ML20148H486

Confirms 880217 Telcon Re NRC Evaluation Rept on GE Topical Rept, Transportable Aztech Plant Licensing Topical Rept. Encl Comments Apply Only to Waste Form Stability Aspect of Topical Rept.Nrr Should Be Contacted Re Rev to Process Plan

ML20148H486
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/02/1988
From:	Tokar M NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Carson M NUCLEAR PACKAGING, INC.
References
REF-WM-45 NUDOCS 8803300003
Download: ML20148H486 (4)

Text

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MAR 0 21988 l Mr. Martin Carson Nuclear Packagi.ig Services 1 Harbison Way  !

Suite 209, Brookside Office Park Columbia, SC 29212

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Dear Mr. Carson:

This will confirm our telephone conversation on February 17, 1988. You advised us that NUPAC had not received the NRC Evaluation Report on the General '

Electric (GE) Topical Report (TR) "TPANSPORTABLE AZTECH PLANT LICENSING TOPICAL REPORT" (which was sent to GE). You also advised us that NUPAC is acquiring the NRC Fvaluation Report and will develop the required Proprietary and Non-Proprietary versions of the TR (containing resolution of the NRC coments).

NUPAC plans to complete these versions two weeks after receipt of a letter from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) addressing the decontamination and hazardous waste issues.

The coments contained in this letter apply to the waste form stability aspect l of the TR. The Process Control Plan (PCP) aspect of the TR is the i responsibility of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). You should ,

contact that office to determine whether revisions to the TR may be necessary. l to address any concerns that NRR may have regarding the PCP.

The subject TR was submitted in January 1985 and was approved in December 1985 subject to a number of conditions. One of the conditions was that GE would prepare a final TR. To the best of our knowledge, a final approved version of the GE-Aztech TR has not been received and approved by NRC. A version dated August 1986 and designated as NEDE-30878-1 was received and reviewed. While many of the changes requested by NMSS had been made, others either had not been made or had not been made satisfactorily. In addition, new text which had not been reviewed previously was inserted and that also required revision. The further changes required on this TR were discussed with GE and are sumarized in Enclosure 1. These agreed-upon changes are also reflected in detail in marked up pages of the TR, copies of which are presented in Enclosure 2.

8803300003 880302 PDR WASTE WM-45 DCD g,g A)L5/

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. l MAR 0 21988 l Mr. Martin Carson 2 l l  !

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If you have any questions, please call me on (301) 492-0590 or Everett Wick on -l

(301) 492 0546.

Sincerely, tariginni Sicu d 4 Michael Tokar, Section Leader l Technical Branch- l Division-of Low-Level Waste Management and Deconmissioning, NMSS j

Enclosures:

As stated i

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DISTRIBUTION: ,

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NAME :EWick/jl :MTokar :JJSurmeier :  :  :  :

DATE :02/29/88 :02/P7/88 :g}/j?/88  :  :  :  :

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

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,- c, ENCLOSURE 1

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SUMMARY

OF FURTHER CHANGES REQUIRED "TRANSPORTABLE AZTECH PLANT LICENSING TOPICAL PEPORT" A. MAJOR ITEMS

1. Decontamination Solutions The report should be revised to show that only one decontamination solution, CANDECON, is approved. We granted GE a 10 percent tolerance on composition, i.e., a 40 weight percent solids content for CANDECON means that up to 44 w/o is acceptable. GE, however, planned tc revise the statement on page 9-44 of the TR so that "chemically similar" is defined as "chemical composition within 10 w/o of CANDECON". We repeat that chemically similar decontamination egents are not approved because decontamination agents are proprietary and each is somewhat different. The effects of these differences have not been established. Test data must be submitted for any other decontamination solutions that are to be used.

2. Mixed Low-leve_1 Radioactive ar.d Hazardous Waste We did not determine whether the solidified product of the Aztech Process constitutes hazardous waste. Such a determination needs to  ;

be made by EPA. Discussion of hazardous waste in the report should l be replaced with the attached section (which states this). '

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (PCRA), the U.S. l Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has jurisdiction over the management of solid hazardous wastes with the exception of source, by product, and special nuclear material, which are regulated by the NRC under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA). Low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) contain source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials, but they may also contain chemical constituents which are hazardous l under EPA regulations promulgated under Subtitle C (Managing l Hazardous Waste) of RCRA. Such wastes are commonly referred to as l Mixed Low-Level Radioactive and Hazardous Waste (Mixed Waste).

4 Applicable NRC regulations control the byproduct, scurce, and special nuclea material compenents of the Mixed LLW (10 CFR Parts 30, 40, 61, and 70); EPA regulations control the hazardous component of the Mixed LLW (40 CFR Parts 260-266, 268 and 270). Thus, all of the inoividual constituents of Mixed LLW are subject to either NRC or EPA regulations. However, when the components are combined to become Mixed LLW, neither agency has exclusive jurisdiction under current Federal law. This has resulted in dual regulation of Mixed '

LLW where NRC regula%s the radioactive corrponent and EPA regulates the hazardous component of the same waste.

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Mr. Martin Carson 2 Under Section 10 CFR 61.56(a)(8) waste containing hazardous, biological, pathegenic, or infectious material must be treated to reduce to the maximum extent practicable the potential hazard from the non-radiological materials. We concluded that polymerization constitutes such a step and thus satisfies this requirement of 10 CFR Part 61.

It should be noted, however, that the NRC review of the Transportable Aztech Licensing Topical Report did not address any applicable EPA requirements relating to hazardous solid waste for which the vendor or waste generator using the Aztech polymerization process for solidification of LLW may be legally responsible under RCRA.

B. MINOR ITEM

1. Leach Test Data Many of the results for the quantity of material leached are expresseo as less than x ppm, which are limits of detection. The resulting leach indices (LIs) are, therefore, really lower bounds rather than specific values. The tables in the TR and the text should make clear where the average LIs represent lower beunds rather than specific values.

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