ML20137A541
| ML20137A541 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000072 |
| Issue date: | 03/14/1997 |
| From: | Collins S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | UTAH, UNIV. OF, SALT LAKE CITY, UT |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20137A512 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9703200367 | |
| Download: ML20137A541 (5) | |
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!$1TED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i
In the Matter of
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i UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
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Docket No. 50-72
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(University of Utah
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i AGN-201 Research Reactor)
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EXEMPTION I.
The University of Utah (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating i
License Nos. R-25 and R-126, which authoriza operation of L..e University of Utah AGN-201 Research Reactor (AGN-201) and the University of Utah TRIGA Research Reactor (TRIGA).
The licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.
The reactors are located in the Reactor Room in the Merrill Engineering Building on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.
II.
By application dated July 17, 1990, as supplemented on July 18, 1990, and June 12, 1991, the licensee requested from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) authorization to dismantle and dispose of the component parts of the AGN-201.
The letter of July 17, 1990, contained a request that upon successful completion of decommissioning, authorization be given for termination of Amended Facility Operating License No. R-25.
By Order dated August 1, 1991 (56 FR 37733), the Commission authorized dismantling of the AGN-201 and disposition of component parts as proposed in 9703200367 970314
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DR ADOCK 05000072 PDR
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.,. the decommissioning plan of the licensee.
By letter dated April 13, 1994, as supplemented on March 17 and 22, 1995, and February 6, 1996, the licensee submitted "A Summary of the Decommissioning Process of the University of Utah i
AGN-20lH Reactor No. 107."
As discussed in the University of Utah's l
decommissioning plan and letter of March 22, 1995, the site where the AGN-201 is housed is also under the license of the TRIGA and is a restricted environment.
j As part of the license termination process, the NRC has decided to grant i
upon its on.
ir.itiative a specific exemptien in accordance with Title 10 of 4
the Code of Federal Reculationi, Section 50.12 (10 CFR 50.12), to part of the requirements of 10 CFR 50,82(b)(6)(ii).
The part of the regulation for which the staff is granting an exemption requires, as a condition of license termination, that a terminal radiation survey and associated documentation j
demonstrates that the site is suitable for release.
The University of Utah operates the TRIGA (Dacket No. 50-407, Facility Operating License No. R-126) in the same room (Reactor Room in the Herrill Engineering Building) where the AGN-201 is located.
The Reactor Room will remain subject to the TRIGA license after termination of the AGN-201 license, and, therefore, a terminal survey of the site is not necessary for termination of the AGN-201 license.
All that remains of the AGN-201 are reactor components that are to be released for unrestricted use.
The Reactor Room will be considered for release in the future when the University of Utah requests termination of the TRIGA license.
III.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the
s requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1) the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security and (2) when special circumstances are j
present.
Special circumstances are present, according to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(li), whenever " application of the regulation in the particular
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circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule."
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6) is to describe the i
requirements that must be met for license termination, one of whi-h is that the results of the terminal survey and other documentation show that the facility and site meet the requirements for release. These survey results and documentation form part of the basis for terminating the license.
In this case, the remaining reactor components (the facility) will be released, but the site will not be released.
Because the site will continue to be subject to the NRC license for the TRIGA reactor, application of the rule that the terminal survey and other documentation must show that the site is suitable for release is not necessary in order to terminate the license.
IV.
For the foregoing reasons, the NRC staff has concluded that not requiring a terminal radiation survey and associated documentation that demonstrate that the site is suitable for release as a condition of license termination will not present an undue risk to public health and safety and is consistent with the common defense and security. The NRC staff has determined that there are
y a
1 special circumstances present, as specified in 10 CFR 50.12 (a)(2), in that application of part of 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6)(ii) is not necessary in order to achieve the underlying purpose of this regulation.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), an exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest.
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6)(ii) that a terminal radiation survey and associated documentation demonstrates that the site is suitable for release are needed as a condition of Operating License No. R-25 termination.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this. exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (62 FR 11936).
For further details with respect to this action, see (1) the application for termination of Amended Facility Operating License No. R-25, dated July 17, 1990, as supplemented; (2) the Commission's safety evaluation related to the termination of the license; (3) the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; and (4) the Commission's Order terminating Amended Facility Operating License No. R-25.
Each of these items is available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20037.
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Copies of items (2), (3), and (4) may be obtained upon receipt of a request addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
l 20555-0001, Attention:
Director, Division of Reactor Program Management.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION btTA i
ne dllins, Director ffice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of March 1997.
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