ML20045C256
| ML20045C256 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/29/1992 |
| From: | Kane J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Lohaus P NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20045C221 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-93-70 NUDOCS 9306220268 | |
| Download: ML20045C256 (9) | |
Text
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MEMORANDUM FOR:
Paul H. Lohaus, Chief M 2 8 1992 Low-Level Waste Management Branch
' Division of Low-Level Waste Management-and Decomissioning, NMSS FROM:
Joseph D. Kane, Acting Section Leader Technical and Special Issues Section low-Level Waste Management Branch Division of low-level Waste Management and Decomissioning, NMSS
SUBJECT:
LLWB
SUMMARY
OF FINDINGS RESULTING FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE ILLIN0IS AGREEMENT STATE PROGRAM REVIEW I have enclosed a summary of the coments, findings, and recomendations resulting from the Low-level Waste Management Branch (LLWB) review of the State of Illinois Denartment of _ Nuclear Safety (IDNS) low-level waste program. The review was conducted in Springfield, Illinois, from December 9 to December 13, 1991, under the direction of B. J. Holt, State Agreements Officer, Region III, and included LLWB team members Mary Adams, Kristin Westbrook and myself.
The enclosed summary contains information in addition to that provided to the Office of State Programs (OSP) in the January 29, 1992, memorandum from R. Bangart to C. Kammerer on the same subject. The agreement between OSP and LLWM (August 7, 1990, memorandum jointly issued by V. Miller, OSP, and J. Greeves, NMSS) recommends that less important information, that does not require an imediate-action by the State whose program is under review, not be included in the formal final report to that State..Although the additional information in this enclosure falls into that category, it will be useful to any future assessments of the Illinois Low-Level Waste Program, JORIGINAl.,SIGWED BYL.
Joseph D. Kane, Acting Section Leader Technical and-Special Issues Section Low-Level Waste Management Branch Division of Low-Level Waste Management-and Decomissioning, NMSS
Enclosure:
As stated Distribution:
Central File #
NMSS r/f JKane KWestbrook RBangart WBrach JAu: tin JSurmeier JKennedy Madams gg,JIII LLWB r/f VMiller KSchneider PDR YES PDR NO Category:
Proprietary or CF Only ACNW YES N0
- See Previous Concurrence SUBJECT AB5 TRACT: LL F SURRARY OF FINDINGS RESULTING FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE II,.MDIS. AGREEMENT STATE PROGRAM REVIEW OFC :LLWB*
- LLWB q
- LLWB*
F NAME:JKane/ck
- KWest51 o
- Madams.
DATE:01/28/92
- / /.y'92
- 01/29/92 l
JK/P.LOHAUS/1/24 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 9306220268 930224 PDR FOIA rr~
NOVAK93-70 PDR
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En closV rt AGREEMENT STATE PROGRAM REVIEW DECEMBER 9,TO DECEMBER 13, 1991 STATE OF ILLIN0IS DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR SAFETY The following is a summary of the comments, findings, and recommendations resulting from the Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning (LLWM) review of the State of Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) low-level waste program.
The review was conducted in Springfield, Illinois,-from Decem-ber 9 to December 13, 1991, under the direction of B. J. Holt, State Agreements Officer, Region III and LLWM team members Mary Adams, Kristin Westbrook and Joseph Kane.
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IDNS personnel who were contacted during the review included Gordon Appel, Deputy Director; Paul Eastvold, Manager; Wayne Kerr, Assistant Manager; Joseph Klinger, Section Leader of Licensing Section; Don Harmon, Licensing Coordinator; and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Licensing members Dennis Hucaba, David Scherer and Marjorie Walle. A list of the documents reviewed in part by the LLWM staff is attached to this summary (Enclosure 1).
Overall, the low-level waste licensing program that is administered by the Division of Radioactive Materials in the State of Illinois was found to be ade-quate and comprehensive in the areas important to the safe disposal of low-level waste. The review of the license application submitted by Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. (CNSI) to IDNS was found to be. extensive and thorough and reflective of a professional and competent State licensing staff. Although the State of Illinois licensing ~ staff is smalT in Wum^be 6 1t appears to have carefully and
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thoughtfully supported its licensing review efforts with competent consultants in the technical speciality areas-that are needed in the-review of a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility.
The NRC LLWM staff offered several recommendations to the IDNS staff for their consideration in addressing and resolving certain outstanding review issues in the license application submitted by CNSI.
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The contents of this summary are organized according to the major program elements in the Guidelines for NRC Review of Agreement State Radiation Control Programs to the extcnt that the elements discussed are pertinent to the NRC staff objective of reviewing the Illinois low-level waste program.
PROGRAM ELEMENT:
LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS Indicator - Status and Compatibility of Regulations (Category I)
Comment:
The results of NRC's previous reviews of the State of Illinois low-level waste program had identified two areas where the Illinois regulations were observed i
to be more stringent and. prescriptive than Federal regulations.
These areas included a 1 millirem per year whole body exposure limit imposed upon facility operations, and a statuatory requirememnt for waste treatment prior to disposal.
Both of these areas were discussed with the IDNS staff and are summarized here.
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1 Section 606.30 d) 4) of the Illinois regulations is an example of the more
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prescriptive requirements and specifies "The facility shall be operated so that i
no person outside the facility boundary receives a radiation dose in excess of 1 millirem per year to the whole body as a result of the facility operations."
In discussions with.the IDNS licensing staff, this requirement was clarified-to apply only to gamma ray exposure from all sources in the restricted area during disposal and closure operations.
In response to.NRC staff questioning as to i
how this regulatory requirement would be demonstrated to have been met in a license application, the IDNS licensing staff indicated a dose analysis would be required.
The dose analysis would need to consider the maximum inventory of waste in the facility at any one time outside of the disposal modules, as well as the path the waste would follow after receipt at the facility, including inspection, processing, storage, transport, and ultimate disposal activities.
t It was indicated by the IDNS staff that this type of dose analysis was included in Section 6 of the license application submitted by CNSI, and the ~ regulatory limit was shown to have been met.
The Illinois Low-Level Waste Management Act also requires that radioactive wastes be treated prior to disposal using "best available technology", and instructs IDNS to promulgate regulations to that effect.
Section 607-of the draft Illinois regulations, if promulgated, would require waste generators to develop Waste Treatment Control Programs (WTCP) that would be reviewed and certified by IDNS.
Imposing this Illinois requirement on NRC licensees and on waste generators ~in Kentucky, the only other Central Midwest Interstate Compact state, appears to be a conflict of regulatory authority.
In response to NRC questioning of this apparent conflict, the IDNS licensing staff indicated that Illinois is primarily concerned with the quality of the waste products that would be received at the disposal facility.
Illinois would consider negotiating Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with NRC and with Kent,ucky to allow the IDNS staff to review WCTPs and to perform inspections of waste treatment processors.
The proposed Part 607 regulations were sent to NRC for review in November 1989 and again in February 1991.
The proposed rule codifies'the NRC Technical Position on Waste Form, Revision 1 (January 1991), with a few modifications to bring the rule into conformance with the Illinois Low-Level Waste Management Act.
IDNS's proposal to issue waste treatment regulations would result in regulations that are neither identical to, nor uniform with NRC regulations, since NRC has no counterpart to the proposed Illinois regulations.
NRC provided comments to IDNS in April 1990 and June 1991 on the proposed Part 607 rule.
The June 26, 1991, letter from Vandy Miller, GPA/SP, contained four general NRC comments on the draft rule, with an enclosure of detailed comments.
Generally, NRC's comments referred to the more prescriptive and more restrictive nature of the proposed rule.
Recommendation:
i It is recommended that the LLWM staff, in future reviews, continue to observe L
the State of Illinois' handling of these two areas, where these differences i
between State and Federal regulations are known to exist.
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PROGRAM ELEMENT:
PERSONNEL Indicator - Qualifications of Technical Staff (Category II)
Comment:
The NRC's staff primary focus was to.eview the regulatory and licensing review efforts of the IDNS staff in assessing the seven volume license application submitted by CNSI in May 1991, for the Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility (ILLRWDF).
The review of the license application is_being conducted by four members of the IONS Licensing Section, Division of Radioactive Materials, with technical assistance from three consulting firms that include Performance Development Corporation, Thomas Prickett, and Envirodyne Engineers, Inc.
Based on the NRC staff discussions and observations of the IONS licensing staff review efforts, it was concluded that IDNS has the minimum number of State personnel with training and experience in the disciplines needed to evaluate a license application to construct and operate a low-level waste disposal facility.
Illinois is heavily dependent on technical assistance from consultants, but the Illinois low-level waste program appears successful because of the dedication and professionalism of the IONS licensing staff and the careful and thoughtful selection of the chosen consultants.
It is felt that any reduction in the State licensing staff would seriously impact the quality and performance of the license application review efforts.
Recommendation:
The NRC staff suggested that the number of State personnel not be allowed to fall below the present minimum and that ' IONS give serious consideration to identifying what contractual. technical assistance and resources would be-needed as the project moves forward from the design phase, into'the actual construction and operational stages for the ILLRWDF.
PROGRAM ELEMENT:
LICENSING Indicator - Technical Quality of Licensing Actions (Category I)
Comment:
The license application review efforts by the IDNS licensing staff and its consultants has been extensive and thorough. Over 1200 review interrogatories and comments have been originated by the IONS and its consultants review.
The comments appear to comprehensively address review items that need to be resolved.
This conclusion results from an audit-type review of information provided in the license application and a comparison with the specific review interrogatories developed by the IDNS LLW licensing staff and its consultants.
The portions of the license application briefly audited by the NRC staff included information j
on site characteristics, geology, seismology, hydrology, geotechnical engineering, principal design features, environment monitoring, construction, facility operations, closure and safety assessments.
NRC staff commended the IDNS LLW licensing staff for its extensive and thorough review of the license application and encouraged IDNS to continue these efforts in reaching satisfactory resolution of the review issues identified in the j
interrogatories.
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- n_w Recommendation:
The NRC staff recommended that early communication between CNSI and the IONS l
LLW staff be held to address the identified issues and to help facilitate l
attainment of satisfactory resolution.
It is felt that planned and scheduled communication and exchanges between CNSI and the LLW staff can best reduce the large number of interrogatories and help to focus on the more difficult issues that will require longer periods to resolve.
I In its review of selected portions of the CNSI license application, the NRC staff identified several review items which were offered to IDNS for their consideration when addressing and resolving issues with CNSI.
These review items included:
- 1) the need for locating omitted Section 3.1.2.1.1 in Volume 4 related to the monitoring of the primary infiltration collection and detections system (ICD)
(p.3.3-14); 2) identification of the specific construction controls to be required for placement moisture content on soil fill materials; 3) reassessment i
of certain information requests from IONS consultants to verify the reasonableness and importance of the comments in reaching regulatory conclusions on facility; licensing and safety issues; 4) citing of the appropriate regulatory sections that provide the basis for the information requested from CNSI in a format similar to that used by Envirodyne; 5) providing legible drawings with clear topographic contours to assist in the assessment of the 100 year flood and l
probable maximum flood (PMF) levels on the performance of the disposal facility; and 6) the need to conduct acceptable field permeability tests in a test fill on the low permeability soils to verify that established design values for hydraulic conductivity can reasonably be attained with the planned construction equipment and procedures.
l Several areas were also briefly discussed with the IONS staff related to aspects of the proposed disposal facility that should be resolved to avoid future -
problems.
The issues discussed with the 'IDNS' staff included :
- 1) the need to assess the long-term performance of facility drainage structures after closure, particularly with regard to ~their' erosion resistance and the potential under-mining of the northernmost disposal modules; 2) the performance of the proposed drainage sumps, which because of their indicated depths, the potential for needing long-term active maintenance is questionable due to the high water table elevations that exist at the proposed site; and 3) the development of a clear plan with sufficient drawings and sectional views of proposed borrow fill excavation operations to ensure that soil materials with the required engineering properties are sufficiently available and deliverable under expected construction operations.
Comment:
The NRC staff concurred with the IONS LLW licensing staff in seeking resolution of the concern re:ulting from CNSI's site institutional care concept that is described in the license application, whereby the State would be required to perform major construction activities at the end of the 100 year institutional control period to finally close the site.
CNSI's proposed care concept appears i
to be in conflict with IDh5 regulations, Sections 601.70(h), 601.80(d), 601.110(f) and 601.240(a) where the need for ongoing active maintenance of the disposal site following closure is required to be eliminated to the extent practicable.
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Procedures for the " Review of a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility License Application" and for the " Consideration of Public Comments".were also provided by the IDNS staff for NRC review.
The procedures clearly and succinctly describe the efforts to be completed by the IDNS staff in their review of a license application.
The procedures explain the roles to be fulfilled by the LLW Licensing Coordinator, license reviewers, IDNS Management and Review Committees that are to be culminated in the Regulatory Analysis Report.
In addition, the procedures for the consideration of public comments provide IDNS plans for encouraging public participation and for holding public hearings, and the process to be followed for the State's handling of received public comments.
Indicator - Licensing Procedures (Category II)
Comment:
The IDNS LLW licensing staff provided a draft copy for the NRC staff review of.
the " Low-Level Waste Licensing Review Manual" prepared by Envirodyne. This manual contains the acceptance rationale and procedures to be used by the IDNS staff in assessing license application acceptability and in supporting. licensing decisions to issue or not issue a license.
A major portion of this manual is similar to NRC's Standard Review Plans (SRPs) in NUREG-1200, but differ in format with emphasis that is directed at demonstrating compliance with the individual IDNS regulations.
Recommendation:
The NRC staff recognized the time-consuming and difficult task.in completing the review manual and encouraged IDNS to finalize this effort because of its very important role in support of the. ultimate licensing decision..IDNS plans to follow the licensing procedures in the draft manual and use the regulatory t
findings resulting from the completion of this effort to develop the Regulatory Analysis Report.
The Regulatory Analysis Report is felt to be similar to NRC's Safety Evaluation Report in many respects, and will present the LLW licensing.
staff conclusions to the IDNS Director for his consideration and final licensing decision.
Comment:
In response to an NRC question regarding IDNS plans for following through in licensing activities, as the LLW disposal project progressed from design to con-struction, the IDN5 staff provided a draft conceptual plan on construction over-sight.
The early draft' conceptual plan describes the objectives of the construction oversight and touches on needed staff'ng and inspection resources along with identification of major construction activities to be.inyected.
i Recommendation The IDNS LLW licensing staff is to be commended for its foresight in the initial planning and addressing of this very important licensing activity.
This activ-ity is intended to verify that design features and license application commit-ments are fulfilled in actual construction.
The NRC staff recommends that the draft conceptual plan be expanded and developed into complete inspection procedures that will help ensure that the LLW disposal facility will. be constructed as designed and approved.
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Miscellaneous Discussions At the exit interview with IDNS, the LLWM staff provided a response to a question posed by IONS, related to whether the NRC had an established policy on how long a license to operate a low-level waste disposal facility should initially be granted.
The response provided to IDNS indicated that NRC did not have a specificed time limit for issuance of the initial license. The initial j
expiration date would be influenced by site-specific safety review license l
considerations, such as the need to check and verify facility performance or monitoring levels that had been shown in the facility's design or performance assessment studies to be important.
l The LLWH staff asked IDNS to provide a copy to NRC of the licensing documents i
developed by Battelle for the alternate site studies of the Illinois facility.
This request was made in recognition that the site study documents provide the 1
background information and data for the site characterization input into the performance assessment described in the actual license application.
IONS indicated that this request would be considered and a response would be provided to NRC.
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Documents Reviewed by LLWM Staff during State of Illinois Agreement State Program Review -
December 9 to 13, 1991.
1.
License Application to Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety from Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc., May 15, 1991.
2.
Review Interrogatories of License Application, Transmitted in letter of November 13, 1991, from Joseph Klinger, IONS to Paul Corpstein, Chem-Nuclear System, Inc.
3.
Plan for Licensing a low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility, Rev. No. 1, Sept. 1990 by IONA.
4.
Guidelines for Preparing a License Application for a low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in Illinois, Sept. 1990 by IONS.
5.
Oraft tow-level Waste Licensing Review Manual prepared by Envirodyne Engineers, Inc. for IONS, June 14, 1991.
6.
Procedures for Consideration of Public Comments Concerning a low-Level Waste Disposal Facility License Application (Draft 1991).
7.
Procedures for Review of a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility License Application, 1991.
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Draft Conceptual Plan for the Construction Oversight of the Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste Dir.posal facility.
9.
IONS Correspondence on Review of License Application from Chem-Nuclear System, Inc. (3 Volumes, from May 15, 1991 to October 1, 1991).
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APPENDIX H MEMO FROM LAST REVIEW VISIT TO ILLINOIS I'
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