ML070100039

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: ML070100039
References
CORR-07-0009, G20061070, LTR-06-0669
Download: ML070100039 (3)

Text

February 8, 2007Ms. Leonore LambertWest 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 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

• • • via telephoneOFFICEDWMEPDWMEPDWMEPOGCDWMEPNAMECGlennRTadesse (CGlenn for)KMcConnell(CCraig for)

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