[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 87 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25964-25965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11103]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-116]


Iowa State University, UTR-10 Research Reactor; Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of a license amendment to Facility License No. 
R-59, issued to Iowa State University (ISU or the licensee), that would 
allow decommissioning of the UTR-10 Research Reactor located on the 
west edge of the main campus of the ISU, in Ames, Iowa.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    By application dated January 6, 1999, the licensee submitted a 
decommissioning plan in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(b), in order to 
dismantle the 10-kilowatt (thermal) ISU UTR-10 Argonaut Research 
Reactor, to dispose of its component parts and radioactive material, 
and to decontaminate the facility in accordance with the proposed 
dismantling plan to meet the Commission's unrestricted release 
criteria. After the Commission verifies that the release criteria have 
been met, Facility License No. R-59 would be terminated. The licensee 
submitted an Environmental Report, dated January 4, 1999, that 
addresses the estimated environmental impacts resulting from 
decommissioning the UTR-10 reactor.
    ISU ceased operating the reactor in May 1998. All the reactor fuel 
has been removed from the facility.
    A ``Notice of Application for Decommissioning Amendment, Iowa State 
University UTR-10 Research Reactor'' was published in the Federal 
Register on January 25, 1999, 64 FR 3725. A ``Notice and Solicitation 
of Comments Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405 and 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5) 
Concerning Proposed Action to Decommission Iowa State University UTR-10 
Research Reactor'' was published in the Federal Register on February 
12, 1999, 64 FR 7214, and in the Ames, Iowa daily newspaper, The 
Tribune, on February 19, 1999. There were no comments.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary because of ISU's decision to cease 
operations permanently. As specified in 10 CFR 50.82, any licensee may 
apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for authority to surrender a 
license voluntarily and to decommission the affected facility. Further, 
10 CFR 51.53(d) stipulates that each applicant for a license amendment 
to authorize decommissioning of a production or utilization facility 
shall submit with its application an environmental report that reflects 
any new information or significant environmental change associated with 
the proposed decommissioning activities. ISU is planning to use the 
area that would be released for other academic purposes.

Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action

    All decontamination will be performed by trained personnel in 
accordance with previously reviewed procedures, and will be overseen by 
experienced health physics staff. Solid and liquid waste will be 
removed from the facility and managed in accordance with NRC 
requirements. The operations are calculated to result in a total 
occupational radiation exposure of 2.4 person-rem. Radiation exposure 
to the general public during decommissioning is expected to be zero. 
This will be accomplished by keeping the public at a safe distance and 
by eliminating effluent releases during decommissioning.
    Occupational and public exposure may result from offsite disposal 
of the low-level residual radioactive material from the ISU. The 
handling, storage, and shipment of this radioactive material are to 
meet the requirements of 10 CFR 20.2006, and ``Transfer for Disposal 
and Manifest,'' 49 CFR parts 100-177, ``Transportation of Hazardous 
Materials.'' The proposed low-level radioactive waste facility (LLRW) 
has the licenses and permits to accept and dispose LLRW from reactor 
decommissioning projects. The materials that are classified LLRW will 
be packaged and shipped from ISU directly to this facility for 
disposal.
    The NRC Final Rule on License Termination, 10 CFR 20.1402, provides 
radiological criteria for release of a site for unrestricted use. 
Release criteria for unrestricted use is a maximum Total Effective Dose 
Equivalent (TEDE) of 25 mrem per year from residual radioactivity above 
background.

[[Page 25965]]

Application of As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) is also a 
requirement. The results of the final survey will be used to 
demonstrate that the predicted dose to a member of the public from any 
residual activity does not exceed the 25 mrem per year dose limit.
    All liquid waste that is generated during the decommissioning 
activities will be collected in barrels and disposed of in accordance 
with state and Federal guidelines. All decommissioning activities will 
be carried out within the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory's confinement 
boundary. Additional containment measures will be taken as necessary to 
minimize the spread of contamination within the confinement boundary. 
These measures will include wood framing covered with plastic and low 
volume water misting. Airborne releases of radioactive materials are 
not expected. Dust production will be minimized by low volume water 
mist at points where dust is produced.
    Based on the review of the specific proposed activities associated 
with the dismantling and decontamination of the ISU facility, the staff 
has determined that the proposed action will not increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in 
the types of any effluents that may be released off site, and there is 
no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not involve any historic sites. It does not affect non-
radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. 
Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The four alternatives for disposition of the UTR-10 reactor are: 
DECON, SAFSTOR, ENTOMB, and no action. These alternatives are defined 
as follows:

    DECON is the alternative in which the equipment, structures, and 
portions of the facility containing radioactive contaminants are 
removed or decontaminated to a level that permits the property to be 
released for unrestricted use after cessation of operations. SAFSTOR 
is the alternative in which the nuclear facility is placed and 
maintained in a condition that allows the nuclear facility to be 
safely stored and subsequently decontaminated (deferred 
decontamination) to levels that permit release for unrestricted use. 
ENTOMB is the alternative in which radioactive contaminants are 
encased in a structurally long-lived material, such as concrete; the 
entombed structure is appropriately maintained; and continued 
surveillance is carried out until the radioactivity decays to a 
level permitting release of the property for unrestricted use. The 
no-action alternative would leave the facility in its present 
configuration. However, the regulations in 10 CFR 50.82(b) only 
allow a limited time for this condition to exist.

    The radiological impacts of SAFSTOR would be less because of 
radioactive decay prior to DECON. The ENTOMB option would result in 
lower radiological exposure but continued use of resources. ISU has 
determined that the proposed action (DECON) is the most efficient use 
of the existing facility, since it proposes to use the space that will 
become available for other academic purposes. The SAFSTOR, ENTOMB, and 
no-action alternatives would entail continued surveillance and physical 
security measures to be in place and continued monitoring by licensee 
personnel.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Environmental Report submitted on January 
4, 1999, and the Decommissioning Report submitted on January 6, 1999, 
for the UTR-10 reactor.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on March 7, 2000, the staff 
consulted with the Iowa State official, Donald A. Flater, Chief, Bureau 
of Radiological Health, Iowa Department of Public Health, regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. The state official had no 
comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the environmental assessment, the Commission 
concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect 
on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has 
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed action.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letters dated January 4, and 6, 1999, which are available 
for public inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20555. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Library 
component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Electronic 
Reading Room).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of April 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh,
Branch Chief, Events Assessment, Generic Communications and Non-Power 
Reactors Branch, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-11103 Filed 5-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P