Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0643-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Approval of the Central Characterization Project's Remote-Handled Waste Characterization Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Posted Date: 2007-08-22T04:00Z

[Federal Register: August 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 162)]
[Notices]               
[Page 47023-47026]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au07-103]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0643; FRL-8458-5]

 
Proposed Approval of the Central Characterization Project's 
Remote-Handled Waste Characterization Program at Los Alamos National 
Laboratory

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or we) is announcing 
the availability of, and soliciting public comments for 45 days on, the 
proposed approval of the radioactive, remote-handled (RH), transuranic 
(TRU) waste characterization program implemented by the Central 
Characterization Project (CCP) at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
(LANL). This waste is intended for disposal at the Waste Isolation 
Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
    In accordance with the WIPP Compliance Criteria, EPA evaluated the 
characterization of RH TRU debris waste from LANL-CCP during an 
inspection conducted the week of May 8, 2007. Using the systems and 
processes developed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) 
Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) program to characterize RH TRU waste, EPA 
verified whether DOE could adequately characterize RH TRU waste 
consistent with the Compliance Criteria. The results of EPA's 
evaluation of the LANL-CCP program and its proposed approval are 
described in the Agency's inspection report, which is available for 
review in the public dockets listed in ADDRESSES. We will consider 
public comments received on or before the due date mentioned in DATES.
    This notice summarizes the waste characterization processes 
evaluated by EPA and EPA's proposed approval. As required by the 40 CFR 
194.8, at the end of a 45-day comment period EPA will evaluate public 
comments received, and if appropriate, finalize the reports responding 
to the relevant public comments, and a final report and approval letter 
to DOE.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 9, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0643, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail to: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-1741.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0643. The Agency's policy is that all comments received will 
be included in the public docket without change and may be made 
available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 

information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed 
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 

is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 

automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm
.

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov
 index. Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
at http://www.regulations.gov.

    As of September 22, 2006, the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) Public 
Reading Room will be temporarily inaccessible to the public until 
November 6, 2006, due to construction. Public access to docket 
materials will still be provided. We strongly encourage you to visit 
the EPA Dockets Web site frequently (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm
) in order to receive the latest status concerning the 

Public Reading Room and public access to docket materials.
    If you wish to obtain materials from a docket in the EPA/DC, please 
go first to Regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov) and obtain 

electronic copies. If the materials are listed in the docket index but 
the documents themselves are not available in Regulations.gov, please 
call (202) 566-1744 or e-mail the applicable Program Office Docket.
    EPA Docket Center operations will still continue during this 
period. In addition to electronic access through regulations.gov, 
public inspection of docket materials will be available by appointment 
during this period. Appointments may be made by calling (202) 566-1744 
or by e-mailing the appropriate Docket Office.
    If you wish to hand deliver comments during this period, you may 
drop them off between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time (EST), Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays 
at the EPA Headquarters, Room 6146F in the EPA West Building located at 
1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.
    EPA visitors are required to show photographic identification and 
sign the EPA visitor log. After processing

[[Page 47024]]

through the X-ray and magnetometer machines, visitors will be given an 
EPA/DC badge that must be visible at all times, and be escorted to Room 
6146F to drop off comments.
    If you have any other questions concerning the temporary closing of 
the EPA/DC Public Reading Room, you may call (202) 566-1744 between the 
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
    These documents are also available for review in hard-copy form at 
the following three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in New 
Mexico: in Carlsbad at the Municipal Library, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 
10 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 
p.m., phone number: 505-885-0731; in Albuquerque at the Government 
Publications Department, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, 
Hours: Vary by semester, phone number: 505-277-2003; and in Santa Fe at 
the New Mexico State Library, Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 
phone number: 505-476-9700. As provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR 
part 2, and in accordance with normal EPA docket procedures, if copies 
of any docket materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged 
for photocopying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rajani Joglekar or Ed Feltcorn, 
Radiation Protection Division, Center for Federal Regulations, Mail 
Code 6608J, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9601; fax 
number: 202-343-2305; e-mail address: 
joglekar.rajani@epa.gov or feltcorn.ed@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of 

the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk 
or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM 
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

    DOE is developing the WIPP, near Carlsbad in southeastern New 
Mexico, as a deep geologic repository for disposal of TRU radioactive 
waste. As defined by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) of 1992 (Pub. 
L. 102-579), as amended (Pub. L. 104-201), TRU waste consists of 
materials that have atomic numbers greater than 92 (with half-lives 
greater than twenty years), in concentrations greater than 100 
nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste. Much of 
the existing TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the 
production of nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools, and 
sludges.
    TRU waste is itself divided into two categories, based on its level 
of radioactivity. Contact-handled (CH) TRU waste accounts for about 97 
percent of the volume of TRU waste currently destined for the WIPP. It 
is packaged in 55-gallon metal drums or in metal boxes and can be 
handled under controlled conditions without any shielding beyond the 
container itself. The maximum radiation dose at the surface of a CH TRU 
waste container is 200 millirems per hour. CH waste primarily emits 
alpha particles that are easily shielded by a sheet of paper or the 
outer layer of a person's skin.
    Remote-handled (RH) TRU waste emits more radiation than CH TRU 
waste and must therefore be both handled and transported in shielded 
casks. Surface radiation levels of unshielded containers of remote-
handled transuranic waste exceed 200 millirems per hour. RH waste 
primarily emits gamma radiation, which is very penetrating and requires 
concrete, lead, or steel to block it.
    On May 13, 1998, EPA announced its final compliance certification 
decision to the Secretary of Energy (published May 18, 1998, 63 FR 
27354). This decision stated that the WIPP will comply with EPA's 
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, Subparts B 
and C.
    The final WIPP certification decision includes conditions that (1) 
Prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other 
than the Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) until the EPA 
determines that the site has established and executed a quality 
assurance program, in accordance with Sec. Sec.  194.22(a)(2)(i), 
194.24(c)(3), and 194.24(c)(5) for waste characterization activities 
and assumptions (Condition 2 of Appendix A to 40 CFR Part 194); and (2) 
(with the exception of specific, limited waste streams and equipment at 
LANL) prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP (from LANL or 
any other site) until EPA has approved the procedures developed to 
comply with the waste characterization requirements of Sec.  
194.22(c)(4) (Condition 3 of Appendix A to 40 CFR part 194). The EPA's 
approval process for waste generator sites is described in Sec.  194.8 
(revised July 2004).
    Condition 3 of the WIPP Certification Decision requires EPA to 
conduct independent inspections at DOE's waste generator/storage sites 
of their TRU waste characterization capabilities before approving their 
program and the waste for disposal at the WIPP. EPA's inspection and 
approval process gives EPA (a) Discretion in establishing technical 
priorities, (b) the ability to accommodate variation in the site's 
waste characterization capabilities, and (c) flexibility in scheduling 
site WC inspections.
    As described in section 194.8(b), EPA's baseline inspections 
evaluate each WC process component (equipment, procedures, and 
personnel training/experience) for its adequacy and appropriateness in 
characterizing TRU waste destined for disposal at WIPP. During an 
inspection, the site demonstrates its capabilities to characterize TRU 
waste(s) and its ability to comply with the regulatory limits and 
tracking requirements under Sec.  194.24. A baseline inspection may 
describe any limitations on approved waste streams or waste 
characterization processes

[[Page 47025]]

[Sec.  194.8(b)(2)(iii)]. In addition, a baseline inspection approval 
must specify what subsequent WC program changes or expansion should be 
reported to EPA [Sec.  194.8(b)(4)]. The Agency is required to assign 
Tier 1 (T1) and Tier 2 (T2) to the reportable changes depending on 
their potential impact on data quality. A T1 designation requires that 
the site must notify EPA of proposed changes to the approved components 
of an individual WC process (such as radioassay equipment or 
personnel), and EPA must also approve the change before it can be 
implemented. A WC element with a T2 designation allows the site to 
implement changes to the approved components of individual WC processes 
(such as visual examination procedures) but requires EPA notification. 
The Agency may choose to inspect the site to evaluate technical 
adequacy before approval. EPA inspections conducted to evaluate T1 or 
T2 changes are follow-up inspections under the authority of Sec.  
194.24(h). In addition to the follow-up inspections, if warranted, EPA 
may opt to conduct continued compliance inspections at TRU waste sites 
with a baseline approval under the authority of Sec.  194.24(h).
    The site inspection and approval process outlined in Sec.  194.8 
requires EPA to issue a Federal Register notice proposing the baseline 
compliance decision, docket the inspection report for public review, 
and seek public comment on the proposed decision for a period of 45 
days. The report must describe the WC processes EPA inspected at the 
site, as well as their compliance with Sec.  194.24 requirements.
    EPA previously issued a preliminary approval of DOE's general 
framework for characterizing RH waste on March 26, 2004 (Docket A-98-
49, Item II-B2-21). This approval requires DOE to provide site-specific 
RH waste characterization plans and characterization procedures for EPA 
approval prior to implementing them for characterizing RH waste.

III. Proposed Baseline Compliance Decision

    EPA has performed a baseline inspection of RH TRU waste 
characterization activities at LANL-CCP (EPA Inspection No. EPA-LANL-
CCP-RH-5.07-8). The purpose of EPA's inspection was to verify that the 
RH waste characterization program implemented at LANL-CCP for 
characterizing RH TRU, retrievably-stored, debris waste is adequate for 
the 16 RH waste canisters. EPA evaluated whether the RH waste 
characterized meets the regulatory requirements at 40 CFR 194.24.
    This inspection was different from previous RH baseline inspections 
conducted at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Argonne National 
Laboratory East (ANL-E) (see Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0881), as 
well as previous contact-handled (CH) baseline inspections. Generally, 
EPA's RH and CH baseline inspections evaluate WC programs for technical 
adequacy and when approved the TRU sites would continue to implement 
the approved program components to characterize additional wastes on an 
ongoing basis. However, the characterization activities within the 
scope of this inspection had occurred at LANL in the 1990's and were 
completed prior to this inspection. This inspection's sole focus was to 
evaluate the records that had been assembled to document WC activities, 
including recently performed modeling, interpretation, and further 
calculations based on previously-generated RH measurement data for a 
LANL RH debris waste stream No. LA-MHD03.002. There will be no further 
waste characterization activities relative to this waste, and this 
proposed approval is directed to a discrete set of canisters within 
this LANL RH debris waste stream, as supported by the documentation the 
EPA inspection team evaluated during this inspection. Note that this is 
a retrospective approval of LANL RH debris waste characterization 
activities knowing that no additional RH debris waste will be 
characterized by LANL CCP in the future based on this baseline 
approval.
    The purpose of the LANL-CCP RH WC inspection was to evaluate the 
adequacy of the site's WC programs for 16 canisters in a single RH 
debris waste stream for disposal at WIPP. The 16 canisters of RH debris 
in this waste stream were generated from the examination of fuel pins 
at the LANL Chemical, Metallurgical Research (CMR) facility from 1970 
through 1984. In the early 1990's, wastes derived from examination of 
these fuel pins were loaded into 364 1\1/2\-gallon steel cans that were 
welded shut. These 364 cans were later assembled into 12 canisters and 
four other canisters were assembled with bulk-loaded debris from the 
same activities. The WC activity examined during the inspection was 
acceptable knowledge (AK) for these 16 canisters of RH retrievably-
stored TRU debris (S5000) waste. CCP has assured EPA that these 16 
sealed canisters will be disposed of ``as is'' at WIPP and will not be 
repackaged with any other RH debris waste.
    The EPA inspection team determined that the records documenting 
LANL-CCP's RH WC program represented activities that were technically 
adequate. EPA, therefore, is proposing to approve the LANL-CCP RH WC 
program for the 16 RH TRU canisters in LANL RH Waste Stream No. LA-
MHD03.002 evaluated during this baseline inspection described and 
documented in this report. The approval includes the following:
    (1) The AK process for 16 canisters of RH retrievably-stored TRU 
debris in the waste stream designated LANL RH Waste Stream No. LA-
MHD03.002.
    (2) The radiological characterization (RC) process using dose-to-
fissile gram, dose-to-curie (DTC), curie-to-dose and modeling-derived 
scaling factors for assigning radionuclide values to 16 canisters of RH 
retrievably-stored TRU debris in one waste stream, designated as LANL 
RH Waste Stream No. LA-MHD03.002 and documented in CCP-AK-LANL-501, 
Revision 0 and detailed in this report.
    Since no additional WC activities that will occur relative to the 
16 canisters of RH debris waste, changes to the WC activities evaluated 
during the baseline inspection are not expected to occur. Accordingly, 
this report does not list any tiering (T1 or T2) designations relative 
to this waste and waste characterization components proposed for the 
approval.

IV. Availability of the Baseline Inspection Report for Public Comment

    EPA has placed the report discussing the results of the Agency's 
inspection of LANL-CCP in the public docket as described in ADDRESSES. 
In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, EPA is providing the public 45 days to 
comment on these documents. The Agency requests comments on the 
proposed approval decision, as described in the inspection report. EPA 
will accept public comment on this notice and supplemental information 
as described in section 1.B. above. EPA will not make a determination 
of compliance before the 45-day comment period ends. At the end of the 
public comment period, EPA will evaluate all relevant public comments 
and revise the inspection report as necessary. If appropriate, the 
Agency will then issue a final approval letter and inspection report, 
both of which will be posted on the WIPP Web site.
    Information on the certification decision is filed in the official 
EPA Air Docket, Docket No. A-93-02 and is available for review in 
Washington, DC, and at the three EPA WIPP informational docket 
locations in New

[[Page 47026]]

Mexico (as listed in ADDRESSES). The dockets in New Mexico contain only 
major items from the official Air Docket in Washington, DC, plus those 
documents added to the official Air Docket since the October 1992 
enactment of the WIPP LWA.

    Dated: August 16, 2007.
Elizabeth Cotsworth,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. E7-16612 Filed 8-21-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P