[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 202 (Monday, October 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54446-54447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27720]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. ETEC-T030]


Certification of the Radiological Condition of Building T030 at 
the Energy Technology Engineering Center Near Chatsworth, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Restoration.

ACTION: Notice of certification.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) has completed radiological 
surveys and taken remedial action to decontaminate Building T030, 
Particle Accelerator Facility, located at the Energy Technology 
Engineering Center (ETEC) near Chatsworth, California. This property 
was found to contain radioactive materials from activities carried out 
for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and 
Development Administration (AEC/ERDA), predecessor agencies to DOE. 
Although DOE owns the majority of the buildings and equipment, a 
subsidiary of Boeing North American Incorporated, Rocketdyne Division, 
owned the land.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Lopez, Program Manager, 
Environmental Restoration Division, Oakland Operations Office, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Oakland, CA 94612-5208.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE has implemented environmental 
restoration projects at ETEC (Ventura County, Map Book 3, Page 7, 
Miscellaneous Records) as part of DOE's Environmental Restoration 
Program. One objective of the program is to identify and clean up or 
otherwise control facilities where residual radioactive contamination 
remains from activities carried out under contract to AEC/ERDA during 
the early years of the Nation's atomic energy program.
    ETEC is comprised of a number of facilities and structures located 
within Administrative Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The 
work performed for DOE at ETEC consisted primarily of testing of 
equipment, materials, and components for nuclear and energy related 
programs. These nuclear energy research and development programs, 
conducted by Atomics International under contract to AEC/ERDA, began in 
1946. Several buildings and land areas became radiologically 
contaminated as a result of facility operations and site activities. 
Building T030 is one ETEC area that has been designated for cleanup 
under the DOE Environmental Restoration Program. Other areas undergoing 
decontamination will be released as they are completed and are verified 
to meet established cleanup criteria and standards for release without 
radiological restrictions as established in DOE Order 5400.5.
    Building T030 is located in the north-eastern section of ETEC on 
10th Street, off the west side of G Street, among several adjacent 
buildings on paved ground. Building T030 was constructed in 1958 as a 
Particle Accelerator Facility. The building has a total enclosed area 
of 2,311 sq. ft. The facility consists of two connecting sections, both 
with steel framing, siding, and roofs. The rear open (west) section was 
constructed perpendicular to the front office (east) section. The rear 
section was configured to accommodate a low-voltage particle 
accelerator used as a proton on tritium (P-T) neutron source. An 
outside concrete wall, north of the west section, provided shielding 
for the accelerator beam. Men's and women's restrooms were built into 
the facility so that the facility provided a complete self-contained 
accelerator test installation. A fenced-in area between Buildings T030 
and the adjacent building T641 was previously used as a palletized 
material holding area. To the north of T030, south of T641, and west of 
both buildings are outcroppings of Chatsworth sandstone formation. This 
formation is only about 50 ft. from the north and west sides of T030.
    After facility construction in 1958, a Van de Graaf accelerator was 
moved into the facility in 1960. The accelerator could provide a proton 
beam of up to tens of microamperes in current, with continuously 
adjustable energies from a few hundred KeV up to a maximum of about 1 
MeV. The particle beam was well focused, with a diameter of a few 
millimeters. Neutrons were generated using a tritium target via the 
<SUP>3</SUP>H(p,n)<SUP>3</SUP>He reaction. Five-gallon cans of borated 
water were used for neutron shielding around the machine.
    The accelerator was operated from 1960 through 1964, at which time 
the facility was decommissioned. Even though it was not in use, the 
accelerator remained in the facility after 1964. In 1966, a smear 
survey of the accelerator showed tritium contamination. It was believed 
that the tritium contamination had not spread to surrounding areas. 
Following removal of the accelerator in 1966, the building was surveyed 
and no residual contamination was found. The building was released for 
other uses, and had subsequently been used as an office building for 
purchasing and on-site traffic administrative work until 1995.
    In 1988, a general radiological survey was conducted to clarify and 
identify areas at ETEC requiring further radiological inspection or 
remediation; Building T030 was included in this survey. The scope of 
the Building T030 survey included ambient gamma exposure rate 
measurements, ``indication'' beta surveys of the accelerator room and 
the outside paved area used for storing palletized containers, and 
exterior soil samples for tritium content. The result of that survey 
showed no detectable contamination in the facility. Tritium analyses on 
ten soil samples and the beta survey showed no detectable activity. 
Background-corrected gamma measurements were all less than the 
acceptance limit of 5 <greek-m>R/hr.
    In September 1995, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and 
Education (ORISE) conducted a confirmatory survey of several facilities 
at ETEC, including Building T030. With the

[[Page 54447]]

exception of a single finding for removable tritium contamination of 
6,600 dpm/100 cm<SUP>2</SUP> (below the acceptance limit of 10,000 dpm/
100 cm2) found on the north wall of the accelerator room, no unusual 
findings were noted. However, ORISE did question the completeness of 
the 1988 survey. Specifically, ORISE recommended complete measurements 
of total or removable surface activity and additional sampling for 
tritium activity in the accelerator area. Consistent with ORISE's 
advice, a comprehensive final survey of Building T030 was conducted by 
ETEC in 1996.
    In 1996 approximately 2,311 sq. ft. of asbestos floor tile was 
removed and disposed of. The cost associated with the removal of the 
asbestos floor tile was approximately $9,200. The radiological survey 
cost associated with Building T030 could not be isolated from total 
radiological facility surveys but is estimated to have cost 
approximately $20,000.
    No appreciable personnel radiation exposure was anticipated or 
encountered during decontamination and decommissioning and surveying of 
Building T030.
    The certification docket will be available for review between 9:00 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays), in 
the U.S. DOE Public Reading Room located in Room 1E-190 of the 
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 
Copies of the certification docket will also be available at the 
following locations: DOE Public Document Room, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Oakland Operations Office, the Federal Building, 1301 Clay 
Street, Oakland, California; California State University, Northridge, 
Urban Archives Center, Oviatt Library, Room 4, 18111 Nordhoff, 
Northridge, California; Simi Valley Library, 2629 Tapo Canyon Road, 
Simi Valley, California; and the Platt Branch, Los Angeles Public 
Library, 23600 Victory Boulevard, Woodland Hills, California.
    DOE has issued the following statement of certification.

Statement of Certification: Energy Technology Engineering Center, 
Building T030

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Oakland Operations Office, 
Environmental Restoration Division, has reviewed and analyzed the 
radiological data obtained following decontamination of Building 
T030 at the Energy Technology Engineering Center. Based on analysis 
of all data collected and the results of the independent 
verification, DOE certifies that the following property is in 
compliance with DOE radiological decontamination criteria and 
standards as established in DOE Order 5400.5. This certification of 
compliance provides assurance that future use of the property will 
result in no radiological exposure above applicable guidelines 
established to protect members of the general public or site 
occupants. Accordingly, the property specified below is released 
from DOE's Environmental Restoration Program.

Property Owned by Boeing North American Incorporated

    Building T030 at the Energy Technology Engineering Center (situated 
within Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory), located in a 
portion of Tract ``A'' of Rancho Simi, in the County of Ventura, State 
of California, as per map recorded in Book 3, Page 7 of Miscellaneous 
Records of Ventura County.

    Issued in Washington, D.C., on October 10, 1997.
James J. Fiore,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration.
[FR Doc. 97-27720 Filed 10-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P