[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71102-71104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26961]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-089 and 50-163; NRC-2021-0196]


Termination of Operating Licenses for the General Atomics TRIGA 
Reactor Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License termination; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing 
notice of the termination of Facility Operating License No. R-38 and 
Facility Operating License No. R-67 for the General Atomics (GA; the 
licensee) TRIGA Reactor Facility in San Diego, California, where the 
Mark I and Mark F non power research reactors are located. The NRC has 
terminated the licenses for the decommissioned GA TRIGA Reactor 
Facility and has released the site for unrestricted use.

DATES: Notice of termination of Facility Operating License No. R-38 and 
Facility Operating License No. R-67 was issued on December 14, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0196 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-2021-0196. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlayna Doell, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3178; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The GA TRIGA Reactor Facility in San Diego, California, is located 
on the Torrey Pines Mesa within the larger General Atomics campus. The 
TRIGA Mark I was the initial prototype TRIGA reactor, achieved initial 
criticality on May 3, 1958, and was in continuous operation until late 
1997. On October 29, 1997, the TRIGA Mark I license (Facility Operating 
License No. R-38) was amended to possession only. The TRIGA Mark F 
achieved initial criticality on July 2, 1960 and was in continuous 
operation until March 22, 1995. The TRIGA Mark F license (Facility 
Operating License No. R-67) was amended to possession only in 1995. In 
2010, all irradiated fuel elements from the TRIGA reactors located on 
the Torrey Pines Mesa were shipped to an authorized off-site storage 
facility at the Idaho National Laboratory.

II. Discussion

    By letter dated April 18, 1997, as supplemented by letters dated 
November 20, 1998, January 28 and 29, February 3, April 22, May 3 and 
12, and June 15, 16, and 22, 1999, GA submitted a request to the NRC to 
approve the TRIGA Reactor Facility Decommissioning Plan (DP). The NRC 
approved the GA DP by Amendment No. 36 to Facility Operating License 
No. R-38 and Amendment No. 45 to Facility Operating License No. R-67, 
dated August 12, 1999.
    In February 2020, GA submitted Revision 2 of the ``TRIGA Reactor 
Facility Final Status Survey Plan'', which the NRC staff determined was 
consistent with the guidance and methodology in NUREG-1575, ``Multi-
Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM),'' and 
NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance.'' The licensee's 
decommissioning activities included decontamination, dismantlement, and 
demolition of

[[Page 71103]]

various systems, structures, and components followed by MARSSIM-based 
final status surveys (FSS).
    The FSS was performed to demonstrate that the residual 
radioactivity remaining at the GA TRIGA Reactor Facility site satisfies 
the NRC's release criteria in section 20.1402 of title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Radiological criteria for 
unrestricted use,'' which are (1) an annual dose limit of less than 25 
millirem per year Total Effective Dose Equivalent to an average member 
of the critical group (i.e., a member of the public) and (2) the 
residual radioactivity has been reduced to levels that are as low as 
reasonably achievable.
    By letter dated December 14, 2020, GA submitted the FSS Report for 
the TRIGA Reactor Facility and requested the termination of Facility 
Operating License No. R-38 and Facility Operating License No. R-67. The 
NRC staff reviewed the FSS Report, which states that the criteria for 
license termination set forth in the GA licenses, and as established in 
the previously submitted DP and FSS Plan, have been satisfied. 
Supplemental information was provided in emails from the licensee dated 
February 26 and May 18, 2021, which addressed additional questions and 
items requiring clarification that were provided to the licensee by the 
NRC staff during the review of the FSS Report.
    The GA FSS Report and request to terminate the TRIGA Reactor 
Facility licenses, the NRC evaluation supporting the license 
termination decision, and a collection of decommissioning and license 
termination information, including the GA DP and associated NRC safety 
evaluation, as well as Revision 1 of the GA FSS Plan, are provided in 
the ``Availability of Documents'' table in this notice.
    Throughout the decommissioning process, inspectors from the NRC's 
Region IV office in Arlington, Texas, conducted routine safety 
inspections at the GA TRIGA Reactor Facility, as documented in the 
following NRC Inspection Reports (IRs), which took place during and 
after removal of the TRIGA irradiated fuel elements in 2010: IR 50-163/
2010-01; 50-89/2010-01, IR 50-163/2012-01; 50-89/2012-01, IR 50-163/
2013-01; 50-89/2013-01, IR 50-163/2015-01; 50-89/2015-01, IR 50-163/
2018-01; 50-89/2018-01, IR 50-163/2019-01; 50-89/2019-01, and IR 50-
163/2020-01; 50-89/2020-01.
    The inspections consisted of observations by the NRC inspectors, 
interviews with GA and contractor personnel, confirmatory measurements, 
collection of soil samples, and a review of decommissioning work plans 
and work instructions. The NRC inspections also verified that 
radioactive waste associated with the decommissioning project had been 
appropriately shipped offsite and that the decommissioning and FSS 
activities were being conducted safely and in accordance with the 
appropriate regulatory requirements, licensee commitments, and the NRC-
approved GA DP. No health or safety concerns were identified during the 
NRC inspections.
    During the period of August 5-8, 2019, the Oak Ridge Institute for 
Science and Education (ORISE) performed confirmatory surveys in support 
of the GA FSS and decommissioning activities, which included gamma 
surface scans, gamma direct measurements, alpha-plus-beta scans, alpha-
plus-beta direct measurements, smear sampling, and soil/volumetric 
sampling within Building G21 and associated land areas, as applicable. 
The areas investigated included the following survey units: Mark I 
reactor pit, Mark F reactor pit and canal, Mark I reactor room (floor 
and lower walls), Mark F reactor room (floors and lower walls), the 
soil lab, mezzanine 1, mezzanine 2, TRIGA waste yard, TRIGA front yard, 
TRIGA back yard, and room 112, as well as a small section of the TRIGA 
Reactor Facility roof. ORISE provided the results of the confirmatory 
survey in a report dated November 26, 2019. The ORISE survey data 
support the conclusion that the residual radioactivity levels satisfy 
the criteria for license termination set forth in the GA licenses, and 
as established in the previously submitted DP and FSS Plan.
    Based on observations during the NRC inspections and ORISE 
confirmatory survey activities, decommissioning activities have been 
carried out by GA in accordance with the approved TRIGA Reactor 
Facility DP. Additionally, the NRC staff evaluated the licensee's FSS 
Report and the results of the independent confirmatory survey conducted 
by ORISE. Based on the NRC staff's evaluation of the GA FSS Report 
sampling and scanning data, NRC staff inspections, ORISE confirmatory 
analyses, and comparison to the TRIGA Reactor Facility DP and FSS Plan 
criteria, the NRC staff concludes that the GA TRIGA Reactor Facility 
decommissioning has been performed and completed in accordance with the 
approved DP, and that the facility and site are suitable for 
unrestricted release in accordance with the radiological criteria for 
license termination in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E, ``Radiological 
Criteria for License Termination.''
    Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6), Facility Operating 
License No. R-38 and Facility Operating License No. R-67 are 
terminated.

III. 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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GA Final Status Survey Report and Request to Terminate       ML21012A268 (Package).
 License Nos. R-38 and R-67.
NRC Approval of License Termination Based on the Final       ML21281A171
 Status Survey Report and Supporting Information.
GA TRIGA Reactor Facility Final Status Survey Plan,          ML20049A039
 Revision 2.
Supplemental Information Related to the License Termination  ML21246A250 (Package).
 Request.
NUREG-1575, ``Multi Agency Radiation Survey and Site         ML003761445
 Investigation Manual (MARSSIM)''.
NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance,''       ML063000243
 Volume 1.
NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance,''       ML063000252
 Volume 2.
IR 50 163/2010-01; 50 89/2010-01...........................  ML103060034
IR 50 163/2012-01; 50 89/2012 01...........................  ML12321A127
IR 50 163/2013-01; 50 89/2013-01...........................  ML13338A864
IR 50 163/2015-01; 50 89/2015-01...........................  ML15328A527
IR 50 163/2018-01; 50 89/2018-01...........................  ML18319A137
IR 50 163/2019-01; 50 89/2019-01...........................  ML19247C512
IR 50 163/2020-01; 50 89/2020-01...........................  ML20090B701
Independent Confirmatory Survey Summary and Results for the  ML19337D382
 General Atomics TRIGA Reactor Facility.
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[[Page 71104]]

    Dated: December 8, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Watson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-26961 Filed 12-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P