[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10165-10168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03913]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0022]


Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation Branch Technical 
Position

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Branch technical position; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 of the Branch Technical Position on Concentration Averaging 
and Encapsulation (CA BTP). This guidance provides acceptable methods 
that can be used to perform concentration averaging of low-level 
radioactive waste (LLW) for the purpose of determining its waste class 
for disposal.

DATES: The Branch Technical Position referenced in this document is 
available on February 25, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0022 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0022. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if 
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a 
document is referenced. The revised Branch Technical Position on 
Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation consists of two volumes. 
Volume 1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12254B065) contains the staff technical 
positions on averaging and certain other information. Volume 2 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12326A611) contains staff responses to stakeholder 
comments on the May 2012 draft (ADAMS Accession No. ML121170418) and 
the technical bases for the staff positions.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maurice Heath, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3137; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 10166]]

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing Revision 1 of the CA BTP. This revision provides 
updated guidance on the interpretation of Sec.  61.55(a)(8) of Title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Determination of 
concentrations in wastes,'' as it applies to the classification (as 
Class A, B, or C waste) of a variety of different types and forms of 
LLW. Paragraph 61.55(a)(8) states that radionuclide concentrations can 
be averaged over the volume of the waste or its weight if the units are 
expressed as nanocuries per gram. The average radionuclide 
concentrations are compared with the waste classification tables in 10 
CFR 61.55 to determine the class of the waste. The waste class 
determines the minimum safety measures to be applied in order to 
provide reasonable assurance of safe disposal of the waste.
    The previous version of the CA BTP, published in 1995 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML033630732), was issued before the NRC adopted its risk-
informed and performance-based regulatory policy. The revised CA BTP 
has been informed by that policy. The revised CA BTP also contains new 
guidance related to blending of LLW, as directed by the Commission in 
its Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-10-0043, ``Blending of Low-
Level Radioactive Waste,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML102861764).

II. Background

    To provide protection for individuals who inadvertently intrude 
into a waste disposal facility, radioactive waste proposed for near-
surface disposal must be classified based on its hazard to the 
intruder. The NRC's regulation, ``Licensing Requirements for Land 
Disposal of Radioactive Waste,'' 10 CFR part 61, establishes a waste 
classification system based on the concentration of specific 
radionuclides contained in the waste. This system is one of the key 
components in ensuring protection of an inadvertent intruder. In 
determining these concentrations, the regulation states, in 10 CFR 
61.55(a)(8), that radionuclide concentrations can be averaged over the 
volume of the waste or its weight if the units are expressed as 
nanocuries per gram.
    Although 10 CFR part 61 acknowledges that concentration averaging 
for the purposes of classifying waste for disposal is acceptable, it 
does not specify limitations on the implementation of concentration 
averaging. The staff published a technical position on radioactive 
waste classification, initially developed in May 1983 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML033630755), that provided guidance on concentration averaging. 
This 1983 technical position describes overall procedures acceptable to 
NRC staff which could be used by licensees to determine the presence 
and concentrations of the radionuclides listed in 10 CFR 61.55, and 
thereby classify waste for near-surface disposal. Section C.3 of the 
1983 technical position provided guidance on averaging of radionuclide 
concentrations for the purpose of classifying the waste.
    In 1995, the NRC staff updated a portion of the 1983 technical 
position, publishing as a separate document the ``Branch Technical 
Position on Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation,'' (60 FR 4451, 
January 23, 1995). The 1995 CA BTP significantly expanded and further 
defined Section C.3 of the 1983 technical position dealing with 
concentration averaging, specifying a number of constraints on 
concentration averaging.
    The current update to the CA BTP is necessary due to the 
significant number of changes in the LLW program since the CA BTP was 
published in 1995. First, the Commission reviewed the 1995 CA BTP's 
position on blending of LLW in 2010 and directed the staff to revise it 
to be more risk-informed and performance-based. The 1995 version 
constrained the concentration of certain waste types put into a mixture 
(e.g., ion exchange resins) to within a factor of 10 of the average 
concentration of the final mixture. The Commission directed the staff 
to replace this position and to implement a risk-informed, performance-
based approach for LLW blending that made the hazard (i.e., the 
radioactivity concentration) of the final mixture the primary 
consideration for averaging constraints. Second, the NRC adopted a 
risk-informed, performance-based regulatory approach for its programs 
in the late 1990's, after the 1995 CA BTP was published. The revised CA 
BTP more fully reflects that approach, not just for the blending 
position, but for other topics as well. One example is for 
concentration averaging of sealed radioactive sources. The 1995 CA BTP 
significantly constrained disposal of sealed sources. Many sources have 
no disposal path because of the constraints recommended in the 1995 
BTP. Licensees must store sealed sources for potentially long periods 
of time if there is no disposal option, and the sources are subject to 
loss or abandonment. The staff has re-examined the 1995 assumptions 
underlying the radioactivity constraints on their disposal. The CA 
BTP's revised positions are based on different, but conservative 
assumptions and will allow for the safe disposal of more sealed sources 
than the 1995 CA BTP. The revised position will enhance national 
security by ensuring that the safest and most secure method for 
managing sealed sources (i.e., permanent disposal in a licensed 
facility) is available to licensees.

III. Overview of Public Comments

    Revision 1 of the CA BTP has been developed after consideration of 
public comments on three drafts. The first draft (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML103430088) was noticed in the Federal Register on January 26, 2011 
(76 FR 4739). The second draft (ADAMS Accession No. ML112061191) was 
made available to the public in September 2011, in advance of a public 
workshop held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 20, 2011. The 
third draft (ADAMS Accession No. ML121170418) was noticed in the 
Federal Register for public comment on June 11, 2012, (77 FR 34411). 
Information about obtaining these documents is available in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document.
    Fifteen organizations representing a variety of interests submitted 
comments on the drafts. They included Federal and State agencies and 
organizations, a nuclear power plant research organization, disposal 
and waste processing facility licensees, industry professional 
organizations, an advocacy group, and a waste services company. These 
comments have been considered by the NRC staff in developing this 
revision to the CA BTP. An overview of the changes to the 1995 CA BTP 
is presented below. Detailed responses to each of the public comments 
are available in Vol. 2 of the revised CA BTP and in the drafts 
referenced above.

IV. Overview of Revisions

    The major changes to the 1995 CA BTP are summarized below. Appendix 
B of Volume 1 of the revised CA BTP has a more complete list of 
changes. The staff responses to individual public comments are 
contained in Section 3 of Volume 2 of the CA BTP. Finally, a summary of 
the changes to the May 2012 version published for public comment is 
available in ADAMS Accession No. ML14157A227.
    Increase in cesium-137 sealed source activity limits. In the 
revised CA BTP, the staff has increased the limits for disposal of 
cesium-137 (Cs-137) sealed sources, using an improved technical basis 
and a reasonably foreseeable but conservative intruder scenario. 
Cesium-137 is used in sealed sources for

[[Page 10167]]

research, medical, and industrial purposes. The recommended constraint 
on the size of these sources for disposal has been increased from 1.1 
TBq (30 Ci) to 4.8 TBq (130 Ci), based on new, more risk-informed 
analysis. The revised CA BTP also specifies a process that licensees 
should use to request review by Agreement State regulators of proposed 
disposals of larger activity sources.
    Demonstration of adequate mixing in blended LLW. The revised CA BTP 
also addresses the Commission direction to ``develop a clear standard 
for determining homogeneity'' of blended waste. The 1995 CA BTP 
constrained the concentrations of inputs to a mixture of blended waste 
and therefore did not need to address the homogeneity of the final 
mixture. It included a ``Factor of 10'' concentration limit on waste 
blending which limited blending of waste streams with radionuclide 
concentrations to within a factor of 10 of the average concentrations 
in the blended product. The revised CA BTP specifies certain thresholds 
on radionuclide concentrations of waste streams that are blended 
together. Above these thresholds, licensees should demonstrate waste is 
adequately blended. Considerations for this demonstration are also 
discussed. The thresholds for demonstrating adequate blending and the 
guidance on demonstrating waste is adequately blended are based on a 
probabilistic dose assessment. This revision is risk-informed because 
of the method used to establish the threshold for the homogeneity 
demonstration. It is also performance-based because the position no 
longer constrains concentrations of inputs to a blending process but 
instead specifies criteria that the output (i.e., blended waste) must 
meet to protect an inadvertent intruder from potential hot spots in the 
waste.
    Alternative Approaches. Another revision to the CA BTP is the 
addition of specific guidance for licensees to use in proposing site- 
or waste-specific averaging approaches, rather than the generic 
approaches specified in the body of the CA BTP. This revision is 
consistent with NRC's performance-based regulatory policy because it 
facilitates the use of other averaging approaches to meet the 10 CFR 
part 61 performance objective of protecting an inadvertent intruder. 
The 1995 CA BTP stated that alternative approaches for averaging should 
be approved under NRC's regulation in 10 CFR 61.58. By referencing a 
provision in the regulations that applies to alternatives to the 
requirements in 10 CFR part 61 (and not NRC staff guidance like the CA 
BTP), performance-based approaches to intruder protection were in 
effect discouraged. In addition, not all regulatory authorities in 
Agreement States that license disposal sites have this provision in 
their regulations, and so the regulatory mechanism for obtaining 
approval of alternatives was not available to all licensees. That is, 
some regulators could not authorize deviations from the 1995 CA BTP 
under that provision, even though site-specific features may have 
justified other averaging approaches. The revised CA BTP acknowledges 
that site-specific and other approaches may be used, and deviations 
from staff guidance in the CA BTP do not need the 10 CFR 61.58 approval 
that was previously specified. Instead, the regulatory authority may 
approve another approach in the same manner used for deviations from 
other NRC guidance.
    Risk-informed treatment of cartridge filters. In the 1995 CA BTP, 
cartridge filters, a waste type generated during the operation of 
nuclear power plants, were defined as discrete objects subject to 
certain averaging constraints on each filter. Each filter had to be 
radiologically characterized and fit within the specified averaging 
constraints of the 1995 CA BTP. While that default position remains in 
place, the revised CA BTP also allows for the treatment of such filters 
as blendable waste, with a documented justification. Characterizing the 
overall blendable waste mixture and classifying the mixture based on 
its total radioactivity, rather than individual items, is permitted for 
many other waste types in the revised CA BTP. This more risk-informed 
position is justified because in practice many filters do not present a 
gamma hazard to an intruder, based on their actual radionuclide 
concentrations.
    Risk-informed averaging of other discrete waste items. The 1995 CA 
BTP constrained the averaging of discrete items with its Factors of 1.5 
(which applied to primary gamma emitters) and 10 (which applied to 
other radionuclides). The factors applied to the average radionuclide 
concentrations in a mixture of certain discrete items, such as 
activated metals, such that the radionuclide concentrations in all 
items in a mixture had to be within those factors for the average of 
the mixture. These factors ensure uniformity of radionuclide 
concentrations in mixtures of items, but such mixtures could be 
uniformly low in concentration and risk. Thus, there is no relationship 
between the 1995 CA BTP position and acceptable risk (or dose). The 
revised CA BTP ties the averaging factors to the class limit for 
radionuclide concentrations (not the average of the mixture), which has 
a relationship to risk because the class limits are based on a dose of 
5 mSv/yr (500 mrem/yr) exposure to an inadvertent intruder. The staff 
also revised the Factor of 1.5 to 2, since the uncertainty associated 
with intruder protection does not justify the precision implied by the 
first factor.
    In developing the revised CA BTP, the staff identified one issue 
that may need further clarification. One of the categories of discrete 
wastes that are subject to special concentration averaging constraints 
is ``contaminated materials.'' The 1995 CA BTP defines contaminated 
materials as components or metals on which radioactivity resides on or 
near the surface in a fixed or removable condition. To demonstrate 
compliance with these averaging constraints, the radiological 
characteristics and volumes of individual items are typically 
determined. However, items with surface contamination may also be 
categorized as radioactive trash which is not subject to any special 
averaging constraints. Items in radioactive trash do not need to be 
individually characterized. Instead, a container of radioactive trash 
can be surveyed to determine its overall radioactivity and its 
classification determined by dividing the overall activity by the waste 
volume. Neither the 1995 CA BTP nor draft revisions published for 
public comment provided guidance for categorizing items as either 
contaminated materials or radioactive trash. In addition, the staff 
received no comments from stakeholders on this issue. The staff will 
consider whether additional guidance, such as a Regulatory Issue 
Summary (RIS), is warranted for distinguishing contaminated materials 
from radioactive trash. The staff may also formally clarify or 
supplement other positions in the CA BTP at a later time, as necessary.

V. Congressional Review Act

    This CA BTP is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-9808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not 
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

VI. Implementation

    The revised CA BTP describes and makes available to NRC and 
Agreement State licensees, Agreement States, and the public, methods 
that the NRC believes are acceptable for implementing specific parts of 
the Commission's regulations. The positions in this document are not 
intended as a

[[Page 10168]]

substitute for regulations, and compliance with them is not required. 
Agreement States may use this information in establishing waste 
acceptance criteria for their licensees who are operating waste 
disposal sites. Applicants and licensees may use the information in the 
revised CA BTP when developing applications for initial licenses, 
amendments to licenses, or requests for NRC regulatory approval. 
Licensees may use the information in the revised CA BTP for actions 
(i.e., in determining average radionuclide concentrations in waste) 
that do not require prior NRC review and approval. Licensees may also 
use the information in the revised CA BTP to assist in attempting to 
resolve regulatory or inspection issues. Agreement States and current 
licensees may continue to use the previous guidance for complying with 
the concentration averaging provision in 10 CFR 61.55(a)(8) (i.e., the 
January 23, 1995, ``Final Branch Technical Position on Concentration 
Averaging and Encapsulation''). Current licensees may also voluntarily 
use positions in this revised CA BTP.
    In addition to the guidance in the revised CA BTP, licensees that 
ship waste for disposal in a 10 CFR part 61 or Agreement State 
equivalent facility should ensure that the waste meets the 
concentration averaging provisions in the land disposal facility 
license. Where there are conflicts with this guidance, the land 
disposal facility license conditions issued by the regulatory authority 
(i.e., the Agreement State) must be met.

VII. Backfitting

    The revised CA BTP revision describes a voluntary method that the 
NRC staff considers acceptable for complying with the regulation in 10 
CFR 61.55(a)(8), regarding averaging of radionuclide concentrations for 
the purpose of determining waste classification. Compliance with the 
revised CA BTP is not an NRC requirement, and licensees and applicants 
may choose this or another method to achieve compliance with this 
provision in the 10 CFR part 61. In particular, current licensees may 
continue to use the averaging positions in the 1995 CA BTP. The revised 
CA BTP does not require a backfit analysis, as described in 10 CFR 
50.109(c), because (1) it does not impose a new or amended provision in 
the NRC's rules, (2) does not present a regulatory staff position that 
interprets the NRC's rules in a manner that is either new or different 
from a previous staff position; and (3) does not require the 
modification of, or addition to, the systems, structures, components, 
or design of a facility, or the procedures or organizations required to 
design, construct, or operate a facility.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January, 2015.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-03913 Filed 2-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P