Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/12/30/E8-30940/notice-of-availability-of-environmental-assessment-and-finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-license
Timestamp: 2018-04-24 07:35:43
Document Index: 683150179

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 51', 'art 51', 'art 30', 'art 20', 'art 20', 'art 20']

Federal Register :: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Nuclear Materials License No. 45-25402-01, for Termination of the License and Unrestricted Release of the Upstate Group, Inc., Facility in Charlottesville, VA
73 FR 79937
79937-79939 (3 pages)
Docket No. 030-34493
E8-30940
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-30940 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-30940
Thomas K. Thompson, Sr. Health Physicist, Commercial and Research & Development Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 337-5303; fax number (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: thomas.thompson@nrc.gov.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance of a license amendment to byproduct materials License No. 45-25402-01. This license is held by Upstate Group, Inc. (the Licensee), for its facility located at 706 Forrest Street, Charlottesville, Virginia (the Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use and termination of the NRC license. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated January 3, 2008. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR Part 51). Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register.
The proposed action would approve the Licensee's January 3, 2008, license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for unrestricted use and the termination of its NRC materials license. License No. 45-25402-01 was issued on October 31, 1997, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed byproduct materials for the purposes of conducting research and development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
The Facility is a two story building located in a mixed residential/commercial area. The licensee occupied approximately 12,000 square feet of space on the second floor of the building, consisting of office space and laboratories. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was confined to Laboratories 115 and 110A.
Routine licensed activities ceased in 2002 and the licensee initiated a survey of the Facility. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of the Facility, the Licensee determined that only routine decontamination activities, in accordance with the NRC-approved operating radiation safety procedures, would be required. The Licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved for routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of the Facility and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release and for license termination.
The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days in unsealed form: Hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. The Licensee conducted a final status survey in December 2006. This survey covered the areas of use at the Facility. The final status survey report was attached to the Start Printed Page 79938Licensee's amendment request dated January 3, 2008. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, “Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,” Volume 2. The Licensee used the radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs), developed there by the NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status survey results were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are acceptable.
Based on its review the staff has determined that the affected environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the “Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities” (NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385). The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from the use of radioactive material at the Facility. The NRC staff reviewed the docket file records and the final status survey report to identify any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the environment surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative environmental impacts.
NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Health, Bureau of Radiological Health for review on October 30, 2008. The Commonwealth of Virginia responded by e-mail on November 7, 2008. The Commonwealth agreed with the conclusions of the EA and otherwise had no comments.
1. NRC License No. 45-25402-01 (ML041660379);
2. Termination request dated January 3, 2008 (ML080100580);
3. Additional information on termination request dated January 30, 2008 (ML080360136);
4. License application dated June 17, 1997 (ML083030158);
5. License application dated July 12, 1999 (ML083030168);
6. Inspection report dated April 13, 2004 (ML042170064);
7. License amendment request dated March 30, 2004 (ML040910212 and ML041740741);
8. NUREG-1757, “Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;” Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, “Radiological Criteria for License Termination;”
Dated at Region I, 475 Allendale PA, King of Prussia, PA this 19th day of December 2008.
[FR Doc. E8-30940 Filed 12-29-08; 8:45 am]