Draft Report for Comment: “Consideration of Geochemical Issues in Groundwater Restoration at Uranium In-Situ Leach Mining Facilities,” NUREG/CR-6870, 35744-35745 [E5-3199]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
35744
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 21, 2005 / Notices
that, at many sites, groundwater-related
pathways could contribute significantly
to the potential dose received by
members of the public. Consequently,
consistent with its mission to protect
the health and safety of the public and
the environment, the NRC uses
contaminant transport models to predict
the locations and concentrations of
radionuclides in soil as a function of
time. Through this notice, the NRC is
seeking comment on documentation of
a subsurface transport model developed
for the NRC by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) for realistic transport
modeling at sites with complex
chemical environments.
Because many radionuclides
temporarily attach, or adsorb, to the
surfaces of soil particles, their mobility
is reduced compared to that of
compounds that move with the
groundwater without interacting with
solid surfaces. As a result, most
subsurface-transport models used by the
NRC and its licensees estimate the
effects of the anticipated interactions
between radionuclides and solids in the
ground. Toward that end, these
subsurface-transport models use a
‘‘distribution coefficient,’’ which is
assumed to be constant and reflects the
proportion of radionuclide in the
groundwater compared to the
radionuclide associated with the solids
in the ground. These distribution
coefficients are widely used, and
consequently, the relevant literature
documents ranges of their values for
various soil types and radionuclides.
However, the documented ranges can be
very large because the chemical
reactions that cause radionuclides to
attach to solids are very sensitive to
water chemistry and soil mineralogy. As
a result, uncertainties in the parameters
used to characterize the adsorption of
radionuclides in soils have been
identified as a major source of
uncertainty in decommissioning,
uranium recovery, and radioactive
waste disposal cases evaluated by the
NRC.
Surface-complexation and ionexchange models offer a more realistic
approach to considering soilradionuclide interactions in
performance-assessment models. These
models can also account for variable
chemical environments that might affect
such interactions. The subject report,
prepared for the NRC by the USGS,
describes the theory, implementation,
and examples of use of the RATEQ
computer code, which simulates
radionuclide transport in soil and
allows the use of surface-complexation
and ion-exchange models to calculate
VerDate jul<14>2003
22:07 Jun 20, 2005
Jkt 205001
distribution coefficients based on actual
site chemistry.
The RATEQ code will help the NRC
staff define realistic site-specific ranges
of the distribution coefficient values
used to evaluate NRC-licensed sites. In
site-remediation cases, such as
restoration of the groundwater aquifer in
and around uranium in-situ leach
mining facilities, the RATEQ code can
aid in the estimation of restoration costs
by estimating the volume of treatment
water needed to restore sites to
acceptable environmental conditions.
Solicitation of Comments: The NRC
seeks comments on the report and is
especially interested in comments on
the value of the report to users who run
the RATEQ code and are familiar with
the types of complex chemical
environments that complicate many
remediation projects.
The NRC will consider all
written comments received before
September 30, 2005. Comments received
after September 30, 2005, will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but
the NRC staff is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
Comments should be addressed to the
contact listed below.
Availability: An electronic version of
the report is available in Adobe Portable
Document Format at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/contract/cr6871/
cr6871.pdf and can be read with Adobe
Acrobat Reader software, available at no
cost from https://www.adobe.com. The
report and the computer files for the test
cases discussed therein are available at
https://wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov/rtm.
Hard and electronic copies of the report
are available from the contact listed
below.
DATES:
Dr.
John D. Randall, Mail Stop T9C34, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852,
telephone (301) 415–6192, e-mail
jdr@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day
of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl A. Trottier,
Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental
Risk & Waste Management Branch, Division
of Systems Analysis and Regulatory
Effectiveness, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research.
[FR Doc. E5–3200 Filed 6–20–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
PO 00000
Frm 00130
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Draft Report for Comment:
‘‘Consideration of Geochemical Issues
in Groundwater Restoration at
Uranium In-Situ Leach Mining
Facilities,’’ NUREG/CR–6870
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
request for comments.
AGENCY:
Background
Some mining processes use fluids to
dissolve (or leach) a mineral without the
need to remove physically the ore
containing the mineral from an ore
deposit in the ground. In general, these
‘‘in-situ’’ leach mining operations at
uranium mines are considerably more
environmentally benign than traditional
mining and milling of uranium ore.
Nonetheless, the use of leaching fluids
to mine uranium may contaminate the
groundwater aquifer in and around the
region from which the uranium is
extracted. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) requires licensees to
restore the aquifer to established waterquality standards following the
cessation of in-situ leach mining
operations.
The NRC also requires licensees to
ensure that sufficient funds will be
available to cover the cost of
decommissioning their facilities. For
these uranium mines, restoration
generally consists of pumping specially
treated water into the affected aquifer
and removing the displaced water—and
thereby the undesirable contaminants—
from the system. Because groundwater
restoration can represent approximately
40 percent of the cost of
decommissioning a uranium leach
mining facility, a good estimate of the
necessary volume of treatment water is
important to estimate the cost of
decommissioning accurately.
The subject report, prepared for the
NRC by the U.S. Geological Survey,
summarizes the application of a
geochemical model to the restoration
process to estimate the degree to which
a licensee has decontaminated a site
where a leach mining process has been
used. Toward that end, this report
analyzes the respective amounts of
water and chemical additives pumped
into the mined regions to remove and
neutralize the residual contamination
using 10 different restoration strategies.
The analyses show that strategies that
used hydrogen sulfide in systems with
low natural oxygen content provided
the best results. On the basis of those
findings, this report also summarizes
E:\FR\FM\21JNN1.SGM
21JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 21, 2005 / Notices
the conditions under which various
restoration strategies will prove
successful. This, in turn, will allow
more accurate estimates of restoration
and decommissioning costs.
The subject report will be useful for
licensees and State regulators
overseeing uranium leach mining
facilities, who need to estimate the
volume of treatment water needed to
decontaminate those facilities.
Solicitation of Comments: The NRC
seeks comments on the report and is
especially interested in comments on
the utility and feasibility of the
modeling techniques described in the
report.
The NRC will consider all
written comments received before
August 31, 2005. Comments received
after August 31, 2005, will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but
the NRC staff is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
Comments should be addressed to the
contact listed below.
Availability: An electronic version of
the report is available in Adobe Portable
Document Format at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/contract/cr6870/
cr6870.pdf and can be read with Adobe
Acrobat Reader software, available at no
cost from https://www.adobe.com. Hard
and electronic copies are available from
the contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
John D. Randall, Mail Stop T9C34, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852,
telephone (301) 415–6192, e-mail
jdr@nrc.gov.
DATES:
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day
of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl A. Trottier,
Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental
Risk & Waste Management Branch, Division
of Systems Analysis and Regulatory
Effectiveness, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research.
[FR Doc. E5–3199 Filed 6–20–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Excepted Service
Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This gives notice of OPM
decisions granting authority to make
appointments under Schedules A, B and
VerDate jul<14>2003
22:07 Jun 20, 2005
Jkt 205001
C in the excepted service as required by
5 CFR 6.6 and 213.103.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Quasette Crowner, Chief, Executive
Resources Group, Center for Leadership
and Executive Resources Policy,
Division for Strategic Human Resources
Policy, 202–606–8046.
Appearing
in the listing below are the individual
authorities established under Schedules
A, B and C between May 1, 2005 and
May 31, 2005. Future notices will be
published on the fourth Tuesday of each
month, or as soon as possible thereafter.
A consolidated listing of all authorities
as of June 30 is published each year.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Schedule A
No Schedule A appointments were
approved for May 2005.
Schedule B
No Schedule B appointments were
approved for May 2005.
Schedule C
The following Schedule C
appointments were approved during
May 2005:
Section 213.3303
the President
Executive Office of
Council on Environmental Quality
EQGS00021 Communications Analyst
to the Associate Director for
Communications. Effective May 05,
2005.
Office of Management and Budget
BOGS60035 Confidential Assistant to
the Administrator, Office of Federal
Procurement Policy. Effective May 26,
2005.
Section 213.3304
Department of State
DSGS60949 Public Affairs Specialist
to the Coordinator for International
Information Programs. Effective May
09, 2005.
DSGS60951 Congressional Affairs
Manager to the Assistant Secretary for
International Organizational Affairs.
Effective May 09, 2005.
DSGS60965 Foreign Affairs Officer to
the Deputy Assistant Secretary.
Effective May 11, 2005.
DSGS60962 Legislative Management
Officer to the Assistant Secretary for
Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs. Effective May 13, 2005.
DSGS60963 Legislative Management
Officer to the Assistant Secretary for
Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs. Effective May 13, 2005.
PO 00000
Frm 00131
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
35745
Section 213.3305 Department of the
Treasury
DYGS00457 Senior Advisor to the
Chief of Staff. Effective May 27, 2005.
Section 213.3306 Department of
Defense
DDGS16879 Defense Fellow to the
Special Assistant to the Secretary of
Defense for White House Liaison.
Effective May 17, 2005.
DDGS16876 Staff Assistant to the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Detainee Affairs). Effective May 19,
2005.
DDGS16878 Defense Fellow to the
Special Assistant to the Secretary of
Defense for White House Liaison.
Effective May 26, 2005.
DDGS16872 Special Assistant to the
Assistant Secretary of Defense
(International Secretary Policy).
Effective May 27, 2005.
Section 213.3307 Department of the
Army
DWGS60017 Special Assistant to the
Army General Counsel. Effective May
06, 2005.
Section 213.3309 Department of the
Air Force
DFGS60012 Personal and Confidential
Assistant to the General Counsel.
Effective May 26, 2005.
Section 213.3310 Department of
Justice
DJGS00117 Deputy Director, Office of
Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives to the Director, Office of
Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives. Effective May 17, 2005.
DJGS00306 Special Assistant to the
Director, Office of Intergovernmental
and Public Liaison. Effective May 20,
2005.
DJGS00057 Chief of Staff to the
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney
General. Effective May 26, 2005.
Section 213.3311 Department of
Homeland Security
DMGS00353 Executive Assistant to the
Director, State and Local Affairs.
Effective May 06, 2005.
DMGS00366 Assistant Director for
Legislative Affairs to the Chief of
Staff. Effective May 09, 2005.
DMGS00360 Writer-Editor to the
Executive Secretary. Effective May 11,
2005.
DMGS00352 Special Assistant to the
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure
Protection. Effective May 13, 2005.
DMGS00368 Press Assistant to the
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Effective May 13, 2005.
DMGS00357 Trip Coordinator to the
Chief of Staff. Effective May 17, 2005.
E:\FR\FM\21JNN1.SGM
21JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35744-35745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3199]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Draft Report for Comment: ``Consideration of Geochemical Issues
in Groundwater Restoration at Uranium In-Situ Leach Mining
Facilities,'' NUREG/CR-6870
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Some mining processes use fluids to dissolve (or leach) a mineral
without the need to remove physically the ore containing the mineral
from an ore deposit in the ground. In general, these ``in-situ'' leach
mining operations at uranium mines are considerably more
environmentally benign than traditional mining and milling of uranium
ore. Nonetheless, the use of leaching fluids to mine uranium may
contaminate the groundwater aquifer in and around the region from which
the uranium is extracted. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
requires licensees to restore the aquifer to established water-quality
standards following the cessation of in-situ leach mining operations.
The NRC also requires licensees to ensure that sufficient funds
will be available to cover the cost of decommissioning their
facilities. For these uranium mines, restoration generally consists of
pumping specially treated water into the affected aquifer and removing
the displaced water--and thereby the undesirable contaminants--from the
system. Because groundwater restoration can represent approximately 40
percent of the cost of decommissioning a uranium leach mining facility,
a good estimate of the necessary volume of treatment water is important
to estimate the cost of decommissioning accurately.
The subject report, prepared for the NRC by the U.S. Geological
Survey, summarizes the application of a geochemical model to the
restoration process to estimate the degree to which a licensee has
decontaminated a site where a leach mining process has been used.
Toward that end, this report analyzes the respective amounts of water
and chemical additives pumped into the mined regions to remove and
neutralize the residual contamination using 10 different restoration
strategies. The analyses show that strategies that used hydrogen
sulfide in systems with low natural oxygen content provided the best
results. On the basis of those findings, this report also summarizes
[[Page 35745]]
the conditions under which various restoration strategies will prove
successful. This, in turn, will allow more accurate estimates of
restoration and decommissioning costs.
The subject report will be useful for licensees and State
regulators overseeing uranium leach mining facilities, who need to
estimate the volume of treatment water needed to decontaminate those
facilities.
Solicitation of Comments: The NRC seeks comments on the report and
is especially interested in comments on the utility and feasibility of
the modeling techniques described in the report.
DATES: The NRC will consider all written comments received before
August 31, 2005. Comments received after August 31, 2005, will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff is able to
ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
Comments should be addressed to the contact listed below.
Availability: An electronic version of the report is available in
Adobe Portable Document Format at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-
collections/nuregs/contract/cr6870/cr6870.pdf and can be read with
Adobe Acrobat Reader software, available at no cost from https://
www.adobe.com. Hard and electronic copies are available from the
contact listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John D. Randall, Mail Stop T9C34,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852, telephone (301) 415-6192, e-mail jdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl A. Trottier,
Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental Risk & Waste Management
Branch, Division of Systems Analysis and Regulatory Effectiveness,
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E5-3199 Filed 6-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
