[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28906-28908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14236]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No.: 040-08724]


Finding of No Significant Impact Related To Amendment To 
Materials License SUB-1357, Chemetron Corporation, Inc.

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact associated with 
amendment to Materials License SUB-1357, Chemetron Corporation, Inc., 
Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, to authorize remediation of Harvard Avenue 
site.

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    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering issuing an 
amendment of Materials License No. SUB-1357, held by Chemetron 
Corporation, Inc., to authorize the remediation of the Harvard Avenue 
site located on Harvard Avenue in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio.

Environmental Assessment Summary

Background
    By the letter of March 24, 1994, Chemetron Corporation, Inc., 
(Chemetron) requested that NRC amend its license to authorize it to 
perform the remediation of the Harvard Avenue and Bert Avenue sites in 
accordance with its remediation plan entitled, ``Site Remediation Plan, 
Chemetron Remediation Project, Harvard and Bert Avenue Sites, Chemetron 
Corporation, Inc., Newburgh Heights, Ohio,'' Revision 1, dated February 
25, 1995. This remediation plan also included Chemetron's plans for 
remediating buildings, adjacent to the Harvard Avenue site, owned by 
the McGean-Rohco, Inc., that are contaminated with radioactive 
material. By letter of May 18, 1995, Chemetron requested NRC staff to 
expedite and separately review the remediation of the Harvard Avenue 
site so that remediation would not be delayed due to the required Ohio 
Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) review of the solid waste issues 
at the Bert Avenue site, under the jurisdiction of OEPA.
    Following the review of the portions of the Chemetron Final 
Remediation Plan for Harvard Avenue and Bert Avenue sites that 
addressed the McGean-Rohco building remediation, NRC staff published, 
in the Federal Register (FR), on August 5, 1994, a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) and an environmental assessment for the 
McGean-Rohco complex remediation. On August 9, 1994, NRC staff issued 
Amendment 4 to the Chemetron license authorizing Chemetron to conduct 
the McGean-Rohco building remediation. On August 9, 1994, NRC staff 
also issued a Safety Evaluation Report for the proposed remediation of 
the McGean-Rohco complex.
Proposed Action
    In this action, Chemetron is proposing to utilize onsite disposal, 
under 10 CFR 20.2002, at the Harvard Avenue facility, for wastes, from 
the remediation of the Harvard Avenue site, with concentrations up to 
the Option 2 limit in the NRC's Branch Technical Position on ``Disposal 
or Onsite Storage of Thorium or Uranium Wastes from Past Operations'' 
(1981 BTP). If wastes, that exceed the Option 2 concentration limits in 
the 1981 BTP, are discovered at the Harvard Avenue site, these wastes 
would be shipped offsite, to a licensed low-level waste disposal site.
Need for Proposed Action
    The purpose of the proposed action is to decommission the Harvard 
Avenue site, by removing depleted uranium contamination in soils and 
building rubble, so that the site can be released for unrestricted use. 
Remediating the site will allow Chemetron to release the site back to 
the site owner, McGean-Rohco, Inc., and to remove the site from 
Chemetron's NRC license.
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action
    The NRC staff reviewed the levels of contamination, the proposed 
remediation methods, and the radiological and environmental controls 
that will be used during the remediation. These controls include worker 
dosimetry, the As Low As Is Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) program, air 
monitoring, routine surveys, a bioassay program for workers, and 
routine monitoring of both airborne and liquid effluent releases to 
meet 10 CFR Part 20 radiation protection requirements. Worker and 
public doses will be limited so that exposures will not exceed 10 CFR 
Part 20 requirements.
    Chemetron proposed to remediate the Harvard Avenue site in 
accordance with ``Guidelines for Decontamination of Facilities and 
Equipment Prior to Release for Unrestricted Use or Termination of 
Licenses for Byproduct, Source, and Special Nuclear Materials,'' dated 
August 1987. Chemetron also proposed to dispose of depleted uranium 
wastes onsite in accordance with the 1981 BTP. Based on uranium 
solubility testing of the Harvard Avenue wastes, the maximum depleted 
uranium concentration that is acceptable for disposal in the disposal 
cell is 7.4 Bq/gm (200 pCi/gm) total uranium.
    The staff also analyzed the radiological impacts to the public from 
the disposal of depleted uranium contaminated soils and building rubble 
in the proposed onsite disposal cell. Radiological impacts to members 
of the public will result from inhalation and ingestion of releases of 
radioactivity in air and in water during the remediation operations and 
direct exposure to radiation from radioactive materials at the site 
during remediation operations. The public will also be exposed to 
radiation as a result of the onsite disposal. Decommissioning workers 
will receive doses primarily by inhalation and direct exposure during 
the remediation activities. In addition to impacts from routine 
operations, the potential radiological consequences of accidents were 
considered.
    The licensee provided an estimate of the dose to the public from 
airborne effluents to be generated during the excavation activities 
associated with the decommissioning of Harvard Avenue site. The maximum 
public dose from airborne effluents is 0.02 mSv (2 mrem) for the 
Harvard Avenue site. The staff performed a more conservative, 
independent analysis of the potential for public exposure from airborne 
effluents. The staff estimated the dose to the nearest resident during 
excavation of soil at the Chemetron Harvard Avenue site to be 
approximately 0.09 mSv (9 mrem).
    The licensee performed dose assessments for the Harvard Avenue 
disposal cell using the RESRAD computer code, Version 5.05. The RESRAD 
code calculates dose impacts assuming a resident-farmer scenario, where 
an individual would construct a residence, live there, grow food, and 
consume all drinking water from a conservatively located groundwater 
well. Radiation doses were calculated to be 0.132 mSv/yr (13.2 mrem/yr) 
at 1000 years and peak at 0.142 mSv/yr (14.2

[[Page 28907]]

mrem/yr) at 2150 years after construction of the disposal cell. These 
predicted doses are less than NRC's limit of 1 mSv/yr (100 mrem/yr) for 
radiation doses to the public in 10 CFR Part 20. These doses reflect 
the worst case scenario with the proposed cover over the disposal cell 
assumed to have been removed.
    NRC staff verified Chemetron's RESRAD code analyses, using Version 
5.05, and obtained the same results as Chemetron. NRC staff also ran 
the calculations using an individual groundwater consumption rate of 
730 l/yr, as recommended in NRC Policy and Guidance Directive PG-8-08, 
``Scenarios for Assessing Potential Doses Associated with Residual 
Radioactivity.'' Chemetron assumed a consumption rate of 510 l/yr, 
recommended in Argonne National Laboratory's ANL/EAIS-8, ``Data 
Collection Handbook to Support Modeling the Impacts of Radioactive 
Material in Soil.'' The peak dose, assuming a cover, was computed to be 
0.26 mSv/yr (26 mrem/yr) at 2160 years after disposal. At 1000 years 
after disposal, the dose would be 0.22 mSv/yr (22 mrem/yr). The peak 
dose, assuming no cover, was computed to be 0.20 mSv/yr (20 mrem/yr) at 
2150 years after disposal. At 1000 years after disposal, the dose would 
be 0.185 mSv/yr (18.5 mrem/yr). The above doses estimated for the 
public are substantially less than the 1 mSv/yr (100 mrem/yr) limit for 
exposures to the public in 10 CFR Part 20.
    During the remediation of the contaminated materials, workers will 
receive doses from direct exposure and from the inhalation of dusts 
containing depleted uranium. From direct exposure, assuming the maximum 
measured background radiation levels at the Harvard Avenue site of 0.2 
mSv/month (20 mrem/month) and a 2000 hr exposure, Chemetron computed 
the direct exposure dose to be 0.55 mSv (55 mrem). Chemetron computed 
the inhalation dose to be 0.03 mSv (3 mrem). NRC staff reviewed and 
agrees with these calculations. The above doses are substantially below 
the 10 CFR Part 20 limit of 0.05 Sv/yr (5 rem/yr) for routine 
occupational exposure.
    Based on the above evaluations, radiation exposures of persons 
living or traveling near the site due to onsite operations will be well 
within limits contained in NRC regulations and will be small in 
comparison to natural background radiation. The licensee has a 
radiation protection program that will maintain radiation exposures and 
effluent releases within the limits of 10 CFR Part 20 and will maintain 
exposures as low as is reasonably achievable.
    The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's estimated potential 
consequences of postulated accidents. The licensee evaluated two worst 
case accident scenarios--a truck tipping over releasing its contents 
and a truck fire causing radioactivity to be dispersed into the air. 
The scenarios assumed the maximum total uranium concentration of 507 
Bq/gm (13,700 pCi/gm) total uranium found at the Bert Avenue site in 
Chemetron's site characterization. This concentration is substantially 
higher than the maximum total uranium concentration of 5.9 Bq/gm (160 
pCi/gm) at the Harvard Avenue site. Receptors 10 meters away would 
receive a dose of 4.3E-4 mSv (4.3E-2 mrem) from the truck spill 
accident and 0.04 mSv (4 mrem) from the truck fire accident. These 
postulated accidents do not have the potential for onsite or offsite 
radiation doses that exceed the minimum Protective Action Guide level 
of 1 Rem, recommended in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 
``Manual of Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear 
Incidents,'' or above the 10 CFR Part 20 limit of 0.05 Sv (5 Rem/yr) 
for routine occupational exposure.
    No wastes that exceed the Option 2 limits in the 1981 BTP are 
expected at the Harvard Avenue site. However, if wastes that exceed the 
Option 2 limits are discovered, the wastes will be shipped offsite to a 
licensed low-level waste disposal site. Wastes will be packaged and 
shipped in containers or covered railcars or trucks in accordance with 
NRC and Department of Transportation requirements. Wastes will be 
disposed of in accordance with the disposal site license conditions. 
Therefore, there are no expected impacts from the transportation or 
offsite disposal of radioactive materials.
    The NRC staff also considered nonradiological impacts and concluded 
that all such impacts are negligible.
    Chemetron has identified, at the Harvard Avenue site, no solid 
wastes and hazardous wastes, as defined under the Resource, 
Conservation, and Recovery Act (RCRA) that will need to be managed in 
accordance with the requirements of the OEPA. If such wastes are 
encountered, the wastes will be managed in accordance with OEPA 
requirements. Any impacts for handling RCRA solid and hazardous wastes, 
if identified, are expected to be small.
    Based on the very low minority populations in Cuyahoga Heights, 
Ohio, and in Newburgh Heights, Ohio, which borders the Harvard Avenue 
site, and income statistics that show no significant low-income 
populations compared with those in Cuyahoga County and in the State of 
Ohio, there will be no significant impacts to minorities and low-income 
households from the proposed activities.
    The proposed remediation of the Harvard Avenue site will enable 
Chemetron to release the site for unrestricted use. On the basis of the 
NRC staff's evaluation of Chemetron's proposed remediation approach for 
the Harvard Avenue site, and analysis of the environmental impacts of 
the proposed action, the staff concludes that the proposed remediation 
activities will not result in any significant environmental or 
radiological impact.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
    The staff evaluated the following alternatives to the proposed 
action: (1) leaving the depleted uranium in place; (2) delaying the 
remediation; (3) disposing of contamination at an existing licensed 
low-level radioactive disposal site; (4) applying volume reduction 
methods to the contaminated materials; and, (5) onsite disposal. 
Alternatives 1 and 2 would not allow the license to be terminated and 
would be unacceptable. There are no significant environmental impacts 
associated with Alternatives 3, 4, and 5. However, Alternatives 3 and 4 
are substantially more expensive than Alternative 5, the licensees 
proposed option. Based on this evaluation, NRC staff concludes that 
there are no reasonably available alternatives to the licensee's 
proposed plan that are obviously superior.
Agencies and Persons Consulted, and Sources Used
    This environmental assessment was prepared by staff of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, Rockville, MD, and Region III, Lisle, IL.
    During the review of Chemetron's Final Site Remediation Plan, NRC 
requested comments from the Mayor of Newburgh Heights, the Ohio 
Department of Health (ODH), the OEPA, and the Cuyahoga County Board of 
Health (CCBH). NRC received formal comments from ODH and CCBH, and 
informal comments from OEPA. The principle comments received from ODH 
and OEPA were that NRC should require post-closure controls and 
monitoring, for the radiologic components in the waste, after 
completion of the onsite disposal cells. These controls would be 
consistent with the post-closure controls required by OEPA for solid 
waste landfills. NRC staff indicated that under the conditions

[[Page 28908]]

of onsite disposal under the Option 2 limits of the 1981 BTP the 
Harvard Avenue site could be released for unrestricted use, and doses 
to hypothetical intruders, who might construct homes and consume 
groundwater and foodstuffs grown in the wastes, would be acceptable. 
The principle comments made by CCBH were to correct technical 
inconsistencies, in the Site Remediation Plan, related to the design of 
the proposed Bert Avenue disposal cell.
    A draft of this environmental assessment was also transmitted to 
ODH, OEPA, CCBH, and the Mayor of Newburgh Heights, Ohio. The CCBH, 
OEPA, and the Mayor of Newburgh Heights had no comments on the draft 
EA. ODH concurred with the dose assessment modeling results, and 
indicated that the proposed action will be protective of public health. 
ODH also commented that they desired a mechanism for detecting disposal 
cell failure and deed restrictions that would limit any type of 
activity that might jeopardize disposal cell integrity. As indicated 
above, NRC staff consider that under the Option 2 disposal conditions, 
the Harvard Avenue site can be released for unrestricted use, without 
post-closure controls related to radioactive materials.
    The NRC staff requested a review by the Ohio Historic Preservation 
Office (OHPO) of the Harvard Avenue property. The OHPO concluded that 
the project, if completed as proposed, would have no effect on 
properties listed on or eligible for the National Register of 
Historical Places.
    No other sources of information were used beyond those which are 
referenced in the report.
Finding of No Significant Impact
    Based on the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes 
that the issuance of the license amendment will not have a significant 
impact on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the 
Commission has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the proposed action.
Opportunity for a Hearing
    On April 11, 1994, the NRC published in the FR a notice of 
Consideration of Amendment to Chemetron Corporation License and 
Opportunity for Hearing (59 FR 17124) with respect to the matters 
covered in the amendment that is the subject of this notice. In 
response to that notice, Earth Day Coalition submitted a petition for 
hearing. On July 7, 1994, the Presiding Officer granted a three week 
period for Earth Day Coalition to supplement a deficient hearing 
request. The Coalition's petition failed to demonstrate that the NRC's 
standing requirements were met and that its concerns were germane to 
the subject matter of the proceeding. Because the Coalition did not 
file the supplemental information, on September 1, 1994, the Presiding 
Officer dismissed the proceeding. Accordingly, the agency has complied 
with its rules in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L, and no further offer of an 
opportunity for a hearing is made regarding the subject matter of this 
notice.
    The environmental assessment and the documents related to this 
proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the 
NRC's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20555, 
and the NRC's Local Public Document Room at the Garfield Heights Branch 
Library, 5409 Turney Road, Garfield Heights, Ohio, (Docket No. 040-
08724).
    For additional information, contact Timothy C. Johnson, Section 
Leader, Materials Decommissioning Section, Low-Level Waste and 
Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office 
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, (310) 415-7299.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of May 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Robert A. Nelson,
Acting Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, 
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 96-14236 Filed 6-5-96; 8:45 am]
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