 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 
23rd day of September 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E9-23459 Filed 9-28-09; 8:45 am]
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