[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40695-40696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14481]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7022; NRC-2020-0116]


Passport Systems, Inc.; North Billerica, MA

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License termination; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing 
public notice of the termination of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) 
License No. SNM-2016. The NRC has terminated the license held by 
Passport Systems, Inc. (Passport), to possess and use SNM for 
developing new technologies to detect special nuclear materials in 
cargo containers for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The license was terminated at 
Passport's request since it no longer needed the sources for 
development of their cargo inspection system.

DATES: The license termination for SNM-2016 was issued on May 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0116 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0116. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; 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 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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]. For the convenience of the reader, 
the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the 
``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Osiris Siurano-Perez, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7827, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC has terminated License No. SNM-2016, held by Passport 
Systems, Inc., for possession and use of SNM at its facilities at 76 
Treble Cove Road, in North Billerica, and at 700 Summer St., Conley 
Terminal in the Port of Boston. Passport was contracted by the DHS to 
develop new technologies to detect special nuclear materials in cargo 
containers. The program included utilizing SNM placed inside fully 
loaded cargo containers and other concealments during testing of 
proprietary equipment to determine if it can locate SNM sources placed 
inside containers when surrounded by the cargo. The materials used 
consisted of Low Enriched Uranium and High Enriched Uranium constructed 
for DHS. The SNM consisted of SNM produced by Pacific Northwest 
National Laboratory, a highly enriched uranium metal source, low 
enriched uranium metal sources, and uranium oxides (U02 and U308). The 
sources used under this license were constructed by and owned by the 
Department of Energy, who retains ownership.
    The initial application for this license was received on November 
5, 2010. The NRC issued Passport's SNM license on December 12, 2011. 
Prior to submitting its request for license termination on October 16, 
2019, during NRC staff inspections of Passport's main office in North 
Billerica, MA, and its field office in the Port of Boston on August 29-
30, 2018, and March 19, 2019, respectively, Passport stated that it had 
discussed its intention to terminate their SNM-2016 license since it no 
longer needed the sources for development of their cargo inspection 
system. Passport's use of the licensed materials was for testing newly 
developed detection equipment. Therefore, consistent section 
51.22(c)(14)(v) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR), the initial licensing action was categorically excluded from the 
need to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact 
Statement. The NRC staff prepared a safety evaluation report for the 
termination of SNM-2018. This license termination complies with 10 CFR 
70.38, the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended, and the NRC's rules and regulations as set forth in 10 CFR 
Chapter I. Accordingly, this license termination was issued on May 4, 
2020.

II. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.

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                          Document                                            ADAMS Accession No.
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Passport Systems, Inc. License Application..................  ML110110650.
Letter to Paul H. Johnson, Passport Systems, Inc., Issuance   ML112760702 (package).
 of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-2016.

[[Page 40696]]

 
Enclosure 2: Passport Systems Materials License SNM-2016      ML113430777.
 Docket No. 70-7022 (Public Version).
License Amendment Request to Terminate Special Nuclear        ML19290E196 (package).
 Materials License No. SNM-2016.
Approval of Amendment to Terminate Special Nuclear Material   ML20009E807.
 License Number 2016.
Safety Evaluation Report: Termination of Special Nuclear      ML20009E809.
 Materials License.
Amendment 4 of SNM-2016.....................................  ML20009E810.
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    Dated: June 30, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kevin M. Ramsey,
Acting Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-14481 Filed 7-6-20; 8:45 am]
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