ML20199E083
| ML20199E083 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000734 |
| Issue date: | 01/11/1999 |
| From: | Gaskin C, Shum E NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Emeigh C NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9901200304 | |
| Download: ML20199E083 (5) | |
Text
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k . . . . . p# January 11, 1999 MEMORANDUM TO: Charles W. Emeigh, Acting Chief Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, NMSS THRU: Mary T. Adams, Section Chief f Licensing Section 1 p((()h159 Licensing Breach 4t)
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Division of Fuel Cycle Safety ,
and Safeguards, NMSS FROM: Ed Shum Licensing Section 1 k //v/f !
Licensing Branch 3 Division of Fuel Cycle Safety I and Safeguards, NMSS Charles Gaskin C N /g1 Licensing Section 1 Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, NMSS 1
SUBJECT:
TRIP REPORT - MEETING WITH STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO ,
DISCUSS DECOMMISSIONING AT GENERAL ATOMICS SITE Purpose On December 8,1998, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff from the Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and Region IV staff met with State of California staff at the General Atomics (GA) site, (San Diego, California) to discuss decommissioning activities related to GA's current accelerated decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) program. GA intends to terminate its special nuclear material (SNM) license from NRC and reduce its source and by-product material usage licensed by the State in the next two years. The meeting was requested by the State of California. (List of 13 attendees attached). The subjects of the discussion were:
- 1. The scope of NRC's confirmatory surveys; y
- 2. The criteria the NRC will use to release GA's facilities for unrestricted use, and for continued regulation under GA's California Radioactive Materials License;
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Charles W. Emeigh 2
- 3. The role of other agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE) and contractors such as Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education in the decommissioning and confirmatory survey processes;
- 4. The jurisdiction of our respective agencies over contamination resulting from GA's activities involving SNM, byproduct material. and byproduct material from SNM activities onsite; and,
- 5. The recent incident involving the shipment of waste containing SNM and byproduct material to the State of Washington. (The incident resulted in radioactive contamination of the truck and land area.)
Discussion in regard to confirmatory surveys, NRC and State staff described their confirmatory radiological survey approaches. In general, NRC's and the State's survey programs are similar. It was agreed that for building and land surveys, either NRC or the State, depending on the nature of contamination, will take the lead to conduct the confirmatory surveys to minimize duplicative efforts in this effort NRC and the State will coordinate with each other. After the confirmatory surveys, NRC will inform the State of its licensing action to ensure that buildings can be released for unrestricted use in a timely manner as requested by GA. NRC will coordinate closely with the State to maintain the type of working relationship that existed between the former NRC Region V and the State.
The NRC will continue to use NRC Regulatory Guide 1.86 criteria for the release of buildings with surface contamination. For land area released to unrestricted use, the criteria developed by the NRC in 1985 and accepted by GA are still valid, since these criteria ars generally more restrictive than the current proposed 25 mrem /yr limits.
The NRC staff informed the State that Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE) will not be used as NRC's contractor to conduct radiological confirmatory surveys in the hot-cell facility since DOE used ORISE to pedorm radiological surveys in the hot-cell facility D&D program. In addition, it will be unlikely that ORISE will be used to perform NRC's confirmatory surveys related to GA's other D&D activities.
In regard to item 4, the NRC staff asked the State to send NRC a letter requesting NRC's legal clarification related to jurisdiction questions over byproduct material contamination that may have come from special nuclear material in regulating SNM and by-product materials.
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Charles W. Emeigh 3 in regard to the above referenced item 5 issue related to the recent incident involving contamination from GA's shipment of nuclear waste to the State of Washington, the State of California requested NRC to interpret its jurisdiction to take appropriate action against GA. The shipping paper identified the package contents as including SNM and by-product materials.
However, since the contamination involved gamma-beta contamination only, the State agreed to take the initial lead for the investigation.
After the meeting, NRC staff met with GA staff to inform them of the subjects discussed. NRC staff also toured some of the GA buildings and areas subject to decommissioning.
Docket 70-734 License SNM-696
Attachment:
As stated cc: Dr. Keith E. Asmussen, Director General Atomics Licensing, Safety and Nuclear Compliance P.O. Box 85608 San Diego, California 92186-9784 Distribution w/att Docket 70-734 PUBLIC NRC File Center FCLB R/F FCSS R/F NMSS R/F Region IV HAstwood [G:\gatrip.wpd)
- See previous concurrence OFC FCLB* FCLB* FCLB* FCLB O NAME EShum CGaskin PShea MAdamh8 DATE 12/ /98 12/ /98 12/ /98 'llI%
/ 99 l
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Charles W. Emeigh 3 In regard to the above referenced item 5 issue related to the recent incident involving contamination from GA's shipment of nuclear waste to the State of Washington, the State of California requested NRC to interpret its jurisdiction to take appropriate action against GA. The shipping paper identified the package contents as including SNM and by-product materials.
However, since the contamination involved gamma-beta contamination only, the State agreed to take the initial lead for the investigation.
l After the meeting, NRC staff met with GA staff to inform them of the subjects discussed. NRC staff also toured some of the GA buildings and areas subject to decommissioning.
l Docket 70-734 License SNM-696
Attachment:
As stated cc: Dr. Keith E. Asmussen, Director General Atomics Licensing, Safety and Nuclear Compliance P.O. Box 85608 l
San Diego, California 92186-9784 l
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e Meeting with State of California to Discuss Decommissioning at General Atomics Site December 8,1908 NAME ORG TELEPHONE E-MAIL
! Charles E. Gaskin NRC/NMSS/FCSS 301 415-8116 CEGl @NRC. GOV Edward Y. Shum NRC/NMSS/FCSS 301 415-6043 EXSl @NRC. GOV Mark R. Shaffer NRC/RIV 817 860-8287 MRS @NRC. GOV D. Blair Spitzberg NRC/RIV 817 860-8191 DBS @NRC. GOV Wayne Britz NRC/RIV 817 860-8194 WLB2@NRC. GOV Mark Foster DOE / OAK 619 455-3360 MARK. FOSTER @ OAK. DOE. GOV Kathleen M. Henner CA/DHS/RHB 714 558 4480 KHENNER@RHB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV Lisa Brown CA/DHS/RHB 916 445-4772 LBROWN@RHB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV Ronald Rogus CCA/DHS/RHB 916 445-9444 RRGOUS @DHS.CA. GOV Barbara Hamrick CA/DHS/RHB 714 558-4481 BHAMRICK@RHB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV David Wesley CA/DHS/RHB 916 445-1884 DWESLEY@RHB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV Ed Bailey CA/DHS/RHB 916 322-3482 EBAILEY@RHB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV
> Don Bunn CA/DHS/RHB 916 323-2756 DBUNN@RIIB.DHS.CAHWNET. GOV Louis Carson NRC/RIV 81) 860-8221 LCCI @NRC. GOV l
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