NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

 

No. 07-001 January 5, 2007

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 

OF PROPOSED IRRADIATOR IN HAWAII

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft environmental

assessment for a proposed irradiator facility to be operated by Pa’ina Hawaii LLC adjacent to the

Honolulu International Airport. The draft assessment concludes that there would be no significant

environmental impact from the proposed facility.

Pa’ina submitted the application for the irradiator license in June 2005. The irradiator would be

used primarily to kill pests on fresh fruit and vegetables bound for the mainland United States from the

Hawaiian Islands and produce imported to Hawaii, as well as irradiate cosmetics and pharmaceutical

products. It would also be used for research and development projects and to irradiate a range of other

items as approved by the NRC on a case-by-case basis.

The NRC staff’s environmental assessment considered potential impacts to the health of the

public and workers at the facility, transportation of the radioactive material, socioeconomics, ecology,

water quality, and the effects of aviation accidents and natural phenomena. 

Considering the location of personnel and operational practices of the irradiator, it is unlikely

during normal operations that any employee could receive more than the NRC’s annual occupational

dose limit of 5,000 millirem. The expected dose rates outside the building are expected to be

indistinguishable from naturally occurring background radiation. Therefore, it is unlikely that a

member of the public could receive more than the annual public dose limit of 100 millirem.

The staff’s finding of no significant impact means that a formal Environmental Impact

Statement is not warranted for this license application review.

The draft environmental assessment is available on the NRC’s Web site at

http://www.nrc.gov/materials.html by selecting “Pa’ina Irradiator” in the Quick Links box.

Public comments will be accepted through Feb. 8. Written comments should be submitted to

the Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Mail Stop T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001. Comments will also be accepted by e-mail at

NRCREP@nrc.gov or by facsimile to (301) 415-5397, Attention: Matthew Blevins.
The NRC staff will conduct a public meeting Feb. 1 in Honolulu to discuss the draft

environmental assessment and accept written and oral public comments. More information on that

meeting is included in a Federal Register notice, published Dec. 28.

More information on irradiators is available at

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/commercial-irradiators.html .

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