Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 47-00260-02, for the Unrestricted Release of Building B-747 and an Associated Storage Shed Located at the Union Carbide Corporation Site in South Charleston, WV, 59528-59529 [E6-16647]
Download as PDF
59528
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 10, 2006 / Notices
Mr.
Joseph F. Burt at the above address or
(703) 292–8180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
membership of the National Science
Foundation’s Senior Executive Service
Performance Review Board is as follows:
Kathie L. Olsen, Deputy Director,
Chairperson.
Anthony A. Arnolie, Director, Office of
Information and Resource
Management and Chief Human
Capital Officer.
Richard A. Behnke, Head, Upper
Atmosphere Research Section.
Deborah L. Crawford, Deputy Assistant
Director for Computer and
Information Science and Engineering.
Penelope L. Firth, Deputy Director,
Division of Environmental Biology.
Nathaniel Pitts, Director, Office of
Integrative Activities.
Thomas A. Weber, Director, Office of
International Science and
Engineering.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated: October 3, 2006.
Joseph F. Burt,
Director, Division of Human Resource
Management.
[FR Doc. 06–8540 Filed 10–06–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–M
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–06652]
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 47–00260–02, for the
Unrestricted Release of Building B–747
and an Associated Storage Shed
Located at the Union Carbide
Corporation Site in South Charleston,
WV
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for license
amendment.
AGENCY:
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health Physicist,
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I,
475 Allendale Road, (610) 337–5040; fax
number (610) 337–5269; or by e-mail:
exu@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering the
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:52 Oct 06, 2006
Jkt 211001
issuance of a license amendment to
Byproduct Materials License No. 47–
00260–02. This license is held by Union
Carbide Corporation (the Licensee),
located at 3200 Kanawha Turnpike in
South Charleston, West Virginia.
Issuance of the amendment would
authorize release of Building B–747 and
an associated storage shed (together
identified herein as the Facility) at the
South Charleston site for unrestricted
use. The Licensee requested this action
in a letter dated August 3, 2006. The
NRC has prepared an Environmental
Assessment (EA) in support of this
proposed action in accordance with the
requirements of Title 10, Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10
CFR part 51). Based on the EA, the NRC
has concluded that a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate with respect to the
proposed action. The amendment will
be issued to the Licensee following the
publication of this FONSI and EA in the
Federal Register.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the Licensee’s August 3, 3006, license
amendment request, resulting in release
of the Facility for unrestricted use.
License No. 47–00260–02 was issued on
August 15, 1956, pursuant to 10 CFR
part 30, and has been amended
periodically since that time. This
license authorized the Licensee to use
unsealed hydrogen-3 (tritium) and
carbon-14, and various sealed sources,
for purposes of conducting research and
development activities on laboratory
bench tops and in hoods.
The Facility is situated on 600 acres
and is surrounded by multiple buildings
containing office space and laboratories.
The Facility is located in a commercial
area. Use of licensed materials occurred
throughout the Facility, an area totaling
1,536 square feet.
In 2001, the Licensee ceased licensed
activities within the Facility and
initiated a survey and decontamination
of the Facility. Based on the Licensee’s
historical knowledge of the site and the
conditions of the Facility, the Licensee
determined that only routine
decontamination activities, in
accordance with their NRC-approved,
operating radiation safety procedures,
were required. The Licensee was not
required to submit a decommissioning
plan to the NRC because worker cleanup
activities and procedures are consistent
with those approved for routine
operations. The Licensee conducted
surveys of the Facility and provided
information to the NRC to demonstrate
PO 00000
Frm 00103
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
that it meets the criteria in subpart E of
10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting
licensed activities in the Facility and
seeks the unrestricted use of the
Facility.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The historical review of licensed
activities conducted at the Facility
shows that such activities involved use
of the following unsealed radionuclides
with half-lives greater than 120 days:
tritium and carbon-14. Prior to
performing the final status survey, the
Licensee conducted decontamination
activities, as necessary, in the areas of
the Facility affected by these
radionuclides.
The Licensee conducted a final status
survey on July 27, 2006. The final status
survey report was attached to the
Licensee’s amendment request dated
August 3, 2006. The Licensee elected to
demonstrate compliance with the
radiological criteria for unrestricted
release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402
by using the screening approach
described in NUREG–1757,
‘‘Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance,’’ Volume 2. The Licensee
used the radionuclide-specific derived
concentration guideline levels (DCGLs),
developed there by the NRC, which
comply with the dose criterion in 10
CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the
maximum amount of residual
radioactivity on building surfaces,
equipment, and materials, and in soils,
that will satisfy the NRC requirements
in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for
unrestricted release. The Licensee’s
final status survey results were below
these DCGLs and are in compliance
with the As Low As Reasonably
Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10
CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that
the Licensee’s final status survey results
are acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has
determined that the affected
environment and any environmental
impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts
evaluated by the ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities’’ (NUREG–
1496) Volumes 1–3 (ML042310492,
ML042320379, and ML042330385). The
staff finds there were no significant
environmental impacts from the use of
radioactive material at the Facility. The
NRC staff reviewed the docket file
records and the final status survey
E:\FR\FM\10OCN1.SGM
10OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 10, 2006 / Notices
report to identify any non-radiological
hazards that may have impacted the
environment surrounding the Facility.
No such hazards or impacts to the
environment were identified. The NRC
has identified no other radiological or
non-radiological activities in the area
that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed
release of the Facility for unrestricted
use is in compliance with 10 CFR
20.1402. Although the Licensee will
continue to perform licensed activities
at other areas of the South Charleston
site, the Licensee must ensure that this
decommissioned area does not become
recontaminated. Before the license can
be terminated, the Licensee will be
required to show that its entire site,
including previously-released areas,
complies with the radiological criteria
in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review,
the staff considered the impact of the
residual radioactivity at the Facility and
concluded that the proposed action will
not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment.
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Due to the largely administrative
nature of the proposed action, its
environmental impacts are small.
Therefore, the only alternative the staff
considered is the no-action alternative,
under which the staff would leave
things as they are by simply denying the
amendment request. This no-action
alternative is not feasible because it
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d),
requiring that decommissioning of
byproduct material facilities be
completed and approved by the NRC
after licensed activities cease. The
NRC’s analysis of the Licensee’s final
status survey data confirmed that the
Facility meets the requirements of 10
CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release.
Additionally, denying the amendment
request would result in no change in
current environmental impacts. The
environmental impacts of the proposed
action and the no-action alternative are
therefore similar, and the no-action
alternative is accordingly not further
considered.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Conclusion
The NRC staff has concluded that the
proposed action is consistent with the
NRC’s unrestricted release criteria
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Because
the proposed action will not
significantly impact the quality of the
human environment, the NRC staff
concludes that the proposed action is
the preferred alternative.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:52 Oct 06, 2006
Jkt 211001
Agencies and Persons Consulted
NRC provided a draft of this EA to the
State of West Virginia for review on
August 28, 2006. On September 15,
2006, the State of West Virginia
Radiological Health program responded
by electronic mail. The State agreed
with the conclusions of the EA, and
otherwise had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the
proposed action is of a procedural
nature, and will not affect listed species
or critical habitat. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The
NRC staff has also determined that the
proposed action is not the type of
activity that has the potential to cause
effects on historic properties. Therefore,
no further consultation is required
under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in
support of the proposed action. On the
basis of this EA, the NRC finds that
there are no significant environmental
impacts from the proposed action, and
that preparation of an environmental
impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined
that a Finding of No Significant Impact
is appropriate.
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action,
including the application for license
amendment and supporting
documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC’s Electronic
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm/adams.html. From this site,
you can access the NRC’s Agencywide
Document Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text
and image files of NRC’s public
documents. The documents related to
this action are listed below, along with
their ADAMS accession numbers.
1. Letters dated August 3, 2006
[ML062220617], June 19, 2006
[ML061720331], and January 27, 2006
[ML060320507].
2. Facsimile dated January 31, 2006
[ML060320519].
3. NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.’’
4. Title 10 Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
‘‘Radiological Criteria for License
Termination.’’
5. Title 10, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 51, ‘‘Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions.’’
6. NUREG–1496, ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
PO 00000
Frm 00104
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
59529
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities.’’
If you do not have access to ADAMS,
or if there are problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, contact
the NRC Public Document Room (PDR)
Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–
415–4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
These documents may also be viewed
electronically on the public computers
located at the NRC’s PDR, O 1 F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction contractor will copy
documents for a fee.
Dated at 475 Allendale Road, King of
Prussia, Pennsylvania this 29th day of
September 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E6–16647 Filed 10–6–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Biweekly Notice; Applications and
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses Involving No Significant
Hazards Considerations
I. Background
Pursuant to section 189a.(2) of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended
(the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (the Commission or NRC
staff) is publishing this regular biweekly
notice. The Act requires the
Commission publish notice of any
amendments issued, or proposed to be
issued and grants the Commission the
authority to issue and make
immediately effective any amendment
to an operating license upon a
determination by the Commission that
such amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration, notwithstanding
the pendency before the Commission of
a request for a hearing from any person.
This biweekly notice includes all
notices of amendments issued, or
proposed to be issued from September
15, 2006, to September 28, 2006. The
last biweekly notice was published on
September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56189).
Notice of Consideration of Issuance of
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses, Proposed No Significant
Hazards Consideration Determination,
and Opportunity for a Hearing
The Commission has made a
proposed determination that the
following amendment requests involve
no significant hazards consideration.
E:\FR\FM\10OCN1.SGM
10OCN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59528-59529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16647]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-06652]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 47-00260-02, for the Unrestricted Release of Building B-747
and an Associated Storage Shed Located at the Union Carbide Corporation
Site in South Charleston, WV
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for license amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, (610) 337-5040; fax number (610)
337-5269; or by e-mail: exu@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 47-
00260-02. This license is held by Union Carbide Corporation (the
Licensee), located at 3200 Kanawha Turnpike in South Charleston, West
Virginia. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Building
B-747 and an associated storage shed (together identified herein as the
Facility) at the South Charleston site for unrestricted use. The
Licensee requested this action in a letter dated August 3, 2006. The
NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this
proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR part 51). Based on the
EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The
amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of
this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve the Licensee's August 3, 3006,
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for
unrestricted use. License No. 47-00260-02 was issued on August 15,
1956, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically
since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed
hydrogen-3 (tritium) and carbon-14, and various sealed sources, for
purposes of conducting research and development activities on
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
The Facility is situated on 600 acres and is surrounded by multiple
buildings containing office space and laboratories. The Facility is
located in a commercial area. Use of licensed materials occurred
throughout the Facility, an area totaling 1,536 square feet.
In 2001, the Licensee ceased licensed activities within the
Facility and initiated a survey and decontamination of the Facility.
Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the
conditions of the Facility, the Licensee determined that only routine
decontamination activities, in accordance with their NRC-approved,
operating radiation safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was
not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker
cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved
for routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of the Facility
and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the
criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities in the
Facility and seeks the unrestricted use of the Facility.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following
unsealed radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: tritium
and carbon-14. Prior to performing the final status survey, the
Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the
areas of the Facility affected by these radionuclides.
The Licensee conducted a final status survey on July 27, 2006. The
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment
request dated August 3, 2006. The Licensee elected to demonstrate
compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using the screening approach described
in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume
2. The Licensee used the radionuclide-specific derived concentration
guideline levels (DCGLs), developed there by the NRC, which comply with
the dose criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum
amount of residual radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and
materials, and in soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in
subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's
final status survey results were below these DCGLs and are in
compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement
of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status
survey results are acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected
environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities''
(NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385).
The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from
the use of radioactive material at the Facility. The NRC staff reviewed
the docket file records and the final status survey
[[Page 59529]]
report to identify any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted
the environment surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or impacts to
the environment were identified. The NRC has identified no other
radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that could
result in cumulative environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of the Facility for
unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. Although the
Licensee will continue to perform licensed activities at other areas of
the South Charleston site, the Licensee must ensure that this
decommissioned area does not become recontaminated. Before the license
can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to show that its
entire site, including previously-released areas, complies with the
radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff
considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the Facility and
concluded that the proposed action will not have a significant effect
on the quality of the human environment.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action,
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of
byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC
after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's
final status survey data confirmed that the Facility meets the
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. Additionally,
denying the amendment request would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the no-action alternative are therefore similar, and the no-action
alternative is accordingly not further considered.
Conclusion
The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR
20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the
quality of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the
proposed action is the preferred alternative.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
NRC provided a draft of this EA to the State of West Virginia for
review on August 28, 2006. On September 15, 2006, the State of West
Virginia Radiological Health program responded by electronic mail. The
State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and otherwise had no
comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant
Impact is appropriate.
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action, including the application for
license amendment and supporting documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the
NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents
related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS
accession numbers.
1. Letters dated August 3, 2006 [ML062220617], June 19, 2006
[ML061720331], and January 27, 2006 [ML060320507].
2. Facsimile dated January 31, 2006 [ML060320519].
3. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.''
4. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination.''
5. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions.''
6. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities.''
If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also be viewed
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.
The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.
Dated at 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this
29th day of September 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region I.
[FR Doc. E6-16647 Filed 10-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P