[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 34 (Monday, February 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7631-7632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3353]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-36492; NRC-2010-0057]


Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a 
License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 12-32489-01, for 
the Unrestricted Release of a Former Facility for Department of the 
Army, Great Lakes, IL

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 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 e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of an amendment to terminate NRC Byproduct Materials License 
No. 12-32489-01, which is held by Department of the Army, (the 
licensee) U.S. Army Dental Research Detachment. The issuance of the 
amendment would approve the licensee's September 29, 2009, request 
(ML092730395) to release for unrestricted use its building located at 
310B, B Street, Building 1-H, Great Lakes, Illinois (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 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 September 29, 
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. 12-32489-01 on 
April 9, 2004, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30 and was amended once on 
November 7, 2005. The Facility is a 400 square foot research laboratory 
located in the basement. The license authorized the use of unsealed 
Hydrogen-3 and Carbon-14 for use during in-vitro research labeling 
activities. However, through review of license file documents, 
inspection reports, and the amendment request, it was confirmed that 
Hydrogen-3 was the only licensed material used in the facility.
    The licensee permanently ceased licensed activities at the Facility 
in September 2009 and initiated a final status survey of the facility. 
The licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to NRC 
because worker cleanup activities and surveys are consistent with those 
approved for routine operations. The licensee submitted a Historical 
Site Assessment and Final Status survey dated September 29, 2009 
(ML092730395) to the NRC which demonstrated that the Facility meets the 
criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted use.

[[Page 7632]]

Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee has ceased conducting license activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of the Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Actions

    The licensee's historical review of past research activities 
determined that Hydrogen-3 was the only radionuclide used in the 
Facility. The final status survey of the Facility was performed during 
September 2009. The final status survey results were attached to the 
Licensee's amendment request dated September 29, 2009 (ML092730395). 
The NRC evaluated the licensee's compliance with the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted use as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using 
the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated 
Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 1. The NRC NUREG specifies 
radionuclide-specific Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs), 
developed by the NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 CFR 
20.1402. The DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual radioactivity 
on surfaces that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 
CFR Part 20 for unrestricted use. The Licensee's final status survey 
results were well 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 use. 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 
Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) for review on December 28, 
2009. IEMA had no comments or questions.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent 
with the NRC's unrestricted use 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. Department of the Army License Termination Request dated 
September 29, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML092730395).
    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 
Function.''
    3. NUREG-1757, Consolidated 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 11th day of February 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christine A. Lipa,
Chief, Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, Division 
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2010-3353 Filed 2-19-10; 8:45 am]
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