[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 27, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33243-33245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-15675]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket 70-1257]
Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Opportunity for a
Hearing Renewal of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1227 Siemens
Power Corporation Richland Engineering and Manufacturing Facility
Richland, Washington
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering the renewal
of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1227 for the continued
operation of the Siemens Power Corporation's (SPC) Engineering and
Manufacturing Facility located in Richland, Washington. The facility
manufactures low-enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power
reactors.
Summary of the Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is the renewal of SPC's special nuclear
material license for 10 years. With this renewal, SPC will continue to
operate the Richland Engineering and Manufacturing Facility to
fabricate fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear power reactors. SPC is
authorized to possess and use up to 25,000 kilograms of uranium-235 in
compounds enriched up to 5 weight percent in the U-235.
The facility converts low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6)
to uranium dioxide (UO2) powder, presses the UO2 into
pellets, loads the pellets into rods, and assembles the rods into final
fuel assemblies. Most of the UF6-to-UO2 conversion is
performed using the ammonium diuranate (ADU) process; however, with
this license renewal, SPC will significantly expand its existing dry
conversion capacity and shut down most of the ADU process capacity. The
environmental assessment considers both the impacts of continued
operation of the ADU process and the impacts of the expanded dry
conversion capacity, which are expected to be significantly reduced.
The Need for the Proposed Action
SPC performs a necessary service for the commercial nuclear power
industry by fabricating fuel assemblies. Currently, the SPC facility is
one of four such producers of low-enriched uranium fuel that operates
within the United States. Denial of the license renewal application is
an alternative available to the NRC but would result in either the
expansion of production capacity or transfer of fuel production
activities at another facility.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The continued operation of the SPC facility will result in the
continued release of low levels of hazardous and radioactive
constituents. Under accident conditions, the facility could release
higher concentrations over a short period of time. The facility uses a
number of controls to reduce the release of hazardous and radioactive
materials to the environment and performs monitoring of effluents and
the environment. These controls and the monitoring program are
described below.
The radiological environmental impacts of normal operations and
postulated accidents were evaluated for the SPC facility. These impacts
are summarized following the description of controls and monitoring.
Effluent Controls and Monitoring
The SPC facility produces gaseous, liquid, and solid effluent
streams. Gaseous effluents are controlled by minimizing the amount of
airborne radioactive materials within the plant and by the use of stack
scrubbers and High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters. Liquid
effluents are controlled by the use of waste water retention lagoons
and treatment systems that reduce the concentration of radioactive
materials prior to discharge to the Richland city sewer system. Solid
effluents are controlled by segregation of radioactive wastes from
trash and hazardous wastes; containment of wastes in drums or boxes on
site; treatment by decontamination, compaction, or incineration, as
appropriate; and final disposal off site.
SPC monitors these effluents at or just prior to the points of
release. Gaseous stack effluents are sampled continuously at isokinetic
flow conditions, and the samples are analyzed for radioactivity. Liquid
effluents are sampled at the lift station at the point of discharge to
the sewer, and the samples are analyzed for uranium and other
constituents. Solid wastes are surveyed prior to treatment or off-site
disposal.
Action levels have been selected for each of these effluents, in
accordance [[Page 33244]] with applicable NRC, Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and State regulations, and are incorporated into the
renewed license. These action levels specify radionuclide
concentrations at which investigations would be initiated and
operations would be shut down.
The effluent monitoring program will cover the expanded dry
conversion process, including monitoring of new process off-gas and
building ventilation systems.
Environmental Monitoring
SPC also performs monitoring to detect accumulation of radioactive
materials in the environment. Off-site soils are sampled from two
stations quarterly and are analyzed for uranium. Off-site vegetation is
sampled from two stations monthly during the growing season and is
analyzed for fluoride as an indicator of plant emissions. Ambient air
is sampled continuously at two stations and analyzed for fluoride.
The lagoon liner systems are inspected monthly for the presence of
liquids. If liquids are present, a sample is taken and analyzed for
constituents present in the lagoon. If the liquids are identified as
lagoon contents, the lagoon would be emptied and the liner repaired.
Ground water near the lagoons is sampled on a quarterly basis, and
the samples analyzed for gross alpha and beta and for chlorides,
nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and pH. If the ground water data
indicate a lagoon leak, then the lagoon would be emptied and the liner
repaired.
Richland city sewage plant sludge is sampled monthly and analyzed
for uranium. If a running average of the analyses over a 6-month period
exceeds 25 pico-curies per gram, or any single confirmed result equals
or exceeds 30 pico-curies per gram discharges to the sewer will be
stopped and an investigation will be performed.
The environmental monitoring program will not change as a result of
the dry conversion process expansion.
Environmental Impacts From Normal Operations
The release of radioactive material to air and water represents a
potential negative impact on the health and safety of the surrounding
population. This impact results in a very small increase in the risk of
cancer due to low levels of radiation exposure. The risk has been
calculated and presented in terms of committed effective dose
equivalent and organ doses resulting from a single year of operation.
For doses resulting from inhalation or ingestion of uranium, this
quantity is the total effective dose equivalent or organ dose that will
accrue to an individual over a 50-year period beginning with the year
the intake occurs. Doses to a hypothetical maximally exposed individual
and collective dose to the population living within an 80 kilometer (50
mile) radius of the SPC facility were calculated and are summarized
below.
Based on effluent data for the past 5 years, the SPC facility is
expected to release approximately 15 microcuries per year (Ci/
yr) of alpha activity and 1.4 Ci/yr of beta activity via
gaseous emissions and less than 0.06 curies per year of uranium via
sewer discharges. The amount of gaseous alpha emissions is expected to
be reduced significantly when the change from ADU conversion to dry
conversion is completed.
Doses to the maximally exposed individual via the atmospheric and
aqueous release pathways were calculated using the Hanford
Environmental Dosimetry Software system (GENII code) and realistic and
conservative assumptions.
The total effective dose to a hypothetical resident at the site
boundary would be 0.024 millirems per year from atmospheric emissions.
The total effective dose to the nearest existing downwind residence,
3.4 kilometers (2.1 miles) southeast of the plant, is calculated at
0.0002 millirem per year from atmospheric emissions. These doses are
far below the 25 millirem per year standard in 40 CFR Part 190 for
organ doses from fuel cycle operations and the 10 millirem per year
standard in 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart I, for doses from atmospheric
releases.
The collective dose to the population from routine atmospheric
releases is estimated at 0.0035 person-rem per year, less than 0.00005
percent of the 85,000 person-rem per year that the same population is
exposed to from natural background sources.
Radioactive material released from the SPC facility to the Richland
sewer system, and ultimately to the Columbia River, may result in
radiation exposure to humans through a variety of pathways. The primary
pathways considered in the analysis were ingestion of drinking water
from the Columbia River, consumption of fish from the river and
terrestrial foodstuffs irrigated with river water, and exposure during
recreational activities such as swimming and boating. Doses to a
maximally exposed individual living near the site and to the population
within 80 kilometers (50 miles) downstream were calculated. The
radionuclide release rates used in the analysis are from measurements
of the effluent discharged to the sewer system. Because most of the
reported concentrations were at or below the lower limit of detection
for the analytical procedure, the aqueous release used in the dose
calculation conservatively overestimates the actual release. The total
effective dose from aqueous effluents to the Columbia River from the
ADU conversion process was calculated at 0.00056 millirem, which is
well below applicable regulatory standards in 40 CFR Part 190 and 10
CFR Part 20, Subpart D. Most of the dose is from U-234, and the bone
surface receives the highest dose. Liquid releases from the dry
conversion process, after the lagoon contents are processed, are
expected to average about 30 percent of the current levels.
The dose to the surrounding population from aqueous releases is
estimated at 0.074 person-rem per year. This dose is less than 0.004
percent of the 21,000 person-rem per year from natural background
radiation sources to the downstream population.
The treatment in the city sewage treatment plant of liquid releases
results in some reconcentration of uranium in sewage sludge. Sludge
from the sewage plant is shipped daily to the Richland city landfarm
where it is mixed with approximately equal amounts of petroleum-
contaminated soils and native soils. After 6 months, the mixture is
used as intermediate cover at the city landfill. SPC samples the sludge
on a monthly basis and analyzes it for uranium content. The
concentration of uranium in the sludge has been on the order of 10
picocuries per gram (pCi/g) of sludge (wet weight basis), and SPC has
committed to action levels of 25 pCi/g for any 6-month running average
or 30 pCi/g for a single sample. If these action levels are exceeded,
discharges to the sewer will be halted and an investigation performed.
Environmental Impacts From Accidental Releases
Release of radioactive or hazardous materials under off-normal or
accident conditions poses a potential risk to public health and safety
and the environment. The potential consequences of these accidents
include personal injury, health effects from acute exposures to toxic
materials, non-stochastic effects from acute radiation exposure, and
risk of latent cancer fatality from exposure to radioactive material.
A set of four accidents spanning the range of potential
consequences was selected and evaluated. Three of the four scenarios
evaluated the accidental release of radioactive materials. The intakes
and predicted doses for the three [[Page 33245]] radiological accident
scenarios were small, with negligible associated health effects, or
below the level normally assumed for the onset of clinically observed
effects. The fourth accident analyzed, the release of gaseous ammonia,
would be expected to produce noticeable, but not life-threatening
effects both on site and off site. Given the low likelihood of these
accidents, it is concluded that the license renewal will not have a
significant impact on the general population.
Socioeconomic Impacts
SPC employs 1,000 people at the Richland plant, which is
approximately 1.5 percent of the 68,000 people employed in the Tri-
Cities area. Renewal of the license will allow the continued operation
of the facility and continued employment of these 1,000 people.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
If the license is not renewed, the facility would cease operation
and begin decontamination and decommissioning. SPC would perform a
survey of the site grounds and buildings and develop a detailed
decontamination and decommissioning plan. This plan would include the
decontamination of buildings, lagoons, and other outdoor areas;
generation and off-site disposal of significant quantities of low-level
radioactive waste; and excavation of contaminated soils.
Decontamination and decommissioning operations would result in the
release of small amounts of radioactivity to the atmosphere and to the
Columbia River. Specific estimates of the quantities that would be
released and associated doses are too speculative to predict, but the
expected range could be about the same as for continued operation to
one order of magnitude less. Consequently, the doses to the maximally
exposed individual and to the general population would be about the
same to an order of magnitude less.
The decontamination and decommissioning operations would require
fewer employees than plant operations, resulting in an immediate
negative socioeconomic impact. This negative socioeconomic impact would
increase when decontamination and decommissioning operations were
completed and the facility closed.
The cessation of operations would also result in there being one
less operating fuel fabrication facility in the U.S., with a potential
impact on the commercial nuclear power industry.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
To prepare the Environmental Assessment, the staff used the license
renewal application dated August 1992; Revision 4 to the Supplement to
Applicant's Environmental Report dated July 1994; additional
information dated September 12 and October 21, 1994, and March 31,
1995; and independent data and analyses. In addition, discussions were
held with the Washington Department of Health, Radiation Protection
Division; the Washington Department of Ecology Nuclear Waste Program
and Water Quality Section; the Benton County Clean Air Authority; the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region X; the City of
Richland Department of Water and Waste Utilities; the Washington State
Archeologist; the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Yakama Agency; and the
Yakama Indian Nation.
Conclusion
The NRC staff concludes that the environmental impacts associated
with the proposed license renewal for continued operation of SPC's
Richland facility are expected to be insignificant.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to
the renewal of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1227. On the basis
of this assessment, NRC has concluded that environmental impacts that
would be created by the proposed licensing action would not be
significant and do not warrant the preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement. Accordingly, it has been determined that a finding of
no significant impact is appropriate.
Opportunity for a Hearing
Any person whose interest may be affected by the issuance of this
license renewal 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; must be served on
the NRC staff (Executive Director for Operations, One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852), and on the licensee
(Siemens Power Corporation, 2101 Horn Rapids Road, Richland, WA 99352-
0130); and must comply with the requirements for requesting a hearing
set forth in the Commission's regulation 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L,
``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials Licensing
Proceedings.''
These requirements, which the requestor 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 Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of June 1995.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert C. Pierson,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards,
NMSS.
[FR Doc. 95-15675 Filed 6-26-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
