[Federal Register: December 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 248)]
[Notices]
[Page 74986-74988]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29de03-98]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No.: 40-8989; SMC-1559]
Envirocare of Utah, Inc.; Order Modifying Exemption From
Requirements Relative to Possession of Special Nuclear Material
Envirocare of Utah, Inc., (Envirocare) operates a low-level waste
(LLW) disposal facility in Clive, Utah. This facility is licensed by
the State of Utah, an Agreement State. Envirocare is also licensed by
Utah to dispose of mixed radioactive and hazardous wastes. In addition,
Envirocare has a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license to
dispose of byproduct material as defined in 10 CFR part 40.
Section 70.3 of 10 CFR part 70 requires persons who own, acquire,
deliver, receive, possess, use, or transfer special nuclear material
(SNM) to obtain a license pursuant to the requirements in 10 CFR part
70. The licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 70 apply to persons in
Agreement States possessing greater than critical mass quantities as
defined in 10 CFR 150.11.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.14, ``the Commission may. * * * grant such
exemptions from the requirements of the regulations in this part as it
determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property
or the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public
interest.''
On May 24, 1999, the NRC transmitted an Order to Envirocare of
Utah, Inc. The Order was published in the Federal Register on May 21,
1999 (64 FR 27826). The Order exempted Envirocare from certain NRC
regulations and permitted Envirocare, under specified conditions, to
possess waste containing SNM in greater quantities than specified in 10
CFR part 150, at Envirocare's LLW disposal facility located in Clive,
Utah, without obtaining an NRC license pursuant to 10 CFR part 70. The
methodology used to establish these limits is discussed in the 1999
Safety Evaluation Report (SER) that supported the 1999 Order.
On January 30, 2003, the NRC revised the Order to (1) Include
stabilization of liquid waste streams containing SNM; (2) include the
thermal desorption process; (3) change the homogenous contiguous mass
limit from 145 kg to 600 kg; (4) change the language and SNM limit
associated with footnotes ``c'' and ``d'' of Condition 1 to reflect all
materials in Conditions 2 and 3; and (5) omit the confirmatory testing
requirements for debris waste. The revised Order was published in the
Federal Register on February 13, 2003 (68 FR 7399).
Envirocare, in a letter dated July 8, 2003, proposed that NRC amend
the 2003 Order to: (1) Include additional SNM concentration limits to
Condition 1 of the Order, including limits for SNM with and without
magnesium oxide and limits for additional enrichments of uranium-235;
(2) revise the limits in Condition 1 to be in units of gram of SNM per
gram of waste rather than the current units of pCi of SNM per gram of
waste; and (3) increase the limits of plutonium isotopes and uranium-
233 to allow for greater flexibility in accepting liquid SNM waste. In
addition, Envirocare has requested an evaluation of three new waste
treatment technologies. The NRC is evaluating Envirocare's request in
two phases. This
[[Page 74987]]
modification of the Order addresses the revisions to the table in
Condition 1, to include criticality-based concentration limits without
magnesium oxide. Phase two will be subject to a separate evaluation and
revision of the Order.
A principal emphasis of 10 CFR part 70 is criticality safety and
safeguarding SNM against diversion or sabotage. The staff considers
that criticality safety can be maintained by relying on concentration
limits, under the conditions specified below. Safeguarding SNM against
diversion or sabotage is not considered a significant issue because of
the diffuse form of the SNM in waste meeting the conditions specified.
These conditions are considered an acceptable alternative to the
criticality definition provided in 10 CFR 150.11, thereby assuring the
same level of protection. The staff reviewed safety aspects of the
proposed action (i.e., granting Envirocare's request) in the Safety
Evaluation Report, dated September 23, 2003. The staff concluded that
additional conditions were required to maintain sufficient protection
of health, safety, and the environment. The exemption conditions would
be revised as follows:
1. Concentrations of SNM in individual waste containers must not
exceed the following values at time of receipt:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum concentration with MgO (g Maximum concentration without MgO
Radionuclide SNM/g waste) (g SNM/g waste)
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U-235 a................................. 8.6E-4 9.9E-4
U-235 b................................. 5.4E-4 6.2E-4
U-235 c................................. 1.2E-5 1.2E-5
U-235 d................................. 3.1E-4 3.1E-4
U-235 e................................. 7.3E-5 7.3E-5
U-233................................... 7.7E-6 4.7E-4
Pu-239.................................. 1.6E-7 2.8E-4
Pu-241.................................. 3.5E-9 2.2E-4
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a for uranium below 10 percent enrichment. Column 1 considers a maximum of 20 percent of the weight of the waste
of materials listed in Condition 2. Column 2 considers that materials in condition 2 are not present in bulk
quantities.
b For uranium at or above 10 percent enrichment. Column 1 considers a maximum of 20 percent of materials listed
in Condition 2 of the weight of the waste of materials listed in Condition 2
c For uranium at any enrichment with unlimited quantities of materials listed in Conditions 2 and 3
d For uranium at any enrichment with sum of materials listed in Conditions 2 and 3 not exceeding 45 percent of
the weight of the waste
e For uranium at any enrichment with unlimited MgO or beryllium
Plutonium isotopes other than Pu-239 and Pu-241 do not need to be
considered in demonstrating compliance with this condition. When
mixtures of these SNM isotopes are present in the waste, the sum-of-
the-fractions rule, as illustrated below, should be used.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29DE03.012
The concentration values in Condition 1 are operational values to
ensure criticality safety. Where the values in Condition 1 exceed
concentration values in the corresponding conditions of the State of
Utah Radioactive Material License (RML), the concentration values in
the RML, which are averaged over the container, may not be exceeded.
Higher concentration values are included in Condition 1 to be used in
establishing the maximum mass of SNM for non-homogeneous solid waste
and liquid waste. The measurement uncertainty values should be less
than or equal to 15 percent of the concentration limit, and represent
the maximum one-sigma uncertainty associated with the measurement of
the concentration of the particular radionuclide.
The SNM must be homogeneously distributed throughout the waste. If
the SNM is not homogeneously distributed, then the limiting
concentrations must not be exceeded on average in any contiguous mass
of 600 kilograms of waste.
2. Except as allowed by notes a, b, c, and d in Condition 1, waste
must not contain ``pure forms'' of chemicals containing carbon,
fluorine, magnesium, or bismuth in bulk quantities (e.g., a pallet of
drums, a B-25 box). By ``pure forms,'' it is meant that mixtures of the
above elements such as magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium
fluoride, bismuth oxide, etc., do not contain other elements. These
chemicals would be added to the waste stream during processing, such as
at fuel facilities or treatment such as at mixed waste treatment
facilities. The presence of the above materials will be determined by
the generator, based on process knowledge or testing.
3. Except as allowed by notes c, d, and e in Condition 1, waste
accepted must not contain total quantities of beryllium, hydrogenous
material enriched in deuterium, or graphite above one percent of the
total weight of the waste. The presence of the above materials will be
determined by the generator, based on process knowledge, physical
observations, or testing.
4. Waste packages must not contain highly water soluble forms of
uranium greater than 350 grams of uranium-235 or 200 grams of uranium-
233. The sum of the fractions rule will apply for mixtures of U-233 and
U-235. Highly soluble forms of uranium include, but are not limited to:
uranium sulfate, uranyl acetate, uranyl chloride, uranyl formate,
uranyl fluoride, uranyl nitrate, uranyl potassium carbonate, and uranyl
sulfate. The presence of the above materials will be determined by the
generator, based on process knowledge or testing.
5. Waste processing of waste containing SNM will be limited to
stabilization (mixing waste with reagents), micro-encapsulation, macro-
encapsulation using low-density and high-density polyethylene and
thermal desorption.
When waste is processed using the thermal desorption process,
Envirocare shall confirm the SNM concentration following processing and
prior to returning the waste to temporary storage.
[[Page 74988]]
Liquid waste may be stabilized provided the SNM concentration does
not exceed the SNM concentration limits in Condition 1. For containers
of liquid waste with more than 600 kilograms of waste, the total mass
of SNM shall not exceed the SNM concentration in Condition 1 times 600
kilograms of waste. Waste containing free liquids and solids shall be
mixed prior to treatment. Any solids shall be maintained in a suspended
state during transfer and treatment.
6. Envirocare shall require generators to provide the following
information for each waste stream:
Pre-shipment
a. Waste Description. The description must detail how the waste was
generated, list the physical forms in the waste, and identify uranium
chemical composition.
b. Waste Characterization Summary. The data must include a general
description of how the waste was characterized (including the
volumetric extent of the waste, and the number, location, type, and
results of any analytical testing), the range of SNM concentrations,
and the analytical results with error values used to develop the
concentration ranges.
c. Uniformity Description. A description of the process by which
the waste was generated showing that the spatial distribution of SNM
must be uniform, or other information supporting spatial distribution.
d. Manifest Concentration. The generator must describe the methods
to be used to determine the concentrations on the manifests. These
methods could include direct measurement and the use of scaling
factors. The generator must describe the uncertainty associated with
sampling and testing used to obtain the manifest concentrations.
Envirocare shall review the above information and, if adequate,
approve in writing this pre-shipment waste characterization and
assurance plan before permitting the shipment of a waste stream. This
will include statements that Envirocare has a written copy of all the
information required above, that the characterization information is
adequate and consistent with the waste description, and that the
information is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with Conditions 1
through 4. Where generator process knowledge is used to demonstrate
compliance with Conditions 1, 2, 3, or 4, Envirocare shall review this
information and determine when testing is required to provide
additional information in assuring compliance with the Conditions.
Envirocare shall retain this information as required by the State of
Utah to permit independent review.
At Receipt
Envirocare shall require generators of SNM waste to provide a
written certification with each waste manifest that states that the SNM
concentrations reported on the manifest do not exceed the limits in
Condition 1, that the measurement uncertainty does not exceed the
uncertainty value in Condition 1, and that the waste meets Conditions 2
through 4.
7. Sampling and radiological testing of waste containing SNM must
be performed in accordance with the following: one sample for each of
the first ten shipments of a waste stream; or one sample for each of
the first 100 cubic yards of waste up to 1,000 cubic yards of a waste
stream, and one sample for each additional 500 cubic yards of waste
following the first ten shipments or following the first 1,000 cubic
yards of a waste stream. Sampling and radiological testing of debris
waste containing SNM ( that is exempted from sampling by the State of
Utah) can be eliminated if the SNM concentration is lower than one
tenth of the limits in Condition 1.
8. Envirocare shall notify the NRC, Region IV office within 24
hours if any of the above conditions are not met, including if a batch
during a treatment process exceeds the SNM concentrations of Condition
1. A written notification of the event must be provided within 7 days.
9. Envirocare shall obtain NRC approval prior to changing any
activities associated with the above conditions.
Based on the staff's evaluation, the Commission has determined,
pursuant to 10 CFR 70.14, that the exemption of above activities at the
Envirocare disposal facility is authorized by law, and will not
endanger life or property or the common defense and security and is
otherwise in the public interest. Accordingly, by this Order, the
Commission grants an exemption subject to the stated conditions. The
exemption will become effective after the State of Utah has
incorporated the above conditions into Envirocare's radioactive
materials license. In addition, at that time, the Order transmitted in
January 2003 will no longer be effective.
Pursuant to the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the Commission has
prepared an Environmental Assessment for the proposed action and has
determined that the granting of this exemption will have no significant
impacts on the quality of the human environment. This finding was
noticed in the Federal Register on October 16, 2003 (68 FR 59645).
The request for the modifying the Order are available for
inspection at NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at <http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
ML031950334. Staff's
Environmental Assessment and Safety Evaluation Report may be obtained
at the above web site using ML032691442 and ML032680942. Any questions
with respect to this action should be referred to Anna H. Bradford,
Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division of Waste
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone:
(301) 415-5228, Fax: (301) 415-5397.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 16th day of December, 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Martin J. Virgilio,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-31875 Filed 12-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P