Environmental Impact Statement; Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Impact Statement; Dual Axis Radiographic

Hydrodynamic Test Facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Energy (DOE) provides notice

of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the

DARHT facility at its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los

Alamos, New Mexico. The EIS will be prepared pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the

Council on Environmental Quality NEPA Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-

1508), and the DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR Part 1021). The EIS will

analyze the impacts of completing construction and operating the DARHT

facility at LANL, and reasonable alternatives.

With this Notice, DOE initiates a public comment period to solicit

suggestions on the scope of analysis for this EIS. DOE also extends an

invitation to attend public scoping meetings in Los Alamos and Santa

Fe, New Mexico, and to provide suggestions for public participation

opportunities for this NEPA review.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS are invited from the

public. To ensure consideration, comments should be postmarked by

Tuesday, January 10, 1995. Comments sent after that date will be

considered to the fullest extent practicable. Public scoping meetings

will be held as follows:

Wednesday, December 7, 1994, Los Alamos, 1:00 pm-4:30 pm, and 6:30

pm9:00 pm, Hilltop House, 400 Trinity Drive, Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Thursday, December 8, 1994, Santa Fe, 1:00 pm-4:30 pm, and 6:30 pm-9:00

pm, Sweeney Center, 201 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The meetings will use a workshop format to facilitate dialogue

among DOE, LANL, and the public and will provide an opportunity for

individuals to provide written or oral statements.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the DARHT EIS, or other

matters regarding this environmental review, should be addressed to:

Ms. Diana Webb, NEPA Compliance Officer, Los Alamos Area Office,

Department of Energy, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544, Attn:

DARHT EIS. Ms. Webb may be contacted by phone at (505) 665-6353,

facsimile (505) 665-4872.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE

NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of

NEPA Oversight, EH-25, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave.,

SW, Washington, DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by leaving a

message at (800) 472-2756 or by calling (202) 586-4600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

One of the most urgent and difficult technical tasks facing the DOE

is to assess the effects of aging on the weapons that remain in the

nation's nuclear stockpile, and to ensure the continuing safety of

those weapons. Because the President has decided not to build any new

nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future, but instead to continue to

rely upon a smaller stockpile of existing but aging weapons as a

nuclear deterrent, DOE must ensure that the weapons remaining in the

stockpile are safe, secure and reliable. Under the Atomic Energy Act,

this mission rests with DOE and essentially requires DOE to certify

that the weapons will not accidentally detonate during storage and

handling, that the weapons would thwart any attempts for unauthorized

use, and that they would function as designed in the event of

authorized use.

To fulfill this mission, DOE needs to collect diagnostic

information regarding the condition of the weapons which remain in the

enduring stockpile. Some of these weapons are approaching the end of

their design life, and DOE is not certain how they may be affected by

the aging process. One important type of information that is currently

lacking concerns the three-dimensional condition of the various

internal components of aging weapons. These are often shielded by thick

and dense materials. Multiple view hydrodynamic testing (experiments to

look at the flow of adjacent materials as they are driven by high

explosives) and dynamic testing (experiments to study other effects of

high explosives), combined with computer modeling, provide the only

means of obtaining this data in the absence of nuclear testing. The

President has endorsed hydrodynamic testing as the preferred means of

conducting experiments in support of stockpile stewardship and

maintenance. Hydrodynamic testing has become more important since the

United States moratorium on nuclear testing was extended. A future

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, moreover, would foreclose the

acquisition of additional performance and safety data through nuclear

testing.

Proposed Action

DARHT would be a specialized high energy X-ray machine that would

take three-dimensional, sequential and high-resolution X-ray pictures

of the dynamic behavior of dense materials that are being shocked and

compressed by high explosives. DARHT would be used to evaluate the

nonnuclear behavior of nuclear weapons components and would provide the

nation with a significantly improved diagnostic capability to evaluate

and assess the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons

stockpile. DARHT would consist of an existing support lab, a new firing

site, and the necessary infrastructure, all located at Technical Area

15 at LANL. DARHT would be used to detonate high explosives, and to use

very high-speed, tightly-focused radiographic (X-ray) photography to

determine the motions (dynamic experiments) or flow (hydrodynamic

tests) of the explosive-driven materials. Two X-ray machines at right

angles to each other (dual-axis lines of sight) would be powered by two

16 million electron volt (MeV) electron accelerators, each housed in a

building about 225 feet long. By using two machines, DARHT would be

able to provide three-dimensional, sequential information on

occurrences within millionths of a second during a test. The

accelerators' small beam size would allow DARHT to provide a very high-

quality resolution of the radiographic image. This resolution is

necessary to resolve the fine details of the material flowing in these

experiments.

DARHT experiments would variously involve radioactive materials

(primarily depleted uranium), beryllium and other hazardous materials,

and other metals. Additionally, experiments involving plutonium

contained in steel vessels may be conducted. DARHT would not test

materials that could result in nuclear yield, or a nuclear detonation.

Experiments at DARHT would be expected to result in metal fragments and

other airborne debris being deposited up to 750 meters from the open-

air explosives testing (standard operating procedures would require the

evacuation of this area before any experiments were conducted).

In addition to testing the nonnuclear behavior of nuclear weapons

components, DARHT would be used to evaluate conventional weapons

systems, explosives-driven materials for non-weapons uses, and high-

velocity impact phenomena. The facility would also be used to support

non-proliferation and counter-proliferation efforts, such as

experiments intended to disable a terrorist-designed or proliferant-

designed nuclear weapon. Although DARHT could be used to collect

information relevant to the design of new weapons, no new weapons are

anticipated to be designed in the foreseeable future.

Design of DARHT began in the early 1980's. Memoranda to File,

describing the environmental impacts of constructing and operating

DARHT, were completed in 1983 and 1987. DARHT construction began in

1988 with the Radiographic Support Laboratory, which was completed in

1990. The Radiographic Support Laboratory is currently being used to

support the development of the accelerator equipment that is planned to

be used in DARHT. In May 1994, DOE began construction of the

Hydrodynamic Firing Site. Approximately 20 percent of the Hydrodynamic

Firing Site construction work (e.g., site preparation, foundation

pouring) has been completed. Current schedules call for the

Hydrodynamic Firing Site construction to be completed, and the first X-

ray machine to be operating, in 1997 at a cost of approximately $86

million, and the second X-ray machine, if approved, would begin

operation in 2000. The total estimated project cost of DARHT in its

final two-axis configuration is $124 million; to date, approximately

$44 million has been spent or obligated on the project.

In response to public concern, the DOE has decided to prepare this

EIS at this time to allow for a full dialogue between DOE and the

State, tribes, other agencies and the general public regarding the

environmental impacts of completing and operating DARHT, and the

impacts of other alternatives. The EIS will also assist in ensuring

that appropriate mitigation measures are developed if DARHT is

completed and put into operation. Construction and related work on the

facility will continue during the preparation of the EIS.

Proposed Alternatives

DOE has tentatively identified the following alternatives for

analysis in the EIS and seeks public comment on their adequacy,

inclusiveness, and reasonableness:

(1) Proposed action

Under this alternative, DOE would complete construction and operate

the DARHT facility as currently planned. This alternative would provide

a state-of-the-art diagnostic capability for ensuring the safety,

security and reliability of the aging nuclear weapons stockpile. If

DARHT becomes operational, operation of the Pulsed High Energy

Radiation Machine Emitting X-Rays (PHERMEX) facility, an existing

facility at LANL also located at Technical Area 15, near the DARHT

site, will be phased out.

(2) No Action (status quo) Alternative

Under this alternative, DARHT would not be completed and DOE would

continue to operate the Pulsed High Energy Radiation Machine Emitting

X-Rays and the Flash X-Ray facility at the Department's Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory Site 300 located near Livermore,

California. The Pulsed High Energy Radiation Machine Emitting X-Rays, a

single-axis radiographic facility, was built in the mid-1960's and has

been used continuously since that time. It uses a pulsed power

accelerator to power the X-ray machine, and does not have the small

beam size (tight focus) planned for DARHT, thereby precluding the high-

resolution images that DARHT would provide. Flash X-Ray, also a single-

axis radiographic facility, was built in 1982 and has been used

continuously since that time. It uses a linear induction accelerator to

power the X-ray machine and also does not have the small beam size

planned for DARHT.

(3) Containment Alternative

Under this alternative, DOE would modify the construction and/or

operation of DARHT to contain some or all airborne emissions of

fragments or other debris. Under one approach, the X-ray pictures would

be taken through the walls of a containment vessel. Another approach

would be to construct a building to enclose and contain the explosive

experiments; X-ray pictures would be taken within the containment

building. These two approaches may be considered separately or

together, for some tests or for all tests.

(4) Institutional Control Alternative

Under this alternative, DOE would complete and operate DARHT, but

would limit use of the facility to exclude any applications involving

experiments with plutonium.

(5) Single-Axis Alternative

Under this alternative DOE would complete construction of the

Hydrodynamic Firing Site but would operate only a single axis of DARHT

with one accelerator. This alternative would provide an improved

technical capability over present accelerators with a single view

(i.e., the Pulsed High Energy Radiation Machine Emitting X-Rays and

Flash X-Ray).

(6) Upgrade Alternative

Under this alternative DOE would upgrade the present Pulsed High

Energy Radiation Machine Emitting X-Rays capability with the new

technology developed for DARHT.

DOE does not intend, in this EIS, to analyze alternatives or issues

beyond the construction and operation of DARHT that relate to the

nation's nuclear weapons policies, the DOE mission of stockpile

stewardship and management, the need for hydrodynamic testing or

dynamic testing that are part of the stockpile stewardship and

management program, the mission of LANL, or continued operation of

other facilities at LANL. To the extent that these matters are under

the purview of DOE, they will be considered in the Programmatic EIS on

Stockpile Stewardship and Management or the LANL Sitewide EIS, as

discussed below in the section on related NEPA reviews.

Proposed Issues

The EIS will identify and analyze the direct, indirect and

cumulative effects resulting from the completion and operation of

DARHT. DOE has tentatively identified the following environmental and

socioeconomic issues for consideration in the EIS and seeks public

comment on the adequacy and inclusiveness of these issues:

Natural ecosystems, including air quality, surface and

groundwater quality, and plants and animals.

Cultural resources, including archeological sites,

historic resources, other facilities and infrastructure at LANL, and

actual and potential uses of the site including Native American

cultural, traditional and religious uses; DOE has previously identified

Native American archeological sites in the vicinity of DARHT and has

conducted mitigating activities.

Economic impacts, including those from constructing,

equipping and operating DARHT.

Socioeconomic impacts, including any disproportionately

high and adverse impacts on minority and low income populations.

Health and safety impacts to on-site workers, other LANL

personnel, local communities and tribes, and the general population of

northern New Mexico.

Other construction and operational impacts, such as

transportation of people and materials.

Waste management considerations, including the eventual

decontamination and decommissioning of the facility after the end of

its useful life (approximately 30 years).

Health and safety, environmental, and other impacts

related to the transport, storage and use of hazardous and radioactive

materials and generation of X-ray radiation.

Other relevant issues identified by DOE or the State,

tribes, other agencies, or the public through this scoping process.

Related NEPA Reviews

The Department is currently preparing to undertake two related NEPA

reviews. The planned LANL Sitewide EIS (59 FR 40889, August 10, 1994)

will consider the cumulative impacts of operations and planned

activities foreseen within the next 5 to 10 years. The planned

Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic EIS (59 FR 54175,

October 28, 1994) will evaluate activities required to maintain a high

level of confidence in the safety, reliability, and performance of

nuclear weapons in the absence of nuclear testing, and to be prepared

to test weapons if so directed by the President.

Classified Material

The Department will review classified material while preparing this

EIS. Within the limits of classification, DOE will provide to the

public as much information as possible. If DOE needs to generate

classified material to explain the purpose and need, use, materials, or

impacts from this project, that material will be segregated into a

classified appendix.

Public Involvement Opportunities

DOE will develop a stakeholder involvement plan to guide the public

review aspects of this EIS. To assist with developing the stakeholder

involvement plan, DOE requests suggestions by the public on how this

EIS process should be conducted, including suggestions regarding the

type, format and conduct of public involvement opportunities.

Through this Notice, DOE formally invites the State, tribes, other

government agencies and the public to comment on the scope of the EIS.

DOE will offer informational briefings to tribal governments, local

(county and municipal) governments, and the State of New Mexico.

A second formal opportunity for comment will be provided after DOE

issues the draft EIS, expected in mid-1995. Public hearings will be

held in conjunction with that comment period. DOE will inform the

State, tribes, local governments, other agencies and the general public

of its final decisions at the time the Record of Decision is issued,

expected in October 1995.

In addition to formal opportunities for comment, any person may

submit comments at any time during the NEPA review process; however, to

ensure that comments are considered at specific points in the NEPA

review, and to best assist DOE, the public is encouraged to comment

during the formally established comment periods.

Copies of DARHT design and other background documents, written

comments, records of public meetings, and other materials related to

the development and analyses of the EIS have been and are being placed

in the Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Reading Room, 1450

Central Avenue, Suite 101, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544. For

information on the availability of specific documents and hours of

operation, please contact the reading room at (505)665-2127 or

(800)543-2342.

Signed in Washington, D.C., this 18 day of November 1994, for

the United States Department of Energy.

Tara O'Toole,

Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 94-28889 Filed 11-18-94; 11:46 am]

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