Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately)

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket 70-143; License SNM-124]

Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately)

I

In the Matter of: Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Erwin, Tennessee.

Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS), located at Erwin, Tennessee, is

the holder of License SNM-124 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70. The license authorizes the

licensee to receive, possess, use, and transfer special nuclear

material under the conditions specified in the license. The license was

originally issued on September 18, 1957, and was last renewed on June

9, 1992.

II

During the course of licensed activities and until June 28, 1981,

when on-site burial of waste contaminated with special nuclear material

was no longer permitted by former 10 CFR 20.304, NFS buried certain

wastes contaminated with special nuclear material, such as specific

process wastes, contaminated equipment, and other like debris, in an

area on the licensee's premises now designated as ``Pond 4.'' Pond 4

has also been designated by the United States Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) as Solid Waste Management Units 2, 4, and 6, and is

subject to the requirements for remediation and management for ground

water protection of the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC

Sec. 6901-6986.

In order to comply with the decommissioning requirements of the

Commission, NFS must ultimately decontaminate the above identified

areas used for waste management and disposal to a level suitable for

release of the property for unrestricted use. 10 CFR 70.38. To do so

requires the removal or reduction of the special nuclear material

present, either in its discrete form or as part of other materials

present.

III

In order to comply with requirements of the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act, regarding solid waste management, and with NRC

decontamination and decommissioning requirements, the licensee proposes

to engage in a program of remediation of the Pond 4 area, as detailed

in its ``Decommissioning/Interim Measures Workplan for the Pond 4 Area,

Solid Waste Management, Units 2, 4, and 6'' (Interim Workplan).

Although the licensee believes that its license already contains

adequate authority to carry out Phase I source removal of the

decontamination and decommissioning activities outlined in the Interim

Workplan for Pond 4 and other areas, the staff of the NRC has concluded

that the decontamination and decommissioning activities proposed

represent a significant change from past practices so as to require

additional license conditions to assure protection of the health and

safety of the public, workers, and the environment from unexpected

radiological conditions resulting from the material excavated, stored,

and ultimately disposed of.

In accordance with 10 CFR 70.38(c)(2)(i)(A)-(D), the licensee is

required to submit a decommissioning plan for approval by the NRC prior

to undertaking decommissioning work, which poses potential health and

safety impacts, if procedures would involve techniques not applied

routinely during cleanup or maintenance operations; or if workers would

be entering areas not normally occupied where surface contamination and

radiation levels are significantly higher than routinely encountered

during operation; or if procedures could result in significantly

greater airborne concentrations of radioactive materials than are

present during operation; or if procedures could result in

significantly greater release of radioactive material to the

environment than those associated with operation.

Pursuant to Clause H.015 of the NFS/U.S. DOE contract DE-A-C12-90

SN 39106 incorporated into NFS license Chapter 7, the United States

Deepartment of Energy (DOE) is responsible for providing funds to

decommission and decontaminate Pond 4 and other areas covered by the

Interim Workplan. DOE has established funding to recognize and support

the immediate commencement of the decontamination and decommissioning

of Pond 4 and other areas subject to the Interim Workplan and as

directed by this Order. NFS has kept DOE, EPA, and the State of

Tennessee informed of the schedule for commencement of decontamination

and decommissioning activities under the Interim Workplan.

Decontamination and decommissioning activities proposed by the

Interim Workplan will involve techniques not applied routinely during

operation, cleanup, or maintenance operations, in that bulk soil and

waste material excavation will take place using heavy equipment in an

enclosed structure. Additionally, procedures used in the excavation and

processing of contaminated soils and debris will result in the material

becoming highly disturbed and thereby creating a potential for release

of radioactivity to the environment through liquid and gaseous

effluents, and a greater potential for exposure of workers though

inhalation of airborne radioactivity, than that associated with

operation. The currently scheduled date for commencement of those

activities is June 23, 1994.

Therefore, the Commission finds that the public health, safety, and

interest requires that the NFS license be further conditioned and

modified with special conditions to protect the health and safety of

workers and public in the performance of the decontamination and

decommissioning of the Pond 4 area of the NFS site, with respect to

activities proposed by the Interim Workplan. The licensee has consented

to these conditions and modification of the license by issuance of this

Order.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(d), I have determined that, based on the

licensee's consent to the issuance of this Order and the public health,

safety, and interest, this Order shall be immediately effective.

IV

Accordingly, pursuant to sections 53, 161b, 161i, 161o of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations

in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 70, it is hereby ordered, effective

immediately, that License SNM-124 is modified by addition of the

following conditions, to require Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. to:

1. By November 1, 1994, submit a technically derived

characterization plan. The characterization plan must provide a program

to reasonably define the extent and nature of the contamination in Pond

4 and other areas of the plant site used for waste management and

disposal, denoted as the crosshatched area on the attached plane

outline of the licensee's facility. (Appendix I)

2. Perform all current decommissioning and decontamination of the

Pond 4 area within Building 410 in accordance with the

``Decommissioning/Interim Measures Workplan for the Pond 4 Area, Solid

Waste Management, Units 2, 4, and 6,'' dated December 7, 1993, Revision

1 of the Interim Workplan dated June 16, 1994, and the letter dated

June 1, 1994, signed by Andrew Maxin and addressed to Robert Pierson,

``Responses to NRC Questions/Comments, dated May 20, 1994,'' which are

hereby incorporated by reference and made part of this Order. The

licensee may make changes to the Interim Workplan without notification

to the NRC as long as those changes do not decrease the effectiveness

of its safety program as determined by the NFS Safety and Safeguards

Review Council (SSRC). Proposed changes which decrease the

effectiveness of its safety program shall not be implemented without

prior approval of the NRC. Revisions to the Interim Workplan

implemented without NRC review and approval shall be reported to the

NRC within 15 days.

3. Not undertake any decommissioning and decontamination activities

of the Pond 4 area outside of the confines of Building 410 prior to the

approval by the NRC of a remediation plan for such outside areas. The

remediation plan must include an evaluation of estimated worker and

public radiation exposures that takes into account the experience from

work performed within Building 410 for partial remediation, and for the

partial remediation of Impoundments 1, 2, and 3. The remediation plan

for outside areas must describe and analyze the impact of the proposed

remediation of the outside areas on groundwater.

4. Install and use an environmental air sampling device in a

location that will most effectively monitor airborne releases from

Building 410. To ensure that all potential pathways are monitored,

Trailer T-20 must be moved so that it does not obstruct the free flow

of air around the air sampling device presently located immediately

north of Trailer T-20, or the air sampling device must be repositioned

to accomplish the same objective.

5. Return processed soil only to the remediated areas within

Building 410 or ship to a licensed burial site.

6. Analyze excavated material for radioactivity levels and submit

data to NRC for review prior to removal of Building 410 and the

licensee's securing of the groundwater drawdown system. After reviewing

data, NRC will determine when Building 410 may be removed and when the

licensee may secure the groundwater drawdown system, and if additional

measures are needed to avoid unacceptable groundwater contamination.

7. Not release any liquids to the sanitary sewer system prior to

the approval by the NRC of the licensee's evaluation and demonstration

that the release will conform to 10 CFR 20.2003.

8. In the absence of, or in lieu of, monitoring effluents in air at

the point of release to the ambient atmosphere from Building 410, not

allow concentrations of radioactive elements in air within Building 410

in the immediate vicinity of areas under remediation to exceed the

exposure rates in 10 CFR 20.1302.

The Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,

may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon

demonstration by the licensee of good cause.

V

Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other

than Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., may request a hearing within 20 days

of the date of this Order. Any request for a hearing must be submitted

to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Chief,

Docketing and Service Section, Washington, DC 20555. Copies must also

be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555;

Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement at the same

address; Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, 101 Marietta Street,

NW., Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30323-0199; and Nuclear Fuel Services,

Inc., P.O. Box 337, MS 123, Erwin, TN 37650-9718. Any person requesting

a hearing shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his

interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the

criteria in 10 CFR 2.714(d) of the Commission's regulations.

If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely

affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and

place of hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at

such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be

sustained.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), any person, other than the

licensee, adversely affected by this Order may, in addition to

demanding a hearing, at the same time the answer is filed or sooner,

move the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of

the Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for

immediate effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere

suspicion, unfounded allegations, or error.

In the absence of any request for a hearing, the requirements

specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of

this Order without further order or proceedings. An answer or request

for a hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day of June 1994.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert M. Bernero,

Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 94-15942 Filed 6-29-94; 8:45 am]

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