ML20141J365
| ML20141J365 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/21/1997 |
| From: | Wingo C NRC |
| To: | NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20140B594 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-97-68 NUDOCS 9705280054 | |
| Download: ML20141J365 (7) | |
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, From: Carolyn Wingo -
2 C To: NMSSall i Date: 2/21/9711:29am
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Subject:
FYi- ITEMS
, FOR YOUR INFORMATION, BELOW ARE THE NMSS ITEMS OF INTEREST FOR THE !
j WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 21,1997.
i Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards !
Items of Interest j Week Ending February 21,1997 l
Meetina with Envirocare of Utah. Inc.
On February 18,1997, staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses met with reprosentatives of Enviroca.e of Utah, Inc. :
(Envirocare). The meeting was held to discuss some groundwater constituents, chiefly arsenic ;
and selenium, that appear to have exceeded background concentrations. This was detected j at the majority of the twelve point of compliance monitoring wells surrounding Envirocare's 11e.(2) disposal cel!. The May 1996 readings were confirmed in August 1996 by additional sampling. Envirocare reported that the apparent excemiing of background concentrations was coincident with its May 1996 change to a new analytical laboratory. Envirocare provided j information to suggest that the readings were attributable to a contrast in analytical methods l and procedures, rather than to a loss of liner integrity in the 11e.(2) cell. Envirocare will submit a detailed report in March 1997 to support its position.
Low-Level Waste Forum Meetino From February 11-14,1997, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff attended the Low-Level Waste (LLW) Forum meeting in San Diego, Califomia. NRC staff made presentations on:
taking credit for engineering barriers in performance assessment analyses; the recent revision to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Energy (DOE); and post-closure disposal site ownership. NRC Commissioner Dicus, a former LLW Forum member, attended the meeting and discussed several topics including: the NRC Strategic Assessment; extemal regulation of DOE; the proposed decommissioning rule; NRC views on Ward Valley; and potential waste management legislation in Congress.
During the meeting, the State of Califomia announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the Department of intenor to compel the transfer of Federal land to the State for the Ward Valley disposal facility. The State also plans to begin immediately to conduct additional field testing as recommended in the May 1995 National Academy of Sciences report on this subject. The impact of the new Bamwell pricing structure on LLW disposal was also discussed. Based on !
weight rather than volume, this new priemg structure has focused disposal efforts on achieving optimal density rather than volume reduction. Generators are also exploring the use of lighter containers in response to the new pricing structure.
Meetina with Department of Enerov on a Central Interim Storaae Facility 9705280054 970520 ,
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f On February 19,1997, a pre-application meeting was held between representatives of the
'/ Department of Energy (DOE),its contractors, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to discuss proposed submittal of a non-site-specific topical safety analysis report (TSAR) for a central interim storage facility (CISF). DOE anticipates that this TSAR will be submitted in May l
1997. The DOE presentation included discussion of CISF operations, design basis events, l and occupational radiation exposure.
l l During the discussion of design basis events, the k'AC staff noted some concerns regarding DOE's approach to recovery and retrievability operations in the event a container is damaged.
After further discussion, the DOE representatives agreed to reference the DOE Dry Transfer System in the Phase i CISF TSAR, rather than wait until Phase 11. The DOE representatives noted that they will utilize traditional methods of radiation exposure control and facility design features to keep radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable. Of particular interest, DOE stated that they will use robotics for tasks related to remote cask unloading. The DOE representatives also presented information on a proposed organizational structure, preoperational testing plan, training program, operations, technical specifications, and emergency planning. Th'e DOE plans to take a systematic approach to training, and this will be l included in the TSAR. Finally, they noted that DOE would provide information regarding the 10 i l CFR 72.48 change evaluation process and a1" employee concerns program"in the TSAR.
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I TIME: 9 55 PM NRC - MAIL TRACKING SYSTEM RECORD #: 7434 i
MAIL - MAINTENANCE SCREEN DOCUMENT No.: 7392 l REC DATE: 02/24/97 MAIL DATE: 02/21/97 i To: COMMISSION FROM: FINAMORE, B./C0CHRAN, T.
! FILE LOCATION: OGC F/ APPROPRIATE ACTION: NO CPY KEPT Sue.1ECT:
FROM NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL REQUESTING REVIEW OF DIRECTOR AND STAFF DECISIONS DENYING NRDC 10 CFR 2.206 PETITION REGARDING ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC. SUBMITTED BY DR.
THOMAS B. COCHRAN
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' Time: 12 11 pm NRC - COMSECY Tracking - Edit Record #: 2 Paper No: COMSECY-96-033 Paper Type: COMSCY Aporoved: N Remarks: "ON HOLD" Classification:
Subje-r-
Title:
EXEMPTION FOR ENVIROCARE OF UTAH TO POSSESS U-235
! IN EXCESS OF CURRENT REGULATORY LIMITS l
l Facility: ENVIROCARE Document Date: 05/13/96 Assigned To: JRS / JRG Date Received: 08/28/96 File location: COM'S Date Due: 02/23/97 Comments: N Date Completed: / /
Other: NELSON, ROBERT / NMSS Date Destroyed: / /
Print on Staff Report?: Y APPROVED SAJ: KCR:
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- 12:14 pm NRC - ACTION ITEMS Tracking Record #: 214 l
l Paper Type: DD Paper No: DD-97-02 Remarks:
Classification:
Title:
DIRECTOR'S DECISION IN MATTER OF ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC.
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Document Date: 02/10/97 Assigned To: JRG /
File location: ADJUD: DD'S Date Received: 02/10/97 Other: FOR COM REVIEW Date Due: 03/04/97 l Date Completed: 02/18/97 Print on Staff Report?: N T: Top N:Next G:Goto F: Find D: Delete E: Edit A: Add B: Bottom P: Prev C: Copy L: Locate U:Undelete Q: Quit R: browse
I l 3 ilme: 12 17 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 1333 i
I i MAIL - Maintenance Screen l
Document No.: 1405 Rec Date: 03/11/97 Mail Date: 03/10/97 j To: COCHRAN, THOMAS (NRDC) From: HOYLE File Location: ADJUD/DD'S & MAT LICENSEES /ENVIROCARE
Subject:
Y LTR IN MATTER OF ENVIROCARE OF UTAH (DD-97-02) l ADVISES THAT COMMISSION WILL NOT UNDERTAKE FORMAL REVIEW OF DIRECTOR'S l DECISION, AND DECISION FINAL ON 3/4/97; HOWEVER, CONCERNS RE UTAH'S STATUS AS AGREEMENT STATE HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO NRC STAFF l T: Top N:Next G:Goto F.: Find D.: Delete E: Edit. A: Add l
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Time: 12:17 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 1235 l MAIL - Maintenance Screen Document No.: 1307 ;
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! Rec Date: 02/24/97 Mail Date: 02/21/97 '
l To: COMMISSION From: FINAMORE & COCHRAN (NRDC)
File Location: MATERIALS LICENSEES: ENVIROCARE ,
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Subject:
Y LTR RE: REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF DIRECTOR & STAFF DECISIONS DENYING NRDC 10 CFR 2.206 PETITION RE ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC.
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l Time: 12 19 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 1138 l l
l MAIL - Maintenance Screen Document No.: 1209 l Rec Date: 02/11/97 Mail Date: 02/11/97 l To: SCHLUETER (CC GRAY) From: BLAHA File Location: ADJUD/DD'S: ENVIROCARE - DD-97-02
Subject:
Y NOTE TO CMR ASSTS i
SUBJECT:
DIRECTOR'S DECISION ON NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL'S 10 l
CFR 2.206 PETITION ,
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l l Time: 12 20 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 997 I
MAIL - Maintenance Screen j Document No.: 1065 i
l Rec Date: 01/24/97 Mail Date: 01/21/97 To: CHAIRMAN From: MARCUS, CAROL l
l File Location: SUBJ: MARCUS, DR. CAROL (& ENVIROCARE) l
Subject:
Y l LTR EXPRESSING CONCERNS WITH OPERATION OF ENVIROCARE DISPOSAL FACILITY l IN UTAH; ATTACHES PETITION FROM AMER COLLEGE OF NUCLEAR PHYSICIANS,
- CALIFORNIA CHAPTER.
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l Document No.: 942 1
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Time: 12 22 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 875 ,
MAIL - Maintenance Screen j Document No.: 942 l
Rec Date: 01/07/97 Mail Date: 01/07/97 l l
To: CMR From: THOMPSON l
File Location: MATERIALS LICENSEES: ENVIROCARE
Subject:
Y MEMO
SUBJECT:
RECENT INFORMATION ON ENVIROCARE OF UTAH AND THE STATE OF l UTAH l
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l Time: 12 23 pm NRC - Mail Tracking System Record #: 119 l MAIL - Maintenance Screen t Document No.: 155 l Rec Date: 09/16/96 Mail Date: 09/12/96 To: CMR From: JUDD, CHARLES File Location: MATS LICENSEE: ENVIROCARE
Subject:
Y i Ltr, Judd (Exec. VP, Envirocare of Utah) to Cmr, regarding quote from
! James Colins of Steel Manufacturers Assn. on EPA proposed drinking water standard for Cesium-137 T: Top N:Next G:Goto F: Find D: Delete E: Edit A: Add B: Bottom P: Prev S: Skip L: Locate U:Undelete Q: Quit R:Reindex
o oAsem a aW (u%
ENVIROCAREorvun.mc.
THESAFEALTERNATIVE
. ebruary 25,1997 f'
Richard Bangan NuclearRegulatoryCommission i
Office of State Programs, Mail Stop 3D-23 OWFN Washington, DC 20555 E
Dear Mr. Bangart,
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Enclosed with this letter you will find a copy of the ad Envirocare ran in both Salt La newspapers last week. I feel that getting a copy of this article to you is:imponant for two.
reasons; First, there seems to be many days when people either don't have time to read the paper at all or, when they do, just skim it, which doesn't include reading the ads. -
However, because of the importance of this iaformation to Envirocare, we wanted you to s see this ad, as well as the other information I'm taking the libeny ofincluding.
We feel very good about Envirocare and the job we are doing. We think the reports we outlined in the ad underscore the detailed and careful operation we are running We also think it's imponant for you to know of the benefits to Utah and the Nation that are j
provided by Envirocare, so I'm including a copy of the ad that will be running this week as well.
The second reason why we wanted you, as a leader in the Salt Lake area, to be aware of this information is that many people have a legitimate concern whenever the term nuclear waste is used, especially when they believe that it could somehow affect them. This may be panicularly imponant at this time based on the forthcoming stories in the Tribune series about the waste industry which could raise some questions.
t We at Envirocare underttand that concern and this is why we think it is imponant for every citizen in Utah to know that our facility meets or exceeds every safety standard established by Utah and the federal government for dealing with the type oflow level nuclear waste we handle at our site. During my 9 years at Envirocare, and for the three years that I have been running the day to day operations of the company, I have been through hundreds of audits. I have always been proud of our employees and their j commitment to ensuring the highest operating standards.
While it would be impossible for us to personally communicate with everyone, we are taking the liberty of providing this information to as many of our fellow citizens as seems practical hoping that if anyone expresses doubt about our operation, you might share this i
information with them, or at least encourage them to call us directly so that we might allay j their concerns.
r 46 WEST BROADW4Y
- SUITE 240
- S4LT L4KE CITY. UTAH 84101
- TELEPHONE (801).4321330 g%; r, n i tYLr/ 0 J 1
Off
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Page 2 Fetwuas) u;4997' .s c Ifyou have any questions or concerns please call me at (801) 532-1330.
l l Sincerely,
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i Charles Judd l
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O Providing mon timi 200 tecluucal jobs. Many of
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=ENVIROCARE OF UTAH INC """"'"'"'""'P'""*'*""5""""""'d
- " tiiE SAFF At if.RNA11H TOR I 0%v-tiVEt. RAL)(OACII I 4:nFD W WASTE 1RFalklFNT AtJt)DISrtysAt tommunitaes along the Wasatch hout, E Paying more than 57 million in taxes azul fees to both
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tooele County and Utalu 5 Spemling tens of millions of dollars in the local state E \ VHOCARE: - -r" ' - -
l SUCCESS BASED ON PUBLIC BENEFI'13 Q PUDLlc SUPPORT
- Envirocase is a valued national sesousce. Without O $,UL, CESS BASED ON Envi,oca,e u e cianup of odidir radioactive contaminaied ENVIRONMENTAL NEED '"'"'""8'"""'"*"*""""'d6"""*'T hi"d"'d "
not completely halted."
-Frank i Vumince Vice Perudentfor liealth and Safety.
We lustory of pubhc benetit to Utah began move than 20 mf,,, Metals Inc., febra.ary 24,1997 yean ago when the Department of Energy began evaluatuig potential sites for a uranimn mill tailmgs dispo:al fanhty We want to emphasiae that Envisocate has been and After eight yeass of study, the DOE issued a favosable continues to be a responalble corporate citiaen in ous Envisunmes.tal Impact Statement for a location near Chve. county. Envirocare provides jobs, purchases materials and Utah he site was inunediately used for disposal of 2.3 services, pays property taxes and aleo pays millions of nulhon n.oic yards of waste from Salt Lake City linvirocase dollan in fees to yooele County."
then devek> ped tle property for a cost-effectb e. mu(h
-li ocle County Ceremusswn Pubhc Staternent. laanary 10.1997 needed, low-level radioactive waste disposal facihty
- Ken McGee has shipped substantial vnlumes of . .
Today more than a decade later. Envirucare i3 licensed for material to Envisocase over the past sevesal yean and the disposal of many ddlerent classes of low-level plans to ehlp substantial additional volumes in the yean radioactive materials it has worked with nwnerous state to come.11 is our experience that the Envirocase facility and federd agencies m obtaltung and mamtainuig several operates in a responsible manner" permits asr i licenses overseeing various aspects of their -letterfrom C D Chrsstaansen. Kerr McGet Corp. so Joseph facility At: of these pennits ami licenses are reviewed on a fiolonuh. NRC. farn ary 16.1997 segular basis by the hcensing agencies which closely monitor Envisocage for its safe and effident handhng of these wastes-A retoed ci sesvmg the need for a better envirotunent. A sesoid of se:ving the couununity A secord of widespread suppo.t O Puuuc CITIZENSHIP Envirocm is an impo,tani rniu,e in Utah s econo.ny Z Z
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C nu ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC.
in both Utah and Toovie County. Envisotase's benehts are " sass atTsaNAHvt rOA row LEVEL mAmo4Cm sw2D many. includmg- wasis rasamcra ata)N
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-ENVIROCARE 03 UTAH, INC.
, Tile SAFE ALTEltNATIVE F0lt RADIDACTIVE/hllXED WASTE y Ti(EAThlENT AND DISPOSi L t Envirocare:
Sucss basec on compiance s . .. _
We believe it is important that you know Envirocare's success is a result of our strong commitment to meeting or exceeding all applicable licensing, design and operation requirements. Our operations have been and continue to be subject to close regulatory oversight litrough audits and reviews by the State of Utah, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Envirnnmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, the Northwest Interstate Compact and others.
While these reviews have occasionally identified minor violations, primarily regarding paperwork matters, we are justifiably proud of our compliance record under this close scrutiny. For the public's safety, and competitive fairness, we have and will continue to challenge our competitors to meet the same high operating and compliance standards.
The following agencies have completed reviews of Envirocare's operations, licensing and opponents' complaints in the past few weeks ...
... AND WE PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS.
NUCl. EAR NUCLEAR (JFAll DIVISION OF ltECUt ATORY lt!!CULATOltY llADIATION l
COhlMISSION COhlhilSSION CONTitOI.
January 30,19t7 February 5,1997 February 6,1997 At the cunclusion of a The NRC rqected the At a meeting of the finant, routine ainlit performed appliention of the Natural the Diaector reported that by the NRC im January 30. Resources Defense Council after a review of all of 1Y97. NRC audit Team to revoke Envimenre's E wiruerre licensing Leader Ken I heks stated, lisenses and to revoke or activities they haci
- Overall we find they are suspend Utah's regulatory determinni that "from our conducting their program authority over radionetive review of these various well. We found no , materials in general. In a actions, we have nnt violations or any Febru.iry 5th decision the ideni.i ed any major indications that pubtle NRC director said that he prob.af.s associated with safety and health isat "found no suostantial past !! censing actions -
ris k." health and safety reasons accomplistied by the (KSl. TV not's trivrt. to revoke the perr ". ur Division."
lunnary 3tt, I997) take awny the state's U(18197 letter (mun the regusatory ability." Direciar of kliottion Contrun fDaeret Neus 21l2197) f These findings by the NitC and the State of Utah highlight Envirocare's commitment to proper licensing and operation.
I Without Envirocare, local firms with low level hazardous waste would tw forced to ship contaminated dirt and other forms of low risk waste out of stile. Or they may risk ignoring environmentally proper methods for handling such refuse.
Eliher way, the environment lo's es. A certifiably safely run Envirocare is the best bet for the local environment.
ISall lake Triinme edihtrbd, Thursday, February 6,1997)
In the days alieid, as more is written about the waste Industry, Envirocare and its competitors, we welcome your questions. Envirecare is proud to be part of the Utah business community.
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- -ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC.
"" filt SArC Al.TERNADVE IUll RADIQAC11VE/MlaCD WAST [
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1-l' January 15,1997 Envirocare Notes Current Support -
For its Licensing and Operations
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Envirocare notes the statements of suppon for our licensing and operations from the following organizations:
Department of Ener :
" DOE's Environmental Management division . . . said it plans to continue shipping low-level and mixed wastes to Envirocare of Utah, Inc., despite an admission by the company's owner that he secretly paid the state's former top I
nuclear regulator 5600,000 over a six-year period. . . . A statement issued by the department said that nothing in the allegations involving Envirocare owner Khosrow Semnani would call into question the continued safety of the Utah site as a viable waste disposal option. Moreover, it said, Utah's Dept. of Environmental Quality has continued to express its support for the Envirocare site's current operational safety.
" The state has not identified any act.o to us that would require any change to departmental operations invohing Envirocare,' the EM statement said.
'Envirocare is licensed by both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state. ;
In addition to DOE's own audit, we are confident that safety is assured by these independent regulatory authorities.'" Inside Energy, January 13,1997, page 11.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region II "Thank you for protMing information related to recent events conce:mng Envirocare and otherwise assuring the [ EPA) that operations at the Utah facility have not been afTected.
l As you are aware, the federal government has a long-term contract with Envirocare for the disposal of a variety of radiologically contaminated materials l . . . it is very imponant to this EPA office and the successful cleanup of a number i of Superfund sites in this area. In particular, radium contaminated soil from hundreds of residential and public properties in several New Jersey communities
! is being excavated and transported to Envirocare for disposal. This work has been I progressing in a highly successful manner and it is essential that it continue without interruption." Leuer from John S. Frisco, Superfund Remedy Manager, !
Emergency and Remedial Response Division, to Charles Judd. Envirocare Executive Vice President, January 9,1997.
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( Departament of the Army On January 14,1997, the Depanment cf the Army, Armament and Chemical l Acquisition and Logistics Activity, notified Envirocare that it is authorized to proceed with accepting the mixed waste from Aberdeen Provine Gmundt 2M us,, , ei, :. o g.. w .tanc 1
State of Utab Department of Environmental Quality "Envirocare currently has a radioactive materials license from the Division of Radiation Control and is authorized to receive waste under the conditions of that license." Letter from Dianne R. Nielson, Executive Director, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, to Charles A. Judd, Envirocare Executive Vice President, January 7,1997.
"I'll passionately d:.fcad the technical reviews were done properly." Dane l Finerfrock, State of Utah Division of Radiation Control, as quoted in the Deseret News, January 12,1997.
Tooele County Commission "We want to emphasize that Envirocare has been and continues to be a responsible corporate citizen in our county." )
"We know that there are those out there, who for SELF SERVING reasons will do their very best to tum this incident into a safety or environmental issue, which i it is not." !
l "We want to see this matter resolved quickly, but it needs to be decided by a coun j oflaw or by some other appropriate method. It absolutely should not be decided i by the news media or even more importantly by the competitors of Envirocare."
Tooele County Commission Public Statement, January 10,1997.
Sycamore Valley Euvironmental Awareness Group "The siting criteria for the EnviroCr.re disposal facility in Utah applied NRC and DOE recommendations for ' safe disposal' by isolation from potential l contamination to ground and surfaces waters, and isolation from the public." ;
1 i j i sincerely hope that the entire matter receives accurate media attention and i appropriate investigation. IfI can of assistance to you in this matter, please do not ;
] hesitate to contact me." Letter from Diana Salisbury. Sycamore Valley i
! Environmental Awareness Group, to Envirocare, dated January 8,1997.
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