3620 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[NRC License No. 29–30458–01]

SteriGenics International, Somerset,

NJ: Exemption From 10 CFR 36.23(a);

Environmental Assessment, Finding of

No Significant Impact, and Notice of

Opportunity for a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: SteriGenics International,

Somerset, NJ: Exemption from 10 CFR

36.23(a); Environmental Assessment,

Finding of No Significant Impact, and

Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is considering

authorizing SteriGenics International,

Inc. (SteriGenics or the licensee) an

exemption to use a cell door which

prevents an individual in the radiation

room from leaving.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Action

SteriGenics is licensed by the NRC to

irradiate materials, except explosives,

flammables, and corrosives using cobalt60 in a panoramic wet-source-storage

irradiator. The licensee requested, in a

letter dated September 26, 2000, that the

NRC grant an exemption from 10 CFR

36.23(a) to use a cell door which

prevents an individual in the radiation

room from leaving. SteriGenics has been

conducting irradiations using this cell

door since the license was issued on

February 1, 1999. The NRC staff has

determined during an inspection of the

facility, that the cell door does not meet

10 CFR 36.23(a) which requires that

doors and barriers not prevent an

individual in the radiation room from

leaving.

Need for the Proposed Action

Part 36 irradiators use high activity

sealed sources of radioactive material in

a facility constructed so that the sealed

sources and material being irradiated

are contained in a shielded volume

(radiation room). In many units, sources

are stored under water (wet-sourcestorage). Irradiator facilities typically

incorporate the use of a shielded

‘‘maze’’ which allows an individual to

move to a shielded area within the

radiation room and a door to the

radiation room which allows an

individual to exit the radiation room at

any time.

The exemption is needed so that

SteriGenics can carry out its business of

irradiating materials in this irradiator.

The door to the radiation room of this

irradiator serves as an integral part of

the shielding and must be closed prior

to exposing the radioactive sources to

conduct an irradiation. The design of

the irradiator control system does not

allow the radioactive sources to be

raised unless the door is closed. Once

closed, an individual located in the

radiation room cannot open the door

and, therefore, is unable to leave the

radiation room as required by 10 CFR

36.23(a). An individual in the radiation

room with the door closed can prevent

the sources from rising by pulling a cord

on the room wall and thereby prevent

radiation exposure.

SteriGenics has proposed

modifications which provide a level of

safety equivalent to that which is

provided by compliance with 10 CFR

36.23(a). Currently, there are two pull

cords inside the radiation room. One

runs the length of two of the room walls,

the second the length of the third. The

fourth wall is covered by equipment.

The presence of equipment in the

radiation room forces individuals in the

radiation room to be near one of these

cords. Both of these cords must be

actuated as part of the irradiator startup

sequence. This actuation assures that

the cords are functional and that the

operator has searched the cell prior to

beginning an irradiation. Once the

startup sequence has been completed,

the pull cords change function and

pulling either cord will prevent the

sources from rising or cause them to

return to the shielded position if they

have begun to rise. SteriGenics proposes

to modify the irradiator control circuit

logic so that if an individual pulls one

of these cords twice, in addition to the

sources returning to the shielded

position, the cell door will open after a

short delay. The control system logic

will assure that the door does not open

until and unless the sources are in the

fully ‘‘down’’ position and radiation

levels in the room are normal. The delay

is caused by the operation of this logic

and the fact that it takes between 15 and

30 seconds for the door to open.

SteriGenics will also relocate the ‘‘setup’’ key switch to the far corner inside

the radiation room. Currently, this

switch is located outside the cell door.

Inserting the key and turning this switch

begins the sequence which eventually

allows moving the sources. Within 90

seconds of turning the switch, the

operator must search the radiation

room, pull each cord once, exit the room

and close the shield door. The operator

must then place the key in the control

console and may then move the sources.

Placing the switch in the room forces

the operator to bring the key which is

used to move the sources (as required by

10 CFR 36.31(a)) into the radiation room

during the ‘‘set-up’’ process. This

increases the assurance that this

requirement will be met by substituting

an active control for the current

administrative control (the operator is

required by existing procedure to take

the key into the room). Taking the key

into the room during ‘‘setup’’ assures

that no one other than that operator can

move the sources.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

No radioactive material is released

into the environment, all of the

radioactive material is wholly contained

within the shielded irradiator and there

will be no changes to radiation dose

rates outside the irradiator. The

radiation dose rate outside this

irradiator meets regulatory requirements

and is similar to the dose rate outside

traditional panoramic wet-sourcestorage irradiators which meet the

requirement in 36.23(a). Therefore, the

modification will not result in any

significant environmental impacts.

Alternatives to the Final Action

As required by Section 102(2)(E) of

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4322(2)(E)), the staff

has considered alternatives to the final

action including denying the exemption

or requiring that SteriGenics comply

with 10 CFR 36.23(a). These options

were not adopted because they would

provide no gain in protection of the

human environment and they would be

significantly detrimental to SteriGenics.

Denying the exemption request would

result in SteriGenics ceasing all

irradiations and either redesigning and

substantially modifying the physical

facility or disposing of the radioactive

sources and decommissioning the

facility. In order for SteriGenics to

comply with 10 CFR 36.23(a) they need

to extensively modify the existing

irradiator to incorporate a shield maze.

This would be expensive and would

prevent the use of the existing conveyor

system, requiring additional

expenditures for modifications.

Alternative Use of Resources

Alternative use of resources was

considered as stated above.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

Agencies or persons outside the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission were

not consulted because there will be no

significant impact on the environment

from the proposed activity.

Identification of Sources Used

Letters from SteriGenics to the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region

I, dated:

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices 3621

1. January 5, 2000 (ML003676755)

2. February 4, 2000 (ML003684178)

3. September 26, 2000 (ML003754079)

Finding of No Significant Impact

Based on the above EA, the

Commission has concluded that

environmental impacts that would be

created by the proposed action would

not have a significant effect on the

quality of the human environment and

a Finding of No Significant Impact is

appropriate. Accordingly, the

preparation of an Environmental Impact

Statement is not warranted.

Documents

Documents submitted by SteriGenics

are available for public inspection from

the Publicly Available Records (PARS)

component of the NRC’s document

system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible

from the NRC Web site at http://

www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html

(the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Assistance with the Public Electronic

Reading Room may be obtained by

calling (800) 397–4209. The accession

numbers for the licensee’s documents

referred to in this Assessment are listed

next to the document date above.

Opportunity for a Hearing

Any person whose interest may be

affected by the issuance of this action

may file a request for a hearing. Any

request for hearing must be filed with

the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555, within 30 days of the

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register; be served on the NRC staff

(Executive Director for Operations, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852), and

on the licensee (SteriGenics

International, 210 Clyde Road,

Somerset, NJ 08873); and must comply

with the requirements for requesting a

hearing set forth in the Commission’s

regulations, 10 CFR part 2, subpart L,

‘‘Information Hearing Procedures for

Adjudications in Materials Licensing

Proceedings.’’

These requirements, which the

request must address in detail, are:

1. The interest of the requestor in the

proceeding;

2. How that interest may be affected

by the results of the proceeding

(including the reasons why the

requestor should be permitted a

hearing);

3. The requestor’s areas of concern

about the licensing activity that is the

subject matter of the proceeding; and

4. The circumstances establishing that

the request for hearing is timely—that

is, filed within 30 days of the date of

this notice.

In addressing how the requestor’s

interest may be affected by the

proceeding, the request should describe

the nature of the requestor’s right under

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended, to be made a party to the

proceeding; the nature and extent of the

requestor’s property, financial, or other

(i.e., health, safety) interest in the

proceeding; and the possible effect of

any order that may be entered in the

proceeding upon the requestor’s

interest.

Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this

4th day of January 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John D. Kinneman,

Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety Branch 2,

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Region

I.

[FR Doc. 01–1173 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030–28641, License No. 42–

23539–01AF Department of the Air Force;

Docket No. 030–29462, License No. 45–

23645–01NA, Department of the Navy;

Docket No. 040–08767, License No. SUC–

1380, Department of the Army]

Notice of Issuance of Director’s

Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

Notice is hereby given that the

Director, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, has issued a

director’s decision with regard to a

petition dated June 1, 2000, filed by

Doug Rokke, Ph.D., hereinafter referred

to as the ‘‘petitioner.’’ The petition

concerns the use of depleted uranium

(DU) by the U.S. Department of Defense

and all services.

The petition requested that the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(Commission or NRC) hold a hearing to

consider ‘‘the revocation of the master

DU [depleted uranium] license for the

U.S. Department of Defense and all

services, implementation of substantial

fines and consideration of personal

criminal liability.’’ As the basis for this

request, the petitioner stated that ‘‘the

continuing deliberate use of DU

munitions during battle and during

peacetime is resulting in serious health

and environmental consequences.’’

By letter dated September 8, 2000,

and addressed to the petitioner, the NRC

staff acknowledged receiving the

petition, and stated that pursuant to 10

CFR 2.206 the petition was referred to

the Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards for action, and that it

would be acted upon within a

reasonable time.

The NRC staff requested the U.S.

Department of the Air Force, the U.S.

Department of the Army, and the U.S.

Department of the Navy to respond to

the petition. The licensees responded on

October 30, 2000, and the information

provided was considered by the staff in

its evaluation of the petition.

The Director of the Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards has

determined that the request to hold a

hearing to consider the revocation of the

military licenses authorizing the use of

DU, implementation of substantial fines,

and consideration of personal criminal

liability, should be denied. The reasons

for this decision are explained in the

director’s decision pursuant to 10 CFR

2.206 [DD–01–01], the complete text of

which is available in ADAMS for

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, located at One White

Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first

floor), Rockville, Maryland, and via the

NRC’s Web site (http://www.nrc.gov) on

the World Wide Web, under the ‘‘Public

Involvement’’ icon.

A copy of the director’s decision will

be filed with the Secretary of the

Commission for the Commission’s

review in accordance with 10 CFR 2.206

of the Commission’s regulations. As

provided for by this regulation, the

director’s decision will constitute the

final action of the Commission 25 days

after the date of the decision, unless the

Commission, on its own motion,

institutes a review of the director’s

decision in that time.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day

of January 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William F. Kane,

Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 01–1175 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Issuer Delisting; Notice of Application

To Withdraw From Listing and

Registration; (Bitwise Designs, Inc.,

Common Stock, $.001 Par Value) File

No. 0–20190

January 9, 2001.

Bitwise Designs, Inc., a Delaware

corporation (‘‘Company’’), has filed an

application with the Securities and

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’),

pursuant to Section 12(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934