[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5234]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 8, 1994]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-01786; License No. 19-00296-10]
National Institutes of Health; Receipt of Petition Under 10 CFR
2.206
Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated December 2, 1993,
Arlene S. Allen, on behalf of the North Bethesda Congress of Citizens
Associations, Inc. (North Bethesda Congress or Petitioner) requested
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission take action with regard to the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Petitioner requests that: (1) The
NRC suspend License Condition 24, which permits NIH to dispose of
licensed materials by incineration, pending resolution of two
regulatory issues, specifically completion of an environmental report
or environmental assessment regarding incineration of radioactive waste
at the NIH Bethesda campus and monitoring to ensure that radioactive
effluent releases are within regulatory limits; (2) the NRC provide
Petitioner with a copy of the NRC environmental assessments and/or
safety evaluations which provide the bases for License Condition 21,
which excepts NIH from the sanitary sewer system limits of 10 CFR
20.303(d), and for License Condition 28, which approves the low level
radioactive waste storage facility at NIH's Poolesville campus; and (3)
the NRC provide Petitioner with a copy of future correspondence between
the NRC and NIH regarding the Petition.
Petitioner asserts as bases for these requests that: NIH has not
completed or submitted to the NRC an environmental report regarding
radiological releases from incinerators at the Bethesda campus, and the
NRC has not issued an environmental assessment or impact statement
regarding NIH radiological emissions, as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 10 CFR 51.21, 51.45 and 51.60(b);
licensing the disposal of radioactive waste by incineration is a
federal action subject to the NEPA process; because releases from the
NIH incinerators are capable of exceeding regulatory limits and will
increase over the next few years, and because total radiological
emissions from NIH are sufficient to warrant environmental analysis,
the continued burning of radioactive waste by NIH without an
environmental report and environmental assessment are in noncompliance
with NRC environmental regulations; although NRC CITED NIH for its
failure to adequately monitor radioactive effluents and NIH committed
to install instrumentation for continuous monitoring as a corrective
action for having exceeded its yearly radioactive effluent release
limit to unrestricted areas for 1987, no continuous monitoring for
radioactive airborne effluents exists for the NIH incinerator stacks,
it is not clear that the box monitoring system installed by NIH
adequately detects radioactive waste, and small amounts of iodine
continue to be identified in the incinerator ash, indicating that
medical waste still gets into the incinerators; and it is unclear that
NIH methods to assess radioactive effluent releases at the incinerators
satisfy regulatory requirements and provide assurance that part 20
limits are being met.
Petitioner's request for suspension of NIH's authorization to
dispose of licensed material by incineration pending resolution of the
regulatory concerns raised by the Petition was denied by letter dated
February 24, 1994. In the letter it was noted that NIH has permanently
discontinued operation of two of their three incineration units, and
they plan to temporarily discontinue operation of the third unit within
the next month or two to upgrade the scrubber system in that unit and
to produce an environmental study.
The Petition has been referred to the Director of the Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. As
provided by Section 2.206, appropriate action will be taken with regard
to the specific issues raised by the Petition in a reasonable time.
A copy of the Petition is available for inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC
20555.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 24th day of February, 1994.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert M. Bernero,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 94-5234 Filed 3-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
