[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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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]
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