[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 224 (Monday, November 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83289-83291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27946]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 040-08943; NRC-2008-0208]
Crow Butte Resources, Inc.
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption to Crow Butte Resources, Inc. (CBR) for the purpose of
complying with occupational dose limits in response to a request from
CBR dated September 21, 2015. Issuance of this exemption will allow CBR
to disregard certain radionuclides that contribute to the total
activity of a mixture when determining internal dose to assess
compliance with occupational dose equivalent limits at its in situ
uranium recovery (ISR) facility in Crawford, Nebraska.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0208 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain 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-2008-0208. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual 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
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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 (if that document
is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced.
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: Ronald A. Burrows, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6443; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Crow Butte Resources, Inc. operates the Crow Butte ISR facility in
Crawford, Nebraska (the Crow Butte Project) under NRC source materials
license SUA-1534 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13324A101). At the Crow Butte
Project, CBR performs airborne uranium particulate monitoring in the
plant in accordance with Section 5.8.3.1 of its Technical Report (ADAMS
Accession No. ML091470116). As described in its Technical Report, CBR
measures airborne uranium by taking samples of particulate matter in
air at locations within the plant using glass fiber filters and air
pumps. The measurement of airborne uranium is performed by gross alpha
counting of air filters.
In Section 5.7.4.3.1, ``Airborne Particulate Uranium Monitoring,''
of the NRC staff's 2014 Safety Evaluation Report (SER) for the renewal
of CBR's license for the Crow Butte Project (ADAMS Accession No.
ML14149A433), the NRC staff stated that CBR did not demonstrate that
gross alpha counting would differentiate all airborne radioactivity in
air samples, including radionuclides that are not uranium, some of
which may not emit alpha particles and, therefore, will not be
detected. As a result, the NRC staff imposed license condition 10.8 in
CBR's license SUA-1534, which states that the licensee shall conduct
isotopic analyses for alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides on
airborne samples at each in-plant air particulate sampling location at
a frequency of once every 6 months for the first 2 years and annually
thereafter to ensure compliance with section 20.1204(g) of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license condition also
states that for any changes to operations, the licensee shall conduct
an evaluation to determine if more frequent isotopic analyses are
required for compliance with 10 CFR 20.1204(g).
In its September 21, 2015, response to NRC staff requests for
additional information (RAIs), CBR clarified its approach to
determining internal dose by air sampling, including an analysis of how
CBR meets the requirement in 10 CFR 20.1204(g) for disregarding certain
radionuclides contained in mixtures of radionuclides in air (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15310A373). As part of its analysis, CBR stated that it
accounts for all of the alpha-emitting radioactive material in air when
measuring uranium, as described in its Technical Report, but it does
not account for total activity (i.e., the sum of all alpha-emitting and
beta-emitting radioactive material in air) when determining internal
dose. In accordance with 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(1), a licensee may only
disregard certain radionuclides in a mixture if it uses the total
activity of the mixture, which includes both alpha-emitting and beta-
emitting radionuclides, to demonstrate compliance with the dose limits
in 10 CFR 20.1201 and to comply with the monitoring requirements in 10
CFR 20.1502(b). In addition to meeting the condition of 10 CFR
20.1204(g)(1), a licensee must also show that the concentration of any
radionuclide disregarded is less than 10 percent of its derived air
concentration (DAC), and the sum of these percentages for all of the
radionuclides disregarded in the mixture does not exceed 30 percent, in
accordance with 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(2) and 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(3),
respectively, in order to disregard certain radionuclides in a mixture.
In its September 21, 2015, RAI response, CBR requested an exemption
from including the internal dose from beta-emitting radionuclides in
occupational dose calculations. In support of this request, CBR
provided the following information: (1) CBR accounts for all alpha
activity on the sample filters used in its air sampling program, which
accounts for nearly all of the internal dose received from airborne
radionuclides typically present at an in-situ recovery facility other
than radon-222 (radon) and its short-lived progeny; (2) the
contribution to occupational dose from internal exposure to airborne
beta-emitting radionuclides (other than radon-222 and its short-lived
progeny) is very small relative to other sources of occupational dose
(such as external dose and internal dose from inhalation of radon-222
and its short-lived progeny, which are accounted for separately); and
(3) it would be administratively complex to attempt to track, and
account for, a comparatively small internal dose from airborne non-
radon beta-emitting radionuclides at the Crow Butte Project.
II. Description of Action
The NRC may, under 10 CFR 20.2301, upon application by a licensee
or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of
the regulations in 10 CFR part 20, if the NRC determines the exemption
is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or
property. As described in the NRC staff's safety evaluation report for
this exemption request (ADAMS Accession No. ML16078A238), the NRC staff
found that this exemption is authorized by law and will not result in
undue hazard to life or property. Therefore, the NRC is granting CBR an
exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(1) to use the total
activity of the mixture in demonstrating compliance with the dose
limits specified in Sec. 20.1201. The licensee must still consider all
radionuclides in demonstrating compliance with the requirements in
Sec. 20.1502(b). In conjunction with granting this exemption, the NRC
is revising license condition 10.8 of CBR's license SUA-1534 to reflect
the terms of the exemption.
III. Discussion
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The NRC staff concluded that the exemption is authorized by law as
10 CFR 20.2301 expressly allows for an exemption to the requirements in
10 CFR part 20, and the exemption will not be contrary to any provision
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Hazard to Life or Property
The exemption is related to the requirement in 10 CFR 20.1501(a)
for licensees to make, or cause to be made, appropriate surveys. In
accordance with 10 CFR 20.1204(g), when concentrations of radioactive
material in air are relied upon to determine internal dose, a licensee
may disregard certain radionuclides contained in a mixture of
radionuclides in air if the following three conditions are met: (1) the
licensee uses the total activity of the mixture in demonstrating
compliance with the dose limits in Sec. 20.1201 and in
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complying with the monitoring requirements in Sec. 20.1502(b); (2) the
concentration of any radionuclide disregarded is less than 10 percent
of its DAC; and (3) the sum of these percentages for all of the
radionuclides disregarded in the mixture does not exceed 30 percent.
CBR has demonstrated, and the NRC staff has verified, that its
surveys under Sec. 20.1501(a) and its method of determination under
Sec. 20.1204 account for nearly all of the occupational dose and that
any additional contribution to occupational dose from internal exposure
to airborne non-radon beta-emitting radionuclides is very small.
Furthermore, in conjunction with granting this exemption, the NRC staff
is revising CBR license condition 10.8 to require CBR to periodically
assess the mixture of airborne radionuclides present at its facility
against a specific regulatory limit. This will ensure that CBR will be
aware of changes in the mixture of airborne radionuclides at the Crow
Butte Project and that the contribution to occupational dose from
internal exposure to beta-emitting radionuclides will remain small.
Therefore, granting this exemption presents no undue hazard to life or
property.
C. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff has determined that granting of an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(1) belongs to a category of
regulatory actions which the NRC, by regulation, has determined do not
individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the
environment, and as such do not require an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement. Specifically, the exemption from the
requirement to include all radionuclides that contribute to total
activity under 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(1) is eligible for categorical
exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25) based on the NRC staff's
determinations that requirements from which exemption is sought involve
inspection or surveillance requirements (a survey under 10 CFR
20.1501(a)), and that the exemption will result in no significant
change in the types or significant increase the amount of any offsite
effluents; no significant increase to individual or cumulative public
or occupational radiation exposure; no significant construction impact;
and no significant increase to the potential for, or consequence from,
radiological accidents.
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (the Act) [16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.] outlines the procedures for Federal interagency cooperation to
conserve Federally-listed species and designated critical habitats.
Section 7(a)(2) of the Act states that each Federal agency shall, in
consultation with the Secretary, insure that any action they authorize,
fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of a listed species or result in the destruction or adverse
modification of designated critical habitat. The NRC staff has
determined that a Section 7 consultation is not required because the
proposed action is administrative/procedural in nature and will not
affect listed species or critical habitat. The NRC staff has also
determined that the proposed action is not a type of activity that has
potential to cause effects on historic properties because it is an
administrative/procedural action. Therefore, no further consultation is
required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
[54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.].
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
20.2301, the exemption is authorized by law and will not present an
undue hazard to life or property. The NRC hereby grants CBR an
exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 20.1204(g)(1) to use the total
activity of the mixture in demonstrating compliance with the dose
limits in Sec. 20.1201.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of November 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea Kock,
Deputy Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and
Environmental Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-27946 Filed 11-18-16; 8:45 am]
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