ML20136A913

Provides Environ Assessment Accepting Applicant 850701 Application to Dispose of Industrial Waste Products by Offsite Burial.Finding of No Significant Impact Appropriate. EIS Unnecessary

ML20136A913
Person / Time
Site:	07001113
Issue date:	10/31/1985
From:	Crow W, Kodali K NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
Shared Package
ML20136A909	List: ML20136A903 ML20136A913 ML20136A923
References
NUDOCS 8511200074
Download: ML20136A913 (4)

Text

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. OCT 311985 l

' DOCKET NO: 70-1113

~ LICENSEE: General Electric Company (GE)

Wilmington, North Carolina FACILITY: ' Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing Department J

SUBJECT:

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT - DISPOSAL OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE--

PRODUCTS BY OFFSITE BURIAL

Background

By application dated July 1, 1985 and its supplements dated September 10, and-October 10, 1985, GE requested authorization to dispose.of industrial waste-products by offsite burial, provided that the wastes contain not more than 250 pCi/g of uranium activity of which no more than 100 pCi/g is soluble. The

. proposed action is authorized ~under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 20.302.

'Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ~(NRC) has-prepared this asses wnt of the resulting environmental impacts..

The' Proposed Action The proposed action is an amendment of License No. SNM-1097 to authorize the offsite burial.of industrial waste products generated as a result of GE's fuel

' fabrication operations. The basis for the proposed method of disposal is

-Option 2 of the Branch Technical Position' paper i, which assesses the disposal by burial _of radioactive materials that contain not more than 250 pCi/g of uranium, of which no more than 100 pCi/g is soluble. The designated burial site-is a hazardous waste facility located in Pinewood, South Carolina and' operated

'by the GSX Corporation. Facility operations are licensed under interim Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) ID Number SCD 070375985 and South Carolina. Permit Number IWP-145 and are subject to applicable U. S.

Environmental-Protection Agency (EPA) and South Carolina requirements.

Need for the Proposed Action

, Currently, industrial waste from GE's fuel fabrication operations are stored

_.onsi te. Most of the industrial waste consists of calcium fluoride sludge, precipitated from aqueous waste streams. The operation of the Uranium Process Management Project (UPMP) has resulted in reducing the uranium concentration w

IU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Technical Position, " Disposal or Onsite Storage of Thorium or Uranium Wastes from Past Operations," Federal Register, October 23, 1981. .

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2 OCT 311985 in the sludge to allow consideration for waste disposal using Option 2 of the Branch Technical Position. Therefore, to reduce the current onsite accumulation of sludge, GE proposes to dispose of the sludge at a hazardous waste facility,.using Option 2 criteria as a basis.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action One alternative to the proposed action is the disposal of the industrial waste products at a licensed low-level radioactive waste site. Although the volume of industrial waste products is large, the relative concentrations of radio-active materials present are sufficiently low that packaging and disposing of these wastes at a licensed low-level radioactive waste site would not be justified from the standpoint of risk'to the public health or cost benefit.

Furthermore, land use controls for disposal of the industrial waste products at the GSX hazardous waste facility meet and/or exceed the minimum qualifications of Option 2 of the Branch Technical Position. Therefore, disposal of the industrial waste products at the GSX hazardous waste facility is expected to minimize exposure to the general public and environment.

A second alternative to the proposed action would be to deny GE's application.

That alternative, in effect, is the same as the "no action" alternative. Such an alternative would be considered only if significant issues of public health and safety could not be resolved to the satisfaction of the regulatory authorities involved.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action Due to the nature of the proposed action, no significant change in gaseous or liquid effluents from the GE facility is expected. Therefore, the following l discussion will be limited to assessing the potential for environmental

! impacts resulting from the disposal of industrial waste products from GE's

! fuel fabrication plant.

A. Solid Waste l As stated previously, most of the industrial waste consists of calcium

! fluoride sludge. The sludge is precipitated from the aqueous waste

' stream generated during the conversion of uranium hexafluoride to uranium oxide.

l Advanced chemical treatment of the aqueous waste stream by the UPMP for i the recovery of uranium has resulted in significantly reducing the i uranium concentration in the sludge. The uranium concentration is low l enough to use Option 2 of the Branch Technical Position as the basis for disposal.

The environmental impacts of radioactive materialr. meeting Option 2 have been previously analyzed under all possible conditions. Under the worst possible case, the concentrations of radioactive materials permitted under

3 OCT 31 E85 Option 2 would result in a maximum dose of 170 mrems; however, with land and water use controls, dose is expected to be much lower than the 170 mrems. Therefore, under the normal situation, the dose is expected to be less than doses under Option 1 of the Branch Technical Position for unrestricted use.

Burial of the industrial waste products will be at the GSX Corporation facility located in Pinewood, South Carolina. Conditions for burial of material at the facility are consistent with the criteria given by Option 2, Branch Technical Position. Operations at the GSX facility must meet EPA 10 CFR 265 requirements for land and water use controls to ensure that a problem does not lead to an environmental or human health hazard. In the event the GSX facility faces closure, EPA 40 CFR 264 require a post closure plan for the future care and use of the property and a notice in the deed of the property restricting the use of the land. Therefore,.

burial of industrial waste products at the GSX hazardous waste facility is expected to have an insignificant impact on the environment.

B. Transportation Preparation of the industrial waste products for transport to the GSX facility shall be the responsibility of GE. The industrial waste will be dewatered prior to loading into trailers, so that very little free water is expected to be present in the waste. However if free water dose occur, a small quantity of solidification agent will be added before shipment offsite. As an additional measure to prevent leakage, the trailers to be used in the transport of the waste have a cup like design to contain all material within the trailer.

In the unlikely event that an accident should occur during the transport of the industrial wastes to the GSX facility, the principal pathway to man would be inhalation. However, since the industrial wastes are in a i solidified form (sludge) during transport, dispersion would be localized "

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' such that potential doses to the general public are expected to be insignificant.

Conclusion Disposal of the industrial waste products by burial will reduce the onsite inventory of radioactive industrial waste at GE's Wilmington, North Carolina fuel fabrication plant. Burial will be at the GSX Corporation hazardous waste facility located in Pinewood, South Carolina. Conditions for the burial of the industrial waste products shall meet Option 2 criteria to assure protection of

_the environment; In addition, operations at the GSX hazardous waste facility are subject to State of South Carolina and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements for environmental control and monitoring. Therefore, the disposal by burial of industrial waste products is not expected to have a

4 OCT 311985 significant environmental impact. Thus, a Finding of No Significant Impact is considered appropriate for this proposed action an in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31, no environmental impact statement is deemed necessary.

@ W by:

Kith 0ft K0dali Kishore K. Kodali .

Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS Originni stened bis Approved by: W. T. Crow W. T. Crow, Section Leader 0FC: FCUP :FCUP :FCUFj :FCUF  :  :

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