ML20217G961

Low-Level Waste Regulatory Update, Presented at 970520-22 18th Annual DOE Low-Level Radwaste Mgt Conference in Salt Lake City,Utah

ML20217G961
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Issue date:	05/20/1997
From:	Nelson R NRC
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NUDOCS 9804290245
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18th Annual DOE Low-level Radioactive Waste Management Conference Salt Lake City, Utah, May 20 - 22, 1997 LOW-LEVEL WASTE REGULATORY UPDATE Robert A. Nelson U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 (301) 415-7298 ABSTRACT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is pursuing a number of initiatives to improve its regulatory program for low-level waste. This paper will summarize and provide the status of these initiatives which include: (1) the Agency's strategic assessment and rebaselining initiative and its impact on the Low-Ixvel Waste (LLW) Program; (2) development of a rulemaking to establish radiological criteria for license termination; (3) promulgation of a final rulemaking to establish a constraint level for air emission from facilities other than power reactors; (4) completion of the Branch Technical Position (BTP) on Disposition of Cs-137 Contaminated Emission Control (Baghouse)

Dust; (5) development of a BTP on Screening Methodology for Assessing Prior Land Burials of Radioactive Waste Authorized Under former 10 CFR 20.304 and 20.302; (6) initiation of plans for a survey of sewer sludge / ash;,(7) l development of a joint agency radiological survey manual; (8) publishing a l handbook for decommissioning fuel cycle and materials facilities; and (9) completion of the Vance 3-R STAT Topical Report review.

l LOW-LEVEL WASTE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT On March 7,1997, the Commission informed the staff of its decision concerning low-level waste strategic assessment.i The Commission directed the staff to maintain the current LLW program. The Commission selected this option with the understanding that if NRC is given responsibility for the external regulation of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities, the i

NRC's LLW program may begin to grow at a commensurate rate, funded through an appropriate mechanism which supports any additional staff required. In carrying out the Commission's decision, the staff was directed to make every effort to maintain the core technical disciplines needed to assess LLW disposal issues but these technical experts are to j 9804290245 970520 d PDR ORG EUSDOE '

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l be utilized in other NRC programs as appropriate. In response to public comments, the Commission noted the significant interest in NRC's position on the concept of " assured storace." The Commission stated that it sees no reason to alter its current position of t

neutrality on this matter. The Commission also noted that Agreement State comments on the l draft BTP on perfonnance assessment of LLW sites stated that the BTP is " unnecessary and 1

disruptive." The staff was directed to inform the Commission how it plans to resolve such I comments prior to finalizing the BTP.

l REGULATIONS Radiolocical Criteria for Decommissionine On August 22,1994, NRC published a proposed rule for comment in the Federal Recister that would amend 10 CFR Part 20, " Standards for Protection Against Radiation," to include radiological criteria for license termination.2 The overall approach to heense termination contained in the proposed rulemaking included a 15 mrem /y dose criterion for unrestricted use o'! sites after license termination, evaluation of as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA) levels below the dose criterion, provisions for license termination under l restricted conditicas, and acknowledgement that certain facilities may seek exemptions from the provistos of the rule. Other major provisions of the proposed mle included provisions for public involvement in the license termination process and requirements for cleanup of groundwater that were separate from the unrestricted use criterion. Since the close of the public comments period, NRC staff has been reviewing those comments, discussing provisions of this proposed mle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and consulting with the Commission. In addition, the staff engaged in a series of discussions with EPA, DOE, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over the provisions in EPA's pre-proposal draft cleanup rule. In a letter to OMB dated November 15,1996, the Chainnan provided the Commission's views on EPA's cleanup rule and its intentions regarding NRC's decommissioning rule. Concerning the separate groundwater standard, the Chairman stated "...we do not believe we can justify the cost associated with the adoption of a separate groundwater standard." Concerning NRC's rulemaking, the Chairman stated, f

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l "The Commission now will proceed to formulate and promulgate its final rule on radiological criteria for license termination. In formulating the final rule, the Commission is giving particular attention to: (1) an all-pathways dose criterion of up to 30 mrem /y; (2) inclusion of specific alternative criteria for certain facilities; (3) elimination of a separate groundwater standard; (4) elimination of ALARA requirements from the rule; and (5) the appropriate value of the maximum dose limit permitted if restrictions on use fail." The staff has submitted a final rule to the Commission for its review and approval. On April 2,1997. the Commission made available to the public the proposed final version of the rule.) Significant modifications to the proposed rule are summarized below.

• The dose criterion for release of a facility for unrestricted use has been modified to be 25 mrem /y Total Effective Dose Equivalent to the average member of the critical group. The requirement that facilities demonstrate that they have also reduced the dose to ALARA below the dose criterion has been retained.

• Restricted use has been retained as an option. The level of justification has been revised from a demonstration that remediation to unrestricted levels is prohibitively l expensive to an ALARA consideration.

• Because the 25 mrem / year dose criterion would be established as providing a sufficient and ample, rather than a necessary, margin below the public dose limit, a provision for alternative criteria has been added.

• The draft final rule has deleted the requirement that a separate groundwater requi.ement be met.

• The draft final mie has retained the requirement to seek advice from affected parties and to document how this advise was sought when a licensee proposes restricted use.

Ilowever, the draft final rule has deleted the requirement for a Site specific Advisory Board.

An open meeting between NRC and EPA staffs was held on April 21,1997, to discuss l remaining areas of disagreement. The prmcipal areas of disagreement are: (1) the unrestricted use dose criterion; (2) use of alternate criteria; (3) public participation; and (4) separate requirements for groundwater protection. The Commission is reviewing the results 3

of this meeting in its consideration of the draft final rule.

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Constraint Rule on Air Emissions In a Federal Register notice dated December 10, 1996,4 the NRC issued a final rule establishing a constraint level of 10 mrem /y to members of the public from air emissions of radionuclides from NRC-licensed facilities other than nuclear power reactors. NRC issued 1

the final rule to: (1) provide assurance to EPA that future emissions from NRC and Agreement State licensees will not exceed dose levels that EPA paviously determined will (

provide an ample margin of safety; and (2) provide EPA a basis to rescind Subpart I of the l National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for NRC- and Agreement State-licensed facilities other than nuclear power reec*m. The mle became effecnve January 9, j 1997 In a Federal Recister notice dated December 30,1996,5 EPA published a final rule rescinding Subpart I for NRC and Agreement State licensed facilities other than commercial nuclear power reactors. The effective date was December 30,1996.

REGULATORY GUIDANCE Disresal of Cesium-137 Emission Control Dust As the result of inadvertent meltings of cesium-137 ("7Cs) sources, several steel producers possess approximately 10,000 tons of emission control dust, most of which contains "7Cs concentrations of less than 100 pCi/g. This material is typically being stored onsite because of the lack of disposal options that are considered cost-effective by the steel 4 companies. The NRC has developed a technical position that may be used to evaluate case-by-case requests to dispose of treated emission control dust contaminated with "7Cs at hazardous waste disposal facilities. The position, which has been coordinated with EPA, provides a public health-protective, environmentally sound, and cost-effective disposal alternative for a large part of this material. Provisions of the technical position are that: the material results from the inadvertent melting of a sealed source: the concentration of "7Cs in the material does not exceed 130 pCi/g for packaged material or 100 pCi/g for bulk material; 4

the total activity of "7Cs in the hazardous waste disposal facility does not exceed 1 Curie; the material is stabilized prior to transfer; and the disposal facility operator and the NRC are notified prior to the transfer of the material. The final BRP was published in the Federal Recister on March 19,1997 (62 FR 13176).6 Methodolocy to Assess Former Burials On August 19, 1996, the NRC staff published Information Notice (IN) 96-47, "Recordkeeping, Decommissioning Notifications for Disposals of Radioactive Waste by Land Burial Under Former 10 CFR 20.304, 20.302, and Current 20.2002." This IN was issued to: (1) inform licensees of problems identified at several sites where disposals of radioactive waste by land burials were made under these provisions of 10 CFR 20; (2) emphasize the recordkeeping requirements for such burials; and (3) remind licensees of the submittal dates for compliance with the " Final Rule on Timeliness in Decommissioning of Materials I

Facilities." In the IN, the staff committed to develop a methodology that could be used as a screening tool to determine whether a former burial is acceptable for unrestricted release or if there is a need for further characterization and/or remediation of the site. The draft methodology was published in the Federal Recister on November 4,1996,7 as a BTP,

" Screening Methodology for Assessing Prior Land Burials of Radioactive Waste Authorized Under Former 10 CFR 20.304 and 20.302." The comment period closed on February 4, 1997. The methodology is based on the total activity disposed of in the burial ground and the potential for that activity to produce a significant dose to a member of the public. Staff would require no further action on those sites that pass the screening. Those sites that do not pass the screening would require a more detailed pathway analysis and would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. The NRC staff plans to publish a final BTP in June of 1997.

OTHER ACTIVITIES l

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Sewer Sludee/ Ash Survey In the January 6,1997, issue of the Federal Recister,8 NRC published a notice of pending NRC action to submit an infonnation collection request to OMB and solicited public comment. The notice pertains to a joint NRC/ EPA sewer sludge / ash survey to: obtain nation-wide estimates of radioactive materials in publicly owned sewage treatment works:

estimate the extent to which radioactive contamination comes from either NRC or Agreement State licensees or from naturally occurring radioactive materials; and support possible rulemaking decisions. Based on the results of the survey, NRC will identify approximately 300 treatment works from which samples of sewer sludge / ash will be taken and analyzed.

Results of the full survey will be published for use by Federal agencies, States, treatment works, and local officials. OMB must review and approve this survey under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual in a Federal Register notice dated January 6,1997,' the NRC, EPA, DOE, and the Department of Defense announced the availability for public comment of the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM). MARSSIM provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting environmental radiological surveys for demonstrating compliance with dose-based regulations. The MARSSIM, when finalized, will be a multi-agency consensus document. The agencies are seeking public comment to receive feedback from the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to developing the document is received. The agencies will review public comments as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, scientific peer review. The comment period closes on July 7,1997.

Decommissionine llandbook The NRC staff recently published the "Ilandbook for Decommissioning Fuel Cycle and Materials 1.icensees," (NUREG/BR-0241). The handbook was developed to provide 6

formal written procedures to NRC staff to facilitate the timely decommissioning of licensed nuclear facilities in a manner consistent throughout NRC, as well as in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements. NFC staff overseeing the decommissioning program at licensed fuel cycle and material sites; formerly licensed sites for which the licenses were previously terminMed; sites involving source, special nuclear or byproduct material subject to NRC regulation for which a license was never issued; and sites in the NRC's Site Decommissioning Management Plan will use the policies and procedures in this handbook.

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Licensee's should find the handbook useful in planning and implementing decommissioning activities at their sites.

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Vance 3R-STAT Topical Report On May 30,1996, NRC staff approved tne Vance and Associates, Inc. (V&A) 3R-STAT Version 3.0 for use under the conditions set forth in the staff's technical evaluation report (TER). The approval resulted from the staff's review of a topical report (TR),

prepared by V&A entitled, " Topical Report - 3R-STAT: A "Tc and i2"l Release Analysis Computer Code." The two intended uses of the 3R-STAT computer code are: (1) to analyze past fuel cycle data from operating plants to develop average "'I and "Tc re: ease rates as a basis for projecting future inventories of these two radionuclides; and (2) for utilities' waste management programs for reporting actual quantities of "'I and "Tc shipped in their LLW to a disposal facility. Use of the TR can lead to more realistic projections of the 2'I and Mc inventories than current methods. The TER assesses: the methodology described in the TR; the accuracy of the predicted values; and the application of the approach to the regulated activities of LLW generation and disposal.

FUTURE PLANS Consistent with the Commission's strategic directions, the NRC staff will maintain its current LLW Program at a level of approximately four full-time equivalents per year, unless reduced as a result of the budget process. Within this program, the staff plans to complete its BTP on performance assessment, complete development of joint mir.cd waste storage and l

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testing guidance, finalize the BTP on assessing prior burials, provide technical support to the )

Agreement States, as requested, continue to support the LLW Forum and the Host State Technical Coordinating Committee, and complete activities associated with amending and l transferring the licenses for the disposal of special nuclear material to the respective Agreement States. NRC's LLW topical report review program has been eliminated and there are no plans to reinstate this program. Concerning the Decommissioning Program areas discussed in this paper, the staff is developing guidance to support the final mle on radiolot " riteria

for license termination. In addition, the staff plans to conduct the sewer sludge /as urvey and assess the need for follow-on regulatory actions, and support the completion of MARSSIM.

REFEP"';CES

1. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "COMSECY-96-055 - Low-Ixvel Waste (DSI 5)," Staff Requirements Memorandum, March 7,1997.

2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Radiological Criteria for Decommissioning -

Proposed Rule (10 CFR Part 20 et al)," Federal Recister, Vol. 59, No.161, August 22,1994, pp. 43200-4232.

3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Final Rule on Radiological Criteria for License Termination," SECY-97-046A, March 28,1997.

4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Clean Air Act; Resolution of Dual Regulation of Airborne Effluents of Radioactive Materials - Final Rule (10 CFR Part 20),"

Federal Recister, Vol. 61, No. 238, December 10,1996, pp. 65120 - 65127.

5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. " National Emissions Standards for Radionuclide Emissions from Facilities Licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Federal Facilities not Covered by Subpart H - Final Rule (40 CFR Part 61)," Federal Recister, Vol. 61, No. 251, December 30,1996, pp. 68972-68981.

6. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Disposition of Cesium-137 Contaminated Emission Control Dust and Other Incident Related Material; Final Staff Technical Position," Federal Recister, Vol 62, No. 53 March 19,1997, pp.13176 - 13198.

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7. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. " Notice of Issuance of Branch Technical Position on Screening Methodology for Assessing Prior Land Burials of Radioactive Waste Authorized Under Fonner 10 CFR 20.304 and 20.302 for Interim Use and Comment," Federal Recister, Vol. 61, No. 214, November 4,1996, pp. 56716-56724.

8. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Agency Infonnation Collection Activities:

Proposed Collection: Comment Request - Notice of Pending NRC Action to Submit an Information Collection Request to OMB and Solicitation of Public Comment,"

Federal Recister, Vol. 62, No. 3, January 6,1997, p. 771.

9. U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Draft Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual; Notice of Availability with Request for Public Comment,"

Federal Recister, Vol. 62 No. 3, January 6,1997, pp. 736-737.

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