ML20057E641
| ML20057E641 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000008 |
| Issue date: | 10/05/1993 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20057E622 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9310120425 | |
| Download: ML20057E641 (2) | |
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pu **%q fY UNITED STATES fJ[@[tj NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASWNGTON D C. 20S55M
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g OCT 0 51993 DOCKET:
70-08 LICENSEE: Battelle Memorial Institute Columbus, Ohio
SUBJECT:
SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT: APPLICATIONS DATED (1) JUNE 1, 1993, LOWER POSSESSION LIMITS AND (2) SEPTEMBER 7, 1993, AUTHORIZATION TO POSSESS AND USE SMALL PIECE OF SPENT FUEL Backaround Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI) has discontinued research and development (R&D) activities involving special nuclear material (SNM), but will continue i
to perform work that utilizes source material and byproduct material.
Buildings and equipment previously used for SNM activities are (or will be) undergoing decontamination and decommissioning. As a result o' such cutbacks 1
in SNM use, BMI submitted an amendment request, dated June 1, 1593, to moderately lower their possession limits for source and byproduct materials, and to significantly lower their possession limits for SNM -- from 125 kilograms U-235 contained in irradiated enriched uranium (with associated unseparated plutonium), plus 1,400 grams U-235 contained in unirradiated enriched uranium, plus 30 grams plutonium; to 100 grams U-235 contained in irradiated enriched uranium (with associated unseparated plutonium), plus 100 grams U-235 contained in unirradiated enriched uranium, plus 111 grams plutonium.
Individual limits are specified for both the West Jefferson and King Avenue sites, so that the raw lower SNM possession limits amount to less than 300 grams fissile isotope (including the unseparated plutonium) at West Jefferson and no more than 50 grams fissile isotope at the King Avenue facility.
In a separate amendment request, dated September 7, 1993, BMI asked for authorization to receive a small (<0.050 gram) piece of spent fuel at their King Avenue facility.
The current license allows possession of spent (irradiated) fuel at the West Jefferson site, but not at King Avenue. The piece of spent fuel is to be subject to mass spectrometry analyses (resulting in complete vaporization of the sample piece within a high vacuum chamber) in connection with an NRC contract (issued by the Office of Regulatory Research) with BMI to evaluate BR-3 fuel.
Discussion In connection with the request to lower SNM possession limits, BMI also requested that existing License Conditions 15, 16, and 17 be deleted. These three conditions all pertain to criticality reviews, evaluations, and controls, and will no longer be applicable if BMI's maximum possessed quantity of SNM is lowered as requested. That is, the criticality control regt.irements of 10 CFR 70.24 do not apply when the authorized possessed quantity of SNM is below specified levels.
The lower total SNM possession limit requested by BMI 9310120425 931005 g
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(totalized across both sites, as well as at each site) is well belcw the applicable f 70.24 limit.
BMI also requested that License Condition 18 be expanded to exempt both King Avenue and West Jefferson (rather than just King Avenue) from E 70.24. Under the lower SNM possession limits, BMI's request to expand License Condition 18 is warranted, but actually the condition will no longer be needed in that the wording of 6 70.24 itself provides the desired exemption.
With respect to the request to possess and use a <50 milligram sample of spent fuel, the NRC licensing project manager for BMI (Don Joy) confirmed during a recent site visit that the fission product and SNM content of the sample (following its vaporization) will be entrained by a HEPA filter / trap system.
Thus, the radioactivity released to the environment as a result of the sample measurement activities, if any, will be insignificant.
In the licensee's June 1,1993 letter, it was also stated that BMI had decided not to exercise its option to construct and operate a Volume Reduction Demonstration Facility (VRDF). Hence, existing License Condition 26, which addressen required operating conditions for the VRDF, is no longer needed.
Cateoorical Exclusion Based on the information submitted by BMI and the information obtained during Don Joy's visit to both the West Jefferson and King Avenue sites, the staff has determined that granting the requested amendments will not adversely affect the public health and safety or the environment, and is otherwise in the public interest. Accordingly, the staff has determined that the criteria in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(ll) for categorically excluding an action from an environmental review has been met.
Therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is necessary for these proposed actions.
Conclusion / Recommendation The staff has concluded that the subject amendment requests are warranted, and if granted should have no adverse effect on the public health and safety or on the environment, and will not reduce the effectiveness of the licensee's safety program.
It is, therefore, recommended that (1) BMI's possession limits for SNM, source material, and by-product material be lowered, as requested, by appropriate revision of License Conditions 6, 7 and 8 of License SNM-7; (2) delete existing License Conditions 15 through 18, which pertain to criticality evaluations and controls which are not applicable at the low SNM i
possession limit being requested; (3) delete existing License Condition 26, j
which would have pertained to the VRDF if BMI had exercised its option to build and operate such a system; (4) renumber the remaining license conditions, as appropriate, after making the above identified deletions; and (5) adding a new license condition to authorize receipt and use of the small sample of spent fuel.
Principal Contributor Donald R. Joy
t GUIDELINES FOR DECONTAMINATION OF FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT PRIOR 70 RELEASE FOR UNFISTRICTED USE OR TERMINATION OF LICENSES FOR BYPRODUCT, SOUF.CE, OR SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL i
I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Cocruission Division of ruel cycle Safety l
and Safeguards Washington, DC 20555 l
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April 1993
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t The instructions in this guide, in conjunction with Table 1, specify the radionuclides and radiation exposure rate limits which should be used in decontamination and survey of surf aces or pramises and equipment prior to abandonment or release for unrestricted use. The limits in Table 1 do not apply to premises, equipment, or scrap conteining induced radioactivity for which the radiological considerations pertinent to their use may be dif ferent.
The release of such facilities or items from regulatory control is considered on a case-by-case basis.
1.
The licenses shall make a reasonable effort to eliminate residual contamination.
2.
Radioactivity on equipment or surfaces shall not be covered by paint, plating, or other covering material unless contamination levels, as determined by a surve"y and documented, are below the limits specified in Table 1 prior to the application of the covering. A reasonable ef fort must be made to minimize the contamination prior to use of any covering.
3.
The radioactivity on the interior surfaces of pipes, drain lines, or ductwork shall be determined by making measurements at all traps, and other appropriate access points, provided that contamination at these locations is likely to be representative of contamination on the interior of the pipes, drain lines, or ductwork. Surf aces of premises, equipoint, or scrap which are likely to be contaminated but are of such size, construction, or location as to make the surface inaccessible for purposes of measurement shall be presu=ed to be contaminated in excess of the limits.
4.
Upon request, the Commission may autherlie a licenses to relinquish possession or control of premises, equipment, or scrap having surf aces contaminated with materials in excess of the limits specified. This may include, but would not be limited to, special circumstances such as razing of buildings, transfer of pramines to another organization continuing work with radioactive materials, or conversion of facilities to a long-term storage or standby status, such requests must:
Provide detailed, specific information describing the premises, a.
equipment or scrap, radioactive contaminants, and the nature, extent, and degree of residual surface contamination.
b.
Provide a detailed health and safety analysis which reflects that the residual amounts of materials on surface areas, together with other considerations such as prospective use of the premises, equipment, or scrap, are unlikely to result in an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the public.
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5.
Prior to release of premises for unrestricted use, the licensee shall make a co=prehensive radiation survey which establishes that contamination is within the limits specified in Table 1.
A copy of the survey report shall be filed with the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, U. 5. Nuclear Regulatory Coemission, Washington, DC 20555, and also the Administrator of the NRC Regional office having jurisdiction. The report should be filed at least 30 days prior to the planned date of abandonment. The survey report shall a.
Identify the promises.
b.
Show that reasonable effort has been made to eliminate residual contamination.
Describe the scope of the survey a.nd general procedures followed.
c.
d.
State the findings of the survey in units specified in the instruction.
Following review of the report, the NRC will consider visiting the facilities to confirm the survey.
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p q TABLE 1 s
ACCEPTABLE SunrACE CONTAMINATION LEVELS NUCLIDES*
AVERAGE"'
MAXIMUM"'
HEMOVABLE"'
t U-nat, U-235, U-238, and associated decay products 5,000 dpm o/100 cm' 15,000 dpm c/100 cm' 1,000 dpm o/100 cm' Transuranics, Ra-226, Ra-228, 2
Th-230, Th-228, Pa-231, 100 dpm/100 cm' 300 dpm/100 cm'
'O dpm/100 cm Ac-227,1 125,1-129 Th-nat, Th-232, Sr-90, 2
Ha-223, Ra-224, U-232,1-126, 1000dpm/100cm' 3000 dpm/100 cm' 200 dpm/100 cm 1131,1-133 Deta-gamma emitters (nuclides with decay modes other than alpha emission or spontaneous 5000 dpm Br/100 cm' 15,000 dpm Sy/100 cm' 1000 dpm py/100 cm' fission) except Sr-90 and others noted above.
"Where surface contamination by both alpha-and beta-gamma-emitting nuclides exists, the limits established for alpha and beta-gamma-emitting nuclides should apply independently.
'As used in this table, dpm (disintegrations per minute) means the rate of emission by radioactive material as determined by correcting the counts per minute observed by an appropriate detector for background, efficiency, and geometric factors associated with the instrumentation.
' Measurements of average contaminant should not be averaged over more than 1 square meter. For objects of less surface area, the l
average should be derived for each such object.
'The maximum contamination level applies to en area of not more than 100 cm'.
'The amount of removable radioactive material per 100 cm' of surface area should be determined by wiping that area with dry filter or t
soft absorbent paper, applying moderate pressuse, and assessing the amount of radioactive material on the wipe with an appropriate l
instrument of known efficiency. When removable contamination on objects of less surface area is determined, the pertinent levels should be reduced proportionally and the entire surface should be wiped.
'The average and maximum radiation levels associated with surface contamination resulting from beta-gamma emitters should not exceed 0.2 mrad /hr at ' cm and 1.0 mead /hr at I cm, respectively, measured through not more than 7 mittigrams per square centimeter of total absorber.
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