ML19192A041

Letter to Kautsky, DOE NRC Staff Review of Batch Test Report for the Shiprock Umtrca Site

ML19192A041
Person / Time
Site:	WM-00058
Issue date:	07/16/2019
From:	Dennise Orlando Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs
To:	Kautsky M US Dept of Energy, Office of Legacy Management
Orlando D
References
Download: ML19192A041 (3)

Text

[Type here]

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 July 16, 2019 Mark Kautsky, Site Manager U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management 2597 Legacy Way Grand Junction, CO 81503

SUBJECT:

THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STAFF REVIEW OF U.S.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORT ENTITLED RESULTS OF THE LABORATORY BATCH TEST OF PHOSPHATE AMENDMENT ADDED TO SHIPROCK SEDIMENT AND GROUNDWATER (Docket Number WM-00058)

Dear Mr. Kautsky:

I am writing in response to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) letter dated June 27, 2019, providing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with the DOE report entitled Results of the Laboratory Batch Test of Phosphate Amendment Added to Shiprock Sediment and Groundwater for the Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) site (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession Number ML19183A398). The report provides the results of the DOEs batch tests dealing with the addition of the phosphate amendment as part of an experiment to reduce uranium in groundwater. The report recommends that additional column tests be performed to further determine the efficacy of the addition of the phosphate amendment to reduce the uranium in the site groundwater. The NRC staff has reviewed the report and has the following comments and suggestions:

1) DOE did not discuss several chemical aspects of the batch tests that may be relevant to the use of the phosphate amendment. Suggest that the DOE include a discussion of: (a) the significant decrease in nitrate in the soil and groundwater test; (b) the slight increase in specific conductance in the soil and groundwater test; and (c) the lack of phosphate in the liquid even at time zero for the river water test.

2) DOE used two analytical methods for uranium, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and kinetic phosphorescence analysis (KPA). The conclusions in the report are based on the KPA results, as the ICP results were all below the minimum analytical detection limit (MDL). Suggest that DOE verify that the KPA method is an acceptable method (e.g.,

ASTM D5174). Also, it would be helpful if DOE explained why the inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry analytical method was not used, which is widely used and likely could have achieve a sufficiently low MDL unlike the ISP method.

M. Kautsky In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

If you have any questions concerning the NRC comments please feel free to contact me at 301-415-6749 or at Dominick.Orlando@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

//RA//

Dominick Orlando, Senior Project Manager Uranium Recovery and Materials Decommissioning Branch Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. WM-00058

M. Kautsky

SUBJECT:

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STAFF REVIEW OF U.S.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORT ENTITLED RESULTS OF THE LABORATORY BATCH TEST OF PHOSPHATE AMENDMENT ADDED TO SHIPROCK SEDIMENT AND GROUNDWATER (Docket Number WM-00058)

DATE:July 16, 2019 DISTRIBUTION:

R. Evans RIV H. Gepford, RIV M. Posten-Brown, RIV ADAMS Accession Number ML19192A041 *via email OFFICE NMSS NMSS NMSS NMSS NMSS NAME NOrlando SAchten JSaxton RvonTill NOrlando DATE 7/11/19 7/12/19 7/16/19 7/16/19 7/16/19 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY