Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 29, 2009 / Notices 49897 

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. 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 

Environmental Assessment to the State 

of New Jersey, Department of 

Environmental Protection, Bureau of 

Radiological Health for review on 

August 18, 2009. The State of New 

Jersey responded by e-mail on 

September 11, 2009. 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 http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, 

you can access the NRC’s Agencywide 

Documents 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. Amendment request dated 

December 10, 2008 (ML083640174); 

2. Additional information on 

amendment request dated April 30, 

2009 (ML091240536); 

3. Additional information on 

amendment request dated June 29, 2009 

(ML091820556); 

4. NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated 

NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;’’ 

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;’’ and 

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 Region I, 475 Allendale Road, 

King of Prussia, PA this 23rd day of 

September 2009. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

James P. Dwyer, 

Chief, Commercial & R&D Branch, Division 

of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I. 

[FR Doc. E9–23455 Filed 9–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2009–0430; Docket No. 030–33542] 

Notice of Availability of Environmental 

Assessment and Finding of No 

Significant Impact for License 

Amendment to Byproduct Materials 

License No. 29–30152–01, for 

Unrestricted Release of the Ligand 

Pharmaceuticals Facility in Cranbury, 

NJ 

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, King of Prussia, 

Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 

337–5040; fax number (610) 337–5269; 

or by e-mail: elizabeth.ullrich@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. 29– 

30152–01. This license is held by 

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (the Licensee), 

for its Ligand Pharmaceuticals facility 

(the Facility), located at 3000 Eastpark 

Boulevard in Cranbury, New Jersey. 

Issuance of the amendment would 

authorize release of the East Wing of the 

Facility for unrestricted use. The 

Licensee requested this action in a letter 

dated July 29, 2009. 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 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
49898 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 29, 2009 / Notices 

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 July 29, 2009, license 

amendment request, resulting in release 

of the East Wing of the Facility for 

unrestricted use. License No. 29–30152– 

01 was issued on July 21, 1994, 

pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has 

been amended periodically since that 

time. This license authorized the 

Licensee to use unsealed byproduct 

material for purposes of conducting 

research and development activities on 

laboratory bench tops and in hoods. 

The Facility contains approximately 

58,000 square feet of office space, 

laboratories, and hallways. The Facility 

is located in a research park in a 

commercial area. Within the East Wing 

of the Facility, use of licensed materials 

was confined to nine laboratories and 

one room used for waste storage. 

In winter 2009, the Licensee ceased 

licensed activities and initiated a survey 

and decontamination of the East Wing 

of the Facility. Based on the Licensee’s 

historical knowledge of the site and the 

conditions of the East Wing 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 East Wing 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 East Wing of 

the Facility, and seeks the unrestricted 

use of the East Wing of its Facility. 

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed 

Action 

The historical review of licensed 

activities conducted in the East Wing of 

the Facility shows that such activities 

involved use of the following 

radionuclides with half-lives greater 

than 120 days: Hydrogen-3, carbon-14, 

and calcium-45. Prior to performing the 

final status survey, the Licensee 

conducted decontamination activities, 

as necessary, in the areas of the East 

Wing of the Facility affected by these 

radionuclides. 

The Licensee conducted a final status 

survey between April 13 and May 1, 

2009. This survey covered Laboratories 

110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 175, 185, and 

187; the waste room; and the connecting 

hallways. The final status survey report 

was attached to the Licensee’s 

amendment request dated July 29, 2009. 

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 radionuclidespecific 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 in the East Wing of the Facility. 

The NRC staff reviewed the docket file 

records and the final status survey 

report to identify any non-radiological 

hazards that may have impacted the 

environment surrounding the East Wing 

of 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 East Wing 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 parts of the 

Facility, 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 the entire 

Facility, 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 in the East 

Wing of 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 

East Wing of 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 

Environmental Assessment to the New 

Jersey Department of Environmental 

Protection for review on August 10, 

2009. On September 10, 2009, the New 

Jersey Department of Environmental 

Protection responded by letter. 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 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 29, 2009 / Notices 49899 

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 http://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] Letter dated July 29, 2009 with the 

‘‘Decommissioning Survey for Ligand 

Pharmaceuticals’’ ML092170692; 

[2] NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated 

NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;’’ 

[3] Title 10, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 

‘‘Radiological Criteria for License 

Termination;’’ 

[4] Title 10, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 51, ‘‘Environmental 

Protection Regulations for Domestic 

Licensing and Related Regulatory 

Functions;’’ and 

[5] 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 Region I, 475 Allendale Road, 

King of Prussia, PA this 23rd day of 

September 2009. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

James Dwyer, 

Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division 

of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I. 

[FR Doc. E9–23459 Filed 9–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2009–0429; Docket No. 030–05249] 

Notice of Availability of Environmental 

Assessment and Finding of No 

Significant Impact for License 

Amendment to Byproduct Materials 

License No. 29–01035–01, for 

Unrestricted Release of the FMC 

Corporation Facility Located In 

Princeton, NJ 

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, King of Prussia, 

Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 

337–5040; fax number (610) 337–5268; 

or by e-mail: Elizabeth.ullrich@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. 29– 

01035–01. This license is held by FMC 

Corporation (the Licensee), for its FMC 

Corporation Princeton Chemical 

Research and Development Center (the 

Facility), located at U. S. Route 1 and 

Plainsboro Road in Princeton, New 

Jersey. Issuance of the amendment 

would authorize release of the Facility 

for unrestricted use. The Licensee 

requested this action in a letter dated 

August 5, 2009. 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 5, 2009, license 

amendment request, resulting in release 

of the Facility for unrestricted use. 

License No. 29–01035–01 was issued on 

August 24, 1956, pursuant to 10 CFR 

part 30, and has been amended 

periodically since that time. This 

license authorized the Licensee to use 

unsealed byproduct material for 

purposes of conducting research and 

development activities on laboratory 

bench tops and in hoods. 

The Facility is situated on 114 acres 

and consists of multiple buildings 

housing office space and laboratories. 

The Facility is located in a mixed 

industrial/commercial area. Within the 

Facility, use of licensed materials was 

confined to Building 2 and Building 22. 

In 2008, the Licensee ceased licensed 

activities at 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 at the Facility, and 

seeks the unrestricted use of its 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 radionuclides with halflives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3, 

carbon-14, and chlorine-36. 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 June 15–17, and August 6, 

2009. This survey covered Building 2, 

Laboratories 2–1130, 2–1135, 2–1140, 

2–1150, 2–1155, 2–1160, 2–1162, 2– 

1165, 2–1175, 2–1205, 2–1210, 2–1230, 

2–1245, 2–1250, 2–1255, 2–14742–2135, 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES