[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 142 (Monday, July 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44374-44376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18758]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION



[Docket No. 040-06394; NRC-2008-0523]




Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for 

License Amendment to Source Materials License; Department of the Army



AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.



ACTION: Notice of availability.



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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist, 

Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 

I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406. Telephone: 

610-337-5366; fax number: 610-337-5269; e-mail: [email protected].



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 



I. Introduction



    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 

issuance of a license amendment to Source Materials License No. SMB-

141. This license is held by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army 

Research, Development and Engineering Command (ARDEC), Army Research 

Laboratory (ARL) (the Licensee), for its U.S. Army Research Laboratory 

facility (the Facility) located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), 

Maryland. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of a 

portion of the Facility, specifically the Building 1103A area, for 

unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 

March 31, 2010. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) 

in support of this proposed action in accordance with the requirements 

of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (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 31, 2010, 

license amendment request, resulting in release of the Building 1103A 

area for unrestricted use. License No. SMB-141 was issued on April 12, 

1961, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 40, and has been amended periodically 

since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use uranium 

and thorium for purposes of conducting research and development 

activities; fabrication, modification, and testing of components, 

parts, and/or devices; and munitions testing.

    The Building 1103A area is a former radioactive material processing 

and storage facility on Spesutie Island at APG. Historical activities 

at the Building 1103A area involved the unloading of depleted uranium 

contaminated targets in a central asphalt area; storage and staging of 

the targets in one of three vaults; cutting and machining of the 

targets; and storage and reloading of the resulting steel pieces in 

preparation for decontamination, disposal, or reuse. The Building 1103A 

area occupies an area of about 36,600 square feet, of which 7,000 

square feet is comprised of buildings.

    In August 2009, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at the 

Building 1103A area and initiated a survey and decontamination of the 

Building 1103A area. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of 

the site and the conditions of the Building 1103A area, the Licensee 

determined that a decommissioning plan was required. The 

decommissioning plan was submitted and was approved in License 

Amendment 30, issued on November 20, 2008, (Agencywide 

Document Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. 

ML083260281). In accordance with their NRC-approved decommissioning 

plan (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML081550541, ML081550549, ML081550553, 

ML081550557, and ML081550561), the Licensee performed cleanup 

activities. The Licensee then conducted surveys of the Building 1103A 

Area and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the 

Building 1103A Area 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 at the 

Building 1103A area, and seeks the unrestricted use of the Building 

1103A area.



[[Page 44375]]



Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action



    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 

Building 1103A area shows that such activities involved use of depleted 

uranium radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days. Prior to 

performing the final status survey, the Licensee conducted 

decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the Building 

1103A area affected by these radionuclides.

    The Licensee conducted a final status survey during the period of 

September 2009 through December 2009, August 2010, and December 2010. 

This survey covered all of the Building 1103A area including soil and 

building areas. The final status survey report was attached to the 

Licensee's letter dated, February 17, 2011 (ADAMS Accession Number 

ML110630042). The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the 

radiological criteria for unrestricted release of buildings as 

specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by developing derived concentration 

guideline levels (DCGLs) for the Building 1103A area. The Licensee 

conducted site-specific dose modeling using input parameters specific 

to the Building 1103A area. Specifically, the site specific ratio of 

uranium-234, uranium-235, and uranium-238 was used along with NRC and 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency modeling data. The Licensee thus 

determined the maximum amount of residual radioactivity on building 

surfaces, equipment, materials and soils that will satisfy the NRC 

requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release. 

The NRC reviewed the Licensee's methodology and proposed DCGLs, and 

concluded that the proposed DCGLs are acceptable for use as release 

criteria at the Building 1103A area. The Licensee's final status survey 

results were below these DCGLs and are thus acceptable.

    The environmental impacts considered are to people residing on the 

site after decommissioning and, therefore, subject to radiation 

exposure principally caused by residual radioactivity in soil; impacts 

to people working in site buildings after decommissioning and therefore 

subject to radiation exposure principally caused by residual 

radioactivity on building surfaces impacts; and impacts to plant and 

animal populations after decommissioning and therefore subject to 

radiation exposure principally caused by residual radioactivity in 

soil. These same impacts were reviewed by and evaluated by NUREG-1496, 

``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking 

(GEIS) on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed 

Nuclear Facilities,'' Volumes 1-3 (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML042310492, 

ML042320379, and ML042330385]. Specifically, section 2.4.3.2 on page 2-

9 of the GEIS Volume 1 lists these impacts and others that were 

evaluated for non-fuel cycle nuclear material facilities. The GEIS also 

states that the types of facilities which are included in the analysis 

include non-fuel cycle nuclear material facilities as stated in section 

3.2.1 starting on page 3-1 of Volume 1.

    Based on its review, the NRC staff has determined that the affected 

environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed 

action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the GEIS. Because the 

GEIS found that there were no significant impacts for the non-fuel 

cycle nuclear material facilities, which would include the Building 

1103A area, the staff finds there were no significant environmental 

impacts from the use of radioactive material at the Building 1103A 

area. 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 Building 1103A area. No 

such hazards or impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC 

staff 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 Building 1103A 

area described above for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 

20.1402. Although the Licensee will continue to perform licensed 

activities at the Facility, the Licensee must ensure that this 

decommissioned area, the Building 1103A area, does not become re-

contaminated. In connection with the eventual termination of License 

No. SMB-141, the Licensee will be required to show that all licensed 

areas and previously-released areas at the Facility comply with the 

radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff 

considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the Building 

1103A area 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 and are bounded by the GEIS. 

Therefore, the only alternative the NRC staff considered is the no-

action alternative, under which the staff would deny the amendment 

request and leave things as they currently exists. This no-action 

alternative is not feasible because it conflicts with 10 CFR 40.42, 

requiring that decommissioning of separate buildings or outdoor areas 

at source material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC 

after licensed activities there cease. The NRC's analysis of the 

Licensee's final status survey data confirmed that the Building 1103A 

area meets the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release 

and the NRC has no reason not to approve release of the Building 1103A 

area. Additionally, denying the amendment request would result in no 

change of the environmental impacts between the alternate and the 

proposed action. 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 and that the proposed action will not significantly impact the 

quality of the human environment.



Agencies and Persons Consulted



    NRC provided a draft of this EA to the Maryland Department of the 

Environment (MDE) Air and Radiation Management Administration and Land 

Management Administration for review on March 17, 2011. On April 20, 

2011, the MDE responded by electronic mail. The MDE agreed with the 

conclusions of the EA and otherwise had no technical 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



[[Page 44376]]



impact statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has determined 

that a FONSI 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 Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's 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. Amendment Request Letter dated March 31, 2010 (ML101170783);

    2. Final Status Survey Report dated March 2010 (ML101180233), 

(ML101180244), (ML101180276), (ML101180281);

    3. Letter dated July 15, 2010 (ML102030110);

    4. Letter dated September 27, 2010 (ML103280172);

    5. Final Status Survey Report Revision 1 September 2010 

(ML103280196), (ML103280205), (ML103280235), (ML103280252), 

(ML103280264), (ML103280270), (ML103280465), (ML103280475), 

(ML103280468);

    6. Letter dated February 17, 2011 (ML110630042);

    7. Final Status Survey Report Revision 2, dated January 2011 

(ML110630049), (ML110630443), (ML110630528), (ML110630524), 

(ML110630444), (ML110630428);

    8. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance'';

    9. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 

``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';

    10. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 

Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 

Functions''; and

    11. 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 Public 

Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a 

fee.



    Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 12th day of July 

2011.



    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

James P. Dwyer,

Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 

Region I.

[FR Doc. 2011-18758 Filed 7-22-11; 8:45 am]

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