[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3903-3905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01074]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Amended Record of Decision for the Installation and Operation of 
a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, 
Ohio Site

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Amended record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security

[[Page 3904]]

Administration (NNSA) is announcing this amendment to the July 2004 
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride 
Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) (DOE/EIS-
0360). In this amended ROD, DOE/NNSA is announcing its decision to 
implement its preferred alternative for the construction and operation 
of a depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion 
facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, a DOE Office of Environmental 
Management (EM) site. This amended ROD addresses DOE/NNSA's intent to 
construct and operate a fourth process line within the conversion 
facility, as previously analyzed in the aforementioned FEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
addition of the fourth processing line, please contact Ms. Casey 
Deering, Director, Office of Secondary Stage Production Modernization, 
Office of Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, 
telephone (202) 586-6075; or by email to [email protected].
    For information on NNSA's NEPA process, please contact Mr. John 
Weckerle, NEPA Compliance Officer, National Nuclear Security 
Administration, Office of General Counsel, Telephone (505) 845-6026; or 
by email to [email protected]. This Amended Record of Decision 
is available on the internet at http://energy.gov/nepa.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In June 2004, DOE issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride 
Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) (DOE/EIS-
0360). In the 2004 FEIS, DOE analyzed the potential environmental 
impacts from the construction, operation, maintenance, and 
decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the proposed depleted 
uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility at three 
alternative locations within the Portsmouth site. DOE reviewed 
transportation of cylinders (DUF6, normal and enriched 
UF6, and empty) stored at the East Tennessee Technology Park 
(ETTP) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Portsmouth; construction of a new 
cylinder storage yard at Portsmouth (if required) for the ETTP 
cylinders; transportation of depleted uranium conversion products and 
waste materials to a disposal facility; transportation and sale of the 
aqueous hydrogen fluoride (HF) produced as a conversion co-product; and 
neutralization of aqueous HF to calcium fluoride (CaF2) and 
its sale or disposal in the event that the aqueous HF product is not 
sold. An option of shipping the ETTP cylinders to the Paducah, 
Kentucky, site was also considered, as was an option of expanding 
operations by increasing throughput (through efficiency improvements or 
by adding a fourth conversion line) or by extending the period of 
operation. The EIS analyzed the No Action Alternative and three 
alternative locations within the plant, all of which utilized the same 
proposed equipment and processes. Location A, the preferred 
Alternative, was located in the west-central portion of the site; 
Location B was located in the southwestern portion of the site, and 
Location C was located in the southeastern portion of the site. A 
similar EIS was issued concurrently for construction and operation of a 
DUF6 conversion facility at DOE EM's Paducah site (DOE/EIS-
0359). In the July 27, 2004, ROD (69 FR 44649), DOE chose Alternative 
Location A and announced its decision to install three of the four 
processing lines analyzed in the EIS at Portsmouth.
    DOE/NNSA now announces its decision to add the fourth processing 
line analyzed in the 2004 EIS. The process alteration to add the fourth 
process line is in response to the government's need to meet high 
purity depleted uranium (HPDU) demand to execute DOE/NNSA mission 
requirements. Neither commercial nor Y-12 capabilities exist to convert 
DUF6 to DUF4 to support depleted uranium metal 
production. This line will use utility equipment and materials 
identical to those currently in operation. The process will be altered 
slightly to produce DUF4 that will be provided to a 
commercial vendor for additional processing.
    The United States has produced DUF6 since the early 
1950s as part of the process of enriching natural uranium for both 
civilian and military applications. The EM sites at Portsmouth and 
Paducah are currently charged with converting approximately 70,000 
DUF6 cylinders into an impure oxide (UOx) for 
disposition as waste or for reuse. The Portsmouth site currently has 
three process lines in place for this conversion with space designed 
into the process building to accept a fourth line. This space is the 
proposed location to accept the additional equipment items and provide 
the DUF6 conversion to DUF4.
    The Portsmouth DUF6 Conversion Facility was commissioned 
to process the DUF6 stored in cylinders into a more stable 
chemical form (UOx). Current DUF6 cylinder 
inventory at Portsmouth is ~19,000 cylinders with ~18 years of 
processing needed to complete DUF6 to UOx 
conversion. Portsmouth has three operable process lines to accomplish 
this mission; each line is capable of processing approximately one 
standard 48'' cylinder per 24-hour workday. The Portsmouth 
DUF6 Conversion Facility and its infrastructure were 
designed and constructed to support four process lines, however only 
three lines were installed. The physical configuration of the building 
has already been satisfactorily evaluated in the FEIS to support a 
fourth process line with respect to seismic design criteria and natural 
phenomenon hazards. There is adequate space to support an additional 
process line with respect to the following equipment, utilities and 
support systems: Electrical power, sanitary water, process water, 
cooling water, hydrogen, nitrogen, potassium hydroxide, hydrofluoric 
acid handling, cylinder movement, material handling, instrument air, 
fire suppression, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), 
decontamination, emission controls, waste handling, and environmental 
monitoring. This utility equipment is identical to equipment currently 
in operation at the facility. The Portsmouth DUF6 Conversion 
Facility meets the DOE criteria for a Hazard Category 3 Nuclear 
Facility.
    Currently the facility reacts the DUF6 with 
H2 (hydrogen) and H2O (steam) to produce the 
UOx. This reaction generates hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a 
production/conversion co-product in molar proportion to the reaction. 
Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) is used in an off gas scrubber to neutralize 
the HF vapor which is not collected for resale. As decided in the ROD, 
the aqueous HF produced during conversion will be sold for use, as 
appropriate. If necessary, CaF2 (Calcium Fluoride) will be 
produced and dispositioned.

Amended Decision

    DOE/NNSA is amending DOE's previous decision (69 FR 44649). DOE/
NNSA will install the fourth conversion line and will slightly alter 
the process when reacting the DUF6. Typically, as stated 
above, the DUF6 is reacted with H2 and 
H2O (steam) to produce the UOx. The altered 
process will still react DUF6 with H2 but will 
omit the H2O (steam) from the initial part of the conversion 
process. The N2 will still be used as an inert motive force 
gas and the off gas will still be scrubbed with KOH. At the

[[Page 3905]]

end of the process, H2O (steam) will then be used, but only 
to dilute the generated HF to the desired concentration (molarity). The 
HF will still be stored in tanks to be sold for use, or converted to 
CaF2, as described above. The resulting product, 
DUF4, will be provided to a commercial vendor for additional 
processing. This operation avoids having to provide for subsequent 
disposition of the UOx and provides a strategic commodity 
that can be used in NNSA programs.

Basis for Decision

    Implementing this decision supports DOE's continuing need to 
convert its inventory of DUF6 to a more stable chemical form 
for use or disposal, as defined in the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium 
Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) 
(DOE/EIS-0360). In this instance, the use will be the production of 
DUF4 that can be provided to a commercial vendor for later 
conversion into metallic depleted uranium for government use. The 
current proposal does not represent a substantive change to operations, 
activities, and associated impacts assessed in DOE/EIS-0360. Any 
applicable updates related to the International Building Code and life 
safety codes will be incorporated into the NNSA Conversion Project new 
equipment design. The proposed conversion to DUF4 would 
reduce the UOx quantity that would need to be dispositioned 
at a commercial facility (sold, re-used, or disposed of as waste), as a 
quantity of DUF6 would be converted to DUF4 and 
HF instead of oxide. Processes and equipment used for this purpose 
would be similar or identical to those associated with current 
conversion activities. The total amount of DU planned for transport 
would remain unchanged from quantities evaluated in the 2004 EIS; 
however, the form of a small percentage of the transported material 
would change. Radiological impacts from handling/transportation between 
the two material forms are comparable. In the event of a container or 
equipment breach, a release of DUF4 would result in reduced 
hazards in comparison to that of depleted uranium oxide because 
DUF4 would be slightly less prone to becoming airborne.
    In addition, the planned transportation destinations for oxide 
involve greater distances than the proposed destination options for 
DUF4. Finally, less HF will be generated during the 
conversion to DUF4 as compared to the conversion to oxide 
material.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of December 2019, for 
the United States Department of Energy.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty,
Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, National Nuclear Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-01074 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P