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{{#Wiki_filter:February 8, 2007Ms. Leonore LambertWest Valley Citizen Task Force Melinda Holland and Associates
{{#Wiki_filter:February 8, 2007 Ms. Leonore Lambert West Valley Citizen Task Force Melinda Holland and Associates 31 Bessie Lane Columbus, North Carolina 28722


31 Bessie Lane Columbus, North Carolina  28722
==Dear Ms. Lambert:==


==Dear Ms. Lambert:==
I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letter to Chairman Klein, dated December 22, 2006. Your letter, submitted on behalf of the West Valley Citizen Task Force, expresses concern about the continued spread of the strontium-90 groundwater plume at the West Valley site and the actions taken by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to address the plume. Your letter urges the NRC to ...take steps to compel DOE to immediately begin development of a plan to remediate the source of the plume and requests that ...future NRC monitoring visits consider/acknowledge the inevitability of human health risks associated with further unchecked spread of the plume....
The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (WVDP Act) prescribes a consultative role for NRC, which includes monitoring DOEs actions for the purpose of ensuring the public health and safety. This role was formalized in a 1981 DOE-NRC Memorandum of Understanding. The WVDP Act does not provide to the NRC regulatory authority to direct DOEs activities at the site, including activities associated with the strontium-90 plume.
The NRC believes appropriate steps are currently being taken to ensure the public health and safety with regard to the strontium-90 plume. As noted in the NRCs monitoring report for April 2006, the plume does not represent an imminent threat to public health and safety. Based on DOE environmental monitoring data available in April 2006, the potential dose to the off-site member of the public most likely to receive the greatest exposure was conservatively calculated to be less than 1 millirem per year, well below regulatory limits. DOE is monitoring the plume and continuing pump and treat activities to mitigate its spread. However, consistent with our consultative role, NRC has offered several recommendations for DOEs consideration to enhance the effectiveness of its monitoring program for the strontium-90 plume.
Your letter also states that the remediation of the plumes source must be addressed in the West Valley decommissioning Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In March 2006, involved Federal and State agencies reviewed and submitted comments on a predecisional draft EIS that contained evaluations of options for remediating and monitoring the plume. Also, in conjunction with the development of the EIS, DOE has initiated a Core Team process to resolve outstanding technical issues. The Core Team approach is a formalized, consensus-based process in which individuals with decision-making authority work collaboratively to reach agreement on technical issues. A number of the Federal and State agencies involved in the review of the draft EIS are also participating in this process. DOE has identified the strontium-90 plume as one of the technical issues to be addressed in this forum. The Core
 
L. Lambert                                       Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effective options for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.
I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. The NRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOEs monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOEs activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.
Sincerely,
                                                /RA/
Charles L. Miller, Director Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs


I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letter toChairman Klein, dated December 22, 2006. Your letter, submitted on behalf of the West Valley Citizen Task Force, expresses concern about the continued spread of the strontium-90 groundwater plume at the West Valley site and the actions taken by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to address the plume. Your letter urges the NRC to "...take steps to compelDOE to immediately begin development of a plan to remediate the source of the plume" and requests that "...future NRC monitoring visits consider/acknowledge the inevitability of humanhealth risks associated with further unchecked spread of the plume...."The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (WVDP Act) prescribes a consultative role for NRC,which includes monitoring DOE's actions for the purpose of ensuring the public health and safety. This role was formalized in a 1981 DOE-NRC Memorandum of Understanding. The WVDP Act does not provide to the NRC regulatory authority to direct DOE's activities at the site, including activities associated with the strontium-90 plume. The NRC believes appropriate steps are currently being taken to ensure the public health andsafety with regard to the strontium-90 plume. As noted in the NRC's monitoring report for April 2006, the plume does not represent an imminent threat to public health and safety. Based on DOE environmental monitoring data available in April 2006, the potential dose to the off-site member of the public most likely to receive the greatest exposure was conservatively calculated to be less than 1 millirem per year, well below regulatory limits. DOE is monitoring the plume and continuing pump and treat activities to mitigate its spread. However, consistent with our consultative role, NRC has offered several recommendations for DOE's consideration to enhance the effectiveness of its monitoring program for the strontium-90 plume.Your letter also states that the remediation of the plume's source must be addressed in theWest Valley decommissioning Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In March 2006, involved Federal and State agencies reviewed and submitted comments on a predecisional draft EIS that contained evaluations of options for remediating and monitoring the plume. Also, inconjunction with the development of the EIS, DOE has initiated a Core Team process to resolve outstanding technical issues. The Core Team approach is a formalized, consensus-based process in which individuals with decision-making authority work collaboratively to reach agreement on technical issues. A number of the Federal and State agencies involved in the review of the draft EIS are also participating in this process. DOE has identified the strontium-90 plume as one of the technical issues to be addressed in this forum. The Core L. Lambert-2-Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effectiveoptions for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. TheNRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOE's monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOE's activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.Sincerely,/RA/Charles L. Miller, DirectorOffice of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs L. Lambert-2-Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effectiveoptions for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. TheNRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOE's monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOE's activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.Sincerely,/RA/Charles L. Miller, DirectorOffice of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management ProgramsDISTRIBUTION: G20061070/LTR-06-0669DWMEP r/fDURLD r/fRidsFsmeOdFSME r/f     BFleming SECY-LTR-06-0669       EDO r/f             RidsEDOMailCenter     RidsSecyCorrespondenceMailCenterML070100043
L. Lambert                                         Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effective options for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.
***via telephoneOFFICEDWMEPDWMEPDWMEPOGCDWMEPNAMECGlennRTadesse (CGlenn for)KMcConnell(CCraig for)
I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. The NRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOEs monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOEs activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.
***FCameron (NJensen for)LCamperDATE01/10/0701/10/0701/10/0701/10/0701/10/07OFFICETechEdFSMEEDOOCMFSME NAMECPolandCMiller (concur)LAReyesCMiller (sign)DATE01/10/0701/11/0701/19/0702/07/0702/ 8 /07OFFICIAL RECORD COPY}}
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.
Sincerely,
                                                  /RA/
Charles L. Miller, Director Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs DISTRIBUTION: G20061070/LTR-06-0669 DWMEP r/f              DURLD r/f          RidsFsmeOd            FSME r/f BFleming SECY-LTR-06-0669       EDO r/f           RidsEDOMailCenter     RidsSecyCorrespondenceMailCenter ML070100043                                                                            ***via telephone OFFICE DWMEP                DWMEP              DWMEP              OGC              DWMEP NAME    CGlenn            RTadesse            KMcConnell        FCameron        LCamper (CGlenn for)       (CCraig for)***   (NJensen for)
DATE    01/10/07          01/10/07            01/10/07          01/10/07        01/10/07 OFFICE TechEd              FSME                EDO                OCM              FSME NAME    CPoland            CMiller (concur)   LAReyes                            CMiller (sign)
DATE    01/10/07          01/11/07            01/19/07          02/07/07        02/ 8 /07 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY}}

Latest revision as of 11:45, 23 November 2019

G20061070/LTR-06-0669 - Leonore S. Lambert Ltr. Re West Valley Citizen Task Force (CTF) Concerns of the Continued Spread of the Radioactive Plume of Strotium 90
ML070100039
Person / Time
Site: West Valley Demonstration Project, P00M-032
Issue date: 02/08/2007
From: Chris Miller
NRC/FSME
To: Lambert L
Melinda Holland & Associates, West Valley Citizen Task Force
Shared Package
ML070100043 List:
References
CORR-07-0009, G20061070, LTR-06-0669
Download: ML070100039 (3)
v • d • e


Text

February 8, 2007 Ms. Leonore Lambert West Valley Citizen Task Force Melinda Holland and Associates 31 Bessie Lane Columbus, North Carolina 28722

Dear Ms. Lambert:

I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letter to Chairman Klein, dated December 22, 2006. Your letter, submitted on behalf of the West Valley Citizen Task Force, expresses concern about the continued spread of the strontium-90 groundwater plume at the West Valley site and the actions taken by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to address the plume. Your letter urges the NRC to ...take steps to compel DOE to immediately begin development of a plan to remediate the source of the plume and requests that ...future NRC monitoring visits consider/acknowledge the inevitability of human health risks associated with further unchecked spread of the plume....

The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (WVDP Act) prescribes a consultative role for NRC, which includes monitoring DOEs actions for the purpose of ensuring the public health and safety. This role was formalized in a 1981 DOE-NRC Memorandum of Understanding. The WVDP Act does not provide to the NRC regulatory authority to direct DOEs activities at the site, including activities associated with the strontium-90 plume.

The NRC believes appropriate steps are currently being taken to ensure the public health and safety with regard to the strontium-90 plume. As noted in the NRCs monitoring report for April 2006, the plume does not represent an imminent threat to public health and safety. Based on DOE environmental monitoring data available in April 2006, the potential dose to the off-site member of the public most likely to receive the greatest exposure was conservatively calculated to be less than 1 millirem per year, well below regulatory limits. DOE is monitoring the plume and continuing pump and treat activities to mitigate its spread. However, consistent with our consultative role, NRC has offered several recommendations for DOEs consideration to enhance the effectiveness of its monitoring program for the strontium-90 plume.

Your letter also states that the remediation of the plumes source must be addressed in the West Valley decommissioning Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In March 2006, involved Federal and State agencies reviewed and submitted comments on a predecisional draft EIS that contained evaluations of options for remediating and monitoring the plume. Also, in conjunction with the development of the EIS, DOE has initiated a Core Team process to resolve outstanding technical issues. The Core Team approach is a formalized, consensus-based process in which individuals with decision-making authority work collaboratively to reach agreement on technical issues. A number of the Federal and State agencies involved in the review of the draft EIS are also participating in this process. DOE has identified the strontium-90 plume as one of the technical issues to be addressed in this forum. The Core

L. Lambert Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effective options for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.

I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. The NRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOEs monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOEs activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Charles L. Miller, Director Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs

L. Lambert Team process is a responsible approach for addressing and reaching consensus on effective options for resolving this, and other significant technical issues in the decommissioning EIS.

I want to assure you that NRC takes its consultative role for West Valley very seriously. The NRC staff will continue to conduct periodic monitoring visits and follow DOEs monitoring program to assess potential impacts to public health and safety from DOEs activities at the site, especially as they pertain to control and mitigation of the groundwater plume.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-7197, or Larry Camper at (301) 415-7437.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Charles L. Miller, Director Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs DISTRIBUTION: G20061070/LTR-06-0669 DWMEP r/f DURLD r/f RidsFsmeOd FSME r/f BFleming SECY-LTR-06-0669 EDO r/f RidsEDOMailCenter RidsSecyCorrespondenceMailCenter ML070100043 ***via telephone OFFICE DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP OGC DWMEP NAME CGlenn RTadesse KMcConnell FCameron LCamper (CGlenn for) (CCraig for)*** (NJensen for)

DATE 01/10/07 01/10/07 01/10/07 01/10/07 01/10/07 OFFICE TechEd FSME EDO OCM FSME NAME CPoland CMiller (concur) LAReyes CMiller (sign)

DATE 01/10/07 01/11/07 01/19/07 02/07/07 02/ 8 /07 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

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