ML19262C358
| ML19262C358 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/21/1979 |
| From: | Crow W NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Drey K AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19262C359 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8002110371 | |
| Download: ML19262C358 (6) | |
Text
M n' " f C UNITED STATES
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NUCLEAR HEGULATORY cOMMisslON f Y$;gr(' $
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 o
NOV 211979
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Mrs. Kay Drey 515 West Point Avenue University City, Missouri 63130
Dear Mrs. Drey:
Thank you for your continued interest in the decontamination of the site at 9200 Latty Avenue, Hazelwood, Missouri.
Enclosure (1) contains staff answers to those questions in your letter of October 1,1979, A
which relate to the Latty Avenue site.
Your letters of October 1 and October 22, 1979, have been referred to the appropriate D0f. office with a request that,rou be provided answers to your questions elateo to the site at No. 50 Brown Road, St. Louis County, Missouri.
If you have additional questions related to the Latty Avenue site, please feel free to send "nem to me.
Sincerely, p
f l
W. T. Crow, Section Leader Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety
Enclosure:
As sta:ed
\\Q0 fCCENO37/
Question:
A.1-A.4 Referred to DOE Question:
B.
Regarding the Futura Coatings site at 9200 Latty Avenue in Hazelwood:
1.
How many tons does the NRC estimate are presently sitting at Latty Avenue?
In order to estimate this amount, I imagine you have examined records of at least the following transactions, and have derived the following information -- all of which I would appreciate receiving:
Answer:
1.
Only trace quantities of the original uranium mill tailings that were transferred from the former AEC airport site to the Latty Avenue site, remain at Latty Avenue.
Attached is a copy of'the letter from the AEC accepting the Contemporary Metals Corporation bid for the residues.
Question:
a.
How many tons of uranium ore and oxide residues were sold by the Atomic Energy Conmission to the Continental Mining and Milling Company in 19667 What was the date of the contract, and is the price able to t:e disclosed? When did the Cotter Corporation of Canon City, Colorado, (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Edison of Chicago) puchase the land, buildings and uranium mill tailings from Commercial Discount Corporation (the Chicago company which I understand purchased the tract on February 1, 1967, from Continental Mining for $800,000 following foreclosure proceedings on Continental's loan)?
Answer:
a.
On April l'2,1962, the AEC accepted a bid fro'm Contemporary Metals Corporation to purchase uranium processing residues stored at the airport site, for $126,000.00.
Final release of the material for removal by the Continental Mining and Milling Company (which owned Contemporary Metals Corporation) to Latty Avenue was sometime in i966.
The residues as listed on the invitation to bid were as follows:
74,000 tons Pitchblende raffinate containing about 113 tons uranium 32.500 tons Colorado raffinate containing about 48 tons of uranium 1,500 tons Barium Sulfate (unleached) containing about 22 tons uranium 8,700 tons Barium cake (leached) containing about 7 tons uranium Miscellaneous Residues 350 tons with about 2 tons uranium We were informed that the Latty Avenue site was never owned by Cotter Corporation, only leased.
Cotter purchased the remaining residues, on the Latty. site from Commercial Discount Corporation and on December 2,1969, Cotter was licensed to possess and use source material by the AEC.
Question:
b.
How many tons had been trucked by Continental to the Latty Avenue site, and by which moving company? Over how many weeks or months did the trucking operation last?
1946 0 0
2 Answer:
b.
We have no records to indicate the 1.ength of time it took Continental to move the material to Latty Avenue, we can only assume that they transferred all residues that they purchased from the AEC and that they used their,own trucks.
Question:
c.
How many tons were shipped by railroad to the Cotter Corporation in Colorado after having been kiln-dried at Latty Avenue during 1968 or 1969, and again during a two-month period in 19707 As I understand it, the Cotter Corporation then processed the mill tailings in Colorado in order to extract valuable minerals and ores.
Answer:
c.
We were informed that all the residues except the 8700 tons leached barium raffinate were shipped to Colorado.
Question:
d.
How many tons of " undiluted" uranium ore residues did the f1RC finally decide that B&K Construction Company had moved in 1973 from Latty Avenue to the West Lake Landfill (on the Missouri River near Earth City)?
Answer:
d.
We were informed that no undiluted uranium ore residues were placed in the West Lake Landfill.
The estimated 8700 tons of leached Barium cake were diluted with 39,000 tons of earth and transported to the West Lake Landfill.
The.flRC plans to conduct a radiological. survey of the West Lake Landfill to determine what remed'al action, if any, is required.
Question 2.
How many curies do you estimate are contained in the Latty Avenue materials?
Answer 2.
We have no way of knowing for sure, but we have, estimated that up to 3 curies of Radium and less than 1 curie of natural Uranium may remain at the Latty Avenue site.
Question 3.
What are the current radiation fields inside each of the buildings at Latty Avenue? Has.all the decontamination work been completed on the buildings?
Answer 3.
The radiation fields inside the buildings at the Latty Avenue site are indistinguishable from the natural background radiation in the St. Louis area.
All the buildings and the areas which surround them have been decontaminated and released for unrestricted use.
Question 4.
What liquid radioactive substances were contained in the 55-gallon drums that were opened and dumped in 1979 onto the piles of radioactive materials at Latty Avenue? How many drums were dumped at that time, and how many curies do you estimate were contained in each drum?
1946 W
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3 Answer:
4.
There were no liquids involved, the drummed material was raffinate sludge.
The number of drums is not known but the original invitation to bid listed 350 tons of drummed residue at the airport site which contained.2 tons uranium.
Question:
5.
May I please have environmental monitoring reports for Latty Avenue comparable to those I have requested for the airport site (question A.2 above)?
Answer:
5.
There are no environmental monitoring reports for the latty Avenue site.
We are providing you with a draft document prepared for the NRC which contains information related to your request.
Question:
c.
Regarding the proposed transfer of the Latty material to the airport:
1.
What company nas been hired to dig up and transport the material from Latty Avenue? Who made the determination that masks or other respiratory equipment will not be required for the workers hired for this transfer? Has it also been determined that protective clothing will not be required? Will the workers be monitored for exposure to alpha radiation?
It so, with what equipment and now frequen_tly, and by what company?
Answer:
1.
The present property owner is acting for Cotter Corporation in the decontamination effort. At this time no contractor has been selected.
The radiological monitoring requirements, which will be imposed by NRC, will insure that workers' exposures are kept as low as reasonably achievable in accordance with USNRC regulations.
While it is not expected that respirators would be required, such equipment is available on site and was used at various times during decontamination of the buildings to control employee exposures.
In the event that radiological monitoring results indicate levels of airborne uranium which require respirators, engineering methods will be used to reduce the dusting and adequate respiratory protection will be used as required.
Question:
2.
Will the Cotter Corporation (which sold the site to Futura Coatings) be required to hire a company to conduct environmental radiological monitoring and personnel monitoring during the loading, transporting, and dumping of tne wastes? I believe you said the NRC will have its own monitoring performed. Would you please tell me which company you will be using? Which company will Cotter be using?
1946 02
4 Answer:
2.
As we previously stated, Cotter Corporation never owned the Latty Avenue site.
Radiation Management Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, will perform the radiological monitoring during the movement of the dirt to the airport site.
This contracted monitoring will be augmented by fiRC representatives who will inspect the radiological monitoring and radiological work practices frequently at both sites during the move.
Question:
3.
I believe it was estimated it would take at least 2000 truckloads to. transport the Latty Avenue material.
For how many trips do you think a tarpaulin will be able to be used as a cover for a dump truck before it will have to be replaced as being too contaminated?
Where will the used tarpaulins be discarded?
Answer:
3.
If the truck covers used become contaminated, they will be buried along with the Latty Avenue material after the contaminated material movement is completed.
Question:
4.
What stabilization plan has been approved for the Latty Avenue materials once they have been dumped at the airport site? For example, what percent of the 22-acre tract is to be covered by the police asphalt parking lot? How soon after the transporting is completed is the stabilization work scheduled to begin at the airport? What interim steps are to be taken to keep the new Latty materials plus those already at the airport from eroding into Coldwater Creek, leaching into the groundwater, and blowing onto the adjacent Khoury League balifields and McDonnell-Douglas property?
Answer:
4.
The movement of the Latty Avenue material to the airport site is an initial step in the stabilization of that site.
Stabilization of the Latty Avenue material will be performed as part of the movement operation.
There is no evidence at the Latty Avenue site that the remaining traces of mill residues are leaching contamination to the ground-water.
It is expected that the material which is to be buried at the airport site and protected from erosion by a berm constructed down gradient will remain immobile.
The cover of clean fill over the stored Latty Avenue material will reduce surface water percolation through the material and preclude erosion by the wind.
Question:
5.
How often will monitoring be required prior to the completion of the parking lot, and afterwards? To which agency will the St. Louis Airport Authority or the Greater St. Louis Police Academy be required to report? For which radioisotopes will monitoring and reporting be required? At how many locations will monitoring of the Coldwater Creek sediment and water be required? How many groundwater monitoring wells are to be established?
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5 Answer:
5.
There are presently a number of monitoring wells on the site.
The final number and location will depend on the location of the training track and buildings and the number of present wells which are covered.
The NRC will inspect and monitor at least annually and will provide continuing technical advice and assistance to the St. Louis Airport Authority and the St. Louis police department to ensure that radiological safety practices related to the site's use are adequate.
Question:
6.
Will the NRC retain its authority over any future disturbance of the surface or subsurface of the airport site as outlined initially, I believe you said, in a codicil to the AEC's deed of the site to the City of St. Louis? Who will decide, for example, how often the parking lot should be recovered with asphalt?
Answer:
6.
The NRC will retain authority over disturbance of the raterials buried beneath the surface at the airport site.
There are ne plans to build a par %ing lot at this site.
The proposed emergency vehicle driver training track will be maintained by the St. Louis Police Academy.
Question:
7.
Will the NRC require the Greater St. Louis Police Academy to keep warning signs posted on the fence surrounding the asphalted training / parking lot, saying, for example:
" Caution - Radioactive Materials"?
If so, for how many decades or centuries?
Answer:
7.
The radiation levels at the site after final reclamation are expected to be near background.
There should be no reason to require caution signs and none are required by NRC regulations. However, the NRC can impose a requirement for caution signs if annual radiation measurements over the final surface of the site warrant such an action.
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