ML19340D991
| ML19340D991 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/08/1980 |
| From: | Martin J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Baca T NEW MEXICO, STATE OF |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19340D992 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-WM-28 NUDOCS 8101060114 | |
| Download: ML19340D991 (3) | |
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!!r. Thomas E. Baca, Director tiew flexico Environmental Icprovement Division
- p. O. Box 968, Crown Building
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Santa Fe,liew Mexico 87503
Dear Mr. Baca:
This lotter confims agreements reached in our telephone conversation of Ibvember 19, 1980, concerning the revision to criteria that your staff recently developed and is implementing in the clean-up of contamination from the Church P.ock uranium mill tailings dam break.
The initial cleanup criteria were developed by our staffs with the objective of keeping exposures resulting from the dam break as low as reasonably achievable. The criteria were based on site visits by both staffs, review of soils data available at the time and detailed radiological assessments of potential exposure pathways. The criteria were considered appropriate in that they would assure cleanup of areas of concentrated radioactivity and avoid excessive efforts to cleanup the extensive areas (aore than 60 miles of stream) which were mildly contaminated. Apparently, based upon the more comprehensive soil sampling data collected since the criteria were established, and your observations of practical difficulties in the cleanup, revision of the criteria is warranted.
It is only through a detailed and careful weighing of prevailing local conditions and public perspectives, practical and operational problems encountered in cleanup efforts, local land uses and so on, that relaxation of the criteria can be supported. As we agreed in our telephone conversation, because of your proximity to the situation and your ability to closely follow the cleanup activities over the past year, you are in the best i
position to make this kind of cost-benefit evaluation of local issues.
As was previously the case, we do not have the staff res:urces to perfom a full review of your supporting evaluation. However, as I also stated i
in our telephone conversation, we have no basis upon which to disagree with the revised criteria. While we cannot take a position on the appropriateness of the specific levels chosen and detailed, statistical aspects of the revised criteria, they do not appear to pose an unacceptable risk to public health and safety on the basis of the brief review we have been able to give then.
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D V 5. GCV C A N'?CNT P Aar4 TING O F rici; 1979-2E9 369
I lir. Thenas E. Baca ':e have provided ccpics of the draft final report bein9 Frepared by cur censultant Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories (BPiil) on contamination I
levels in affected streams to your staff for review and corrent. Ile are proceeding to have this report finalized as expeditiously as possible given our staff resource constraints and trust it will be of assistance as you go throuch the process of determining compliance with the cleanup standards.
Sincerely, original Signed tY Distribution:
ED0-9760 John B. Martin i
Subject file NMSS r/f John B. tiartin, Director wg rff Division of Maste Managenent WMUD. c/f Office of Nuclear Material Safety WMUR r/ f and Safeguards Mill file EDO EDO-9760 E00 r/f ABentl ey NGill JGDavi JBMartin REBrowning RAScarano HJMiller KCornell TRehm GWKerr RMinogue SECY 80-1987 DCS l
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Ross Scarano/ Barbara Withers 2.
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REMAftKS Re this ticket EDO-9760, Mr. Martin spoke with Davis on this. Since you need to await u.
input from Commission /EDO, Martin asked that g g;;. :
- 1 this be extended 1 month.
I have called for i:
extension to 12/5; I'll let you know when
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