ML19210B091
| ML19210B091 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | South Texas  |
| Issue date: | 09/16/2019 |
| From: | John Lubinski Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Carlson D Waste Control Specialists |
| Dembek S | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19210B090 | List: |
| References | |
| RIS 2016-011 | |
| Download: ML19210B091 (3) | |
See also: RIS 2016-11
Text
September 16, 2019
Mr. David Carlson
President & Chief Operating Officer
Waste Control Specialists LLC
17101 Preston Road, Suite #115
Dallas, TX 75248
SUBJECT:
WASTE CONTROL SPECIALISTS CONCERNS WITH REGULATORY ISSUE
SUMMARY (RIS) 2016-11, REQUESTS TO DISPOSE OF VERY LOW-LEVEL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 20.2002
Dear Mr. Carlson:
I am responding to your July 17, 2019, letter, Waste Control Specialists Concerns with
Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2016-11, Requests to Dispose of Very Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML19206A452). In your letter, you stated that RIS 2016-11
and a subsequent 2018 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enforcement action (EA-
18-137) at the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Companys (STPNOC) South Texas
Project Units 1 and 2 have generated confusion among your utility customers. You indicated
that this confusion has led to reluctance, among some utilities, to use certain Waste Control
Specialists (WCS) facilities for very low-level waste disposal.
Your facilitys Resource Conservation and Recovery Act cell is covered under your Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality license. It is regulated pursuant to the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended, Texas Agreement with the NRC, and Texas Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 61 equivalent low-level waste disposal regulations.
Therefore, the transfer of low-level waste from a utility to WCS for disposal is permissible
pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2001(a) as long as it meets the waste acceptance criteria and any other
applicable requirements. The current issue to which your letter refers, regarding RIS 2016-11
and EA-18-137, concerns NRC licensees that propose to dispose of low-level radioactive waste
in an unlicensed facility not subject to an Agreement States low-level waste disposal
regulations. The September 6, 2019, meeting attended by you and other stakeholders
regarding concerns raised with the guidance in RIS 2016-11, clarified that a two-step process is
required for correct implementation of alternate disposal request reviews conducted in
accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002. Unlike these 10 CFR 20.2002 processes, the process for
disposal at your facility uses the regulations in 10 CFR 20.2001. Therefore, the NRC does not
need to review and approve disposals at your facility that are done in accordance with the 10
CFR 20.2001 process.
Please feel free to share this letter with any of your utility customers with questions about to the
permissible transfer of licensed material for disposal. If you have any questions, please contact
Stephen Dembek at stephen.dembek@nrc.gov or 301-415-2342.
D. Carlson
2
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. The
ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Sincerely,
//RA//
John W. Lubinski, Director
Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards
D. Carlson
3
SUBJECT:
WASTE CONTROL SPECIALISTS CONCERNS WITH REGULATORY ISSUE
SUMMARY (RIS) 2016-11, REQUESTS TO DISPOSE OF VERY LOW-LEVEL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 20.2002
DATE: September 16, 2019
ADAMS Package Accession No.: ML19210B090
- via email
OFFICE
MSST
NAME
SDembek
SKoenick*
RPascarelli*
PMichalak*
BPham*
DATE
9/9/19
7/26/19
7/29/19
7/29/19
9/9/19
OFFICE
Tech Editor
NAME
BHarris*NLO
LMoorin
JLubinski
DATE
9/9/19
9/10/19
9/16/19
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY