ML20154E727

Notice of Issuance of Environ Assessment Re Const & Operation of Alchemie Facility & Finding of No Significant Impact Re 871107 Application

ML20154E727
Person / Time
Site:	05000000, 05000603
Issue date:	09/08/1988
From:	Rouse L NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:
Shared Package
ML20154E721	List: ML20154E717 ML20154E727 ML20154E730 ML20154E745 ML20154E757
References
NUDOCS 8809190109
Download: ML20154E727 (6)

Text

7590-01 U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COPHISSION NOTICE OF ISSUANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE ALCHEMIE FACILITY - 1 CPDF AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT DOCKET NO. 50-603 ALL CHEMICAL ISOTOPE ENRICHMENT, INC.

The 11. S. Nuclear Regulatory Consnission (the Connission) has issued an Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact related to the application, dated November 17, 1987, for a license to construct and operate the AlChemIE Facility-1 CPDF. All Chemical Isotope Enrictment, Inc.

(AlChemIE or applicant) intends to use the facility to enrich stable isotopes.

Environmental Assessmenj Identification of Proposed Action: The proposed action would authorize the applicant to utilize the Centrifuge Plant Demonstration Facility (CPDF), which l is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy and is located on the Federally owned Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) site. In order to enrich stable isotopes, AlchemIE is purchasing centrifuge machines and will lease the CPDF from 8809190109 eso9og PDR A ADOCK 05000603 PDC

2 the Department of Energy (DOE). The centrifuge trachines were originally designed and manufactured to enrich uranium, but A1ChemIE will not use them for that purpose.

Although the enriching of stable isotopes is not ordinarily within the regulatory authority of the Comission, any equipment or device capable of enriching uranium, if intendet for commercial use, must be liceried by the Counission. Since the cent'. ifuge machines AlChemIE will obtain from DOE are capable of enriching uranium, their possession and use must be licensed. The Comission rule which governs the licensing of production facilities is 10 CFR Part 50.

AlchemIE Facility-1 CPDF was previously used by the Department of Energy as a Centrifuge Plant Demonstration Facility (hence, CPDF) located at the site of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Therefore, the facility has been completely constructed and operated. In fact, in addition to tests conducted with uranium (as the hexafluoride), the machines have been used to enrich some stable isotopes. As a result of the tests conducted by the Department of Energy, the centrifuge machines and associated piping have been slightly contaminated with uranium. Because the purpose of the tests, in part, was to demonstrate enrichment, some of the uranium contamination is vnriched in the uranium-235 isotope. Although some building modifications are nccessary, the construction period is expected to be very short.

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l 3 The Need for the Proposed Action: The proposed construction permit and license will allow the applicant to utilize the CPDF previously used by DOE to enrich stable isotopes. A1ChemIE will not use the centrifuge trachines obtained from t

DOE to enrich uranium; however, any equipment or device capable of enriching uranium, if intended for comercial use, must be licensed by the Comission, t

l Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC sta'f's Environmental Assessment has concluded that the local environment is a well characterized, '

i industrialized area with an established buffer zone. The industrialized area has utilities and waste management services to support the major facility i needs for steam, sanitary water, and electric power.

i The exterior of the CPDF facility will be modified only slightly to meet

AIChemIE's requirements. Existing centrifuge equipment will be used to process various chemical compounds, some of which are considered toxic or

haza rdous .

l Alchem!E has filed for an air emissions permit with the Tennessee Department ,

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, ofHealthandEnvironment(TDHE). While the feed material and processing rate  !

) information is not completely defined, the NRC used available information to i

perform a conservative analysis which indicates that material releases due to normal operations are expected to be environmentally acceptable.

AlChemlE waste water (primarily sanitary water) will be discharged through the existing Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant waste water treatment plant which j is currently covered by an NFDES permit. The NPDES limits will not have to be 4

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modified to accornrodate the AlChemlE waste water. AlChemIE's non-hazardous and hazardous / toxic solid end liquid wastes will be transferred to appropriate '

existing DOE, municipal, and comercial waste management operations which already have the necessary permits.

The NRC staff's analysis of potential accidental releases of material from the process indicates that the off-site concentrations of toxic materials will be less than the time-weighted average threshold limit values (TWA-TLV) which have been established by the /cerican Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Exposure of the population to toxic material emissions in

concentrations below these limits will not result in any adverse health and i safety effects.

1 The NRC staff assessed the potential consequences of using the contaminated f i l equipment and concluded that even under the unexpected conditions where the ,

l uranium would be released to the environment, the consequences would be ,

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minimal with a 50-year body equivalent dose comitsrent of less than 1.4E-5  ;

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i gnclusion: On the basis of the NRC staff's evaluation of the environmental j report submitted by AlchemIE and upon further independent analysis of the envircreental impacts of the proposed action, as set forth in the staff's ,

} Environmental Assessment, the staff has concluded that the actions proposed l vill not result in any sienificant environmental impacts. l 4 i l

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5 Alternative to the proposed Action: The principel alternative to the proposed  !

l action is that of no action. In view of the NRC staff's conclusion that the proposed action will not result in t.ny significant impact, the preference of this action over the proposed action cannot be justified.

Alternative Use of Resources: Since the facility proposed by AlChem!E has

, been constructed and operated by the Department of Energy, most of the resources i

, which would be deviated to its construction have already been expended. In

addition, the quantity of feed materials which AlChemIE will process are in the

) kilogram per year range and yield no waste streams, since both separated streams i l are useful products. Because of the expected efficiency of the centrifuge

machines, the use of energy resources should be effective compared with other i 1 ,

j separation methods.  !

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I j Agencies and Persons Contacted: The Consnission's staff contacted the following: [

Roans County Executive; Oak Ridge City Manager; Oak Ridge Mayor; Anderson County [

t Executive; Oliver Springs Town Administrator; Tennessee Department of Health  !

and Environment, Division of Air Pollution Control; and Tennessee Department of i

! Health and Environment, Division of Solid Waste Management.

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Finding of ho Significant Impact: The Consnission's sf.aff has prepared an  ;

I Environmental Assessment related to the proposed licensing action.

On the basis that the environrental impacts created by the proposed licensing i

action hould not be significant, the proposed action does not warrant the i

j preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. Accordingly, it has been i deterrained that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.

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6 The Environnental Assessrnent and the November 17, 1988 application related to this proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the Corianission's Public Docurrent Room, 2120 L Street, NW. , Washington, DC. Copies

! oftheEnvironmentalAssessrnentmaybeobtainedbycalling(301)492-3358orby [

l writing to the Fuel Cycle Safety Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC 20555.

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, Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of September 1988.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION t

OB8MM.8Mreau yn Leland C. Rouse, Chief Fuel Cycle Safety Branch

, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS l

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i see previous concurrence

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! w j DATE:i/9/88 :1 /7/88 : 8/25/P8 : G/a '3 : / /88 : / /88 :

OFFICIAL LECORD COPY i

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