[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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