Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing; Amendment of Source Materials License SMB-911 Fansteel, Inc., Muskogee, Oklahoma

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket 40-7580]

Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Opportunity for a

Hearing; Amendment of Source Materials License SMB-911 Fansteel, Inc.,

Muskogee, Oklahoma

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering the amendment

of Source Materials License SMB-911 for the recovery of Work in

Progress (WIP) pond residues at the Fansteel, Inc., plant located in

Muskogee, Oklahoma. The amendment will allow the facility to process

on-site pond residues to recover rare earth metals and to reduce the

volume of on-site radioactive materials. The Commission has determined

not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed

action, because the amendment will not have a significant effect on the

quality of the human environment for reasons described in the

Environmental Assessment.

Summary of the Environmental Assessment

Background

Fansteel, Inc. (Fansteel) has been licensed by the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) to possess and use source materials at the

Muskogee plant since January 1967. The current license expired in July

1994; however, Fansteel submitted a renewal application on June 20,

1994. In accordance with the timely renewal provision of 10 CFR

40.43(b), the existing license continues to be effective until the

application for renewal has been finally determined by the Commission.

The NRC plans to complete the renewal action on Fansteel's license,

including an Environmental Assessment, after action on this amendment

application is completed.

Fansteel, Inc. had previously processed ore concentrates and tin

slags in the production of refined tantalum products at their Muskogee

site. A residue containing natural uranium and thorium was generated as

a result of the initial hydrofluoric acid digestion of the ore

concentrates. This residue is considered source material, and is

regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and defined in 10 CFR

Part 40, because it contains more than 0.05% by weight of uranium and

thorium. Since significant quantities of tantalum remained in the

residue after initial extraction, as well as other rare earth elements

and fluoride, the residues were designated by Fansteel as WIP material

suitable for secondary processing. Approximately 9,000 dry tons of WIP

material have accumulated in ponds numbered 2, 3, and 5.

Identification of the Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend the Source Materials License SMB-

911 to allow Fansteel to retrieve and process WIP material from the on-

site ponds. The WIP process will isolate the radioactivity such that

the bulk of the WIP material can be used commercially while minimizing

the volume of material sent for radioactive waste disposal.

Processing of the WIP material will recover tantalum, columbium

(niobium), and scandium from the pond residues. This WIP material

recovery will be achieved by a series of proprietary chemical processes

to separate the remaining tantalum, columbium, and scandium from the

residues. Uranium and thorium will be separated from the other products

as uranium and thorium hydroxides. Waste materials from this process

contaminated with natural uranium and thorium will be packaged and

stored for offsite disposal.

The Need for the Proposed Action

The current license allows Fansteel to possess, use, store, and

transfer natural uranium and thorium and their progenies in metal

processing residues. The license allows the possession of a maximum of

30,000 kilograms of uranium and 67,000 kilograms of thorium in solid

forms as oxides in tin slag and ore processing residues. The license

amendment is needed to allow Fansteel to process the pond residues.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

Treatment of pond residues will result in effluents of radioactive

materials to air and water from the Fansteel plant, which may produce a

small increase in radiation doses to the public.

The WIP process will generate gases and particulates that will be

captured in a centrifugal particulate separator followed by water and

caustic scrubbing before discharge to the atmosphere. The treated stack

effluent will be continuously monitored for gross alpha radioactivity.

Liquid effluents will be collected and treated with lime, then

pumped to Ponds 8 and 9 for settling prior to discharge through Outfall

001.

The estimated total effective dose equivalent from inhalation of

radionuclides emitted during WIP processing is less than 1 millirem per

year to a hypothetical resident located at the site boundary in the

most frequent downwind direction. The proposed amendment will not have

an adverse impact on the air quality for the region beyond the

contribution from currently licensed activities.

Treated wastewater will be discharged through Outfall 001 to the

Arkansas River. Ingestion of water discharged to the Arkansas River

would result in doses much less than 5 millirem per year, due to the

low concentration of radionuclides in the discharge. Actual dose would

be much less, because the effluent, approximately 100,000 gallons per

day, is further diluted by the Arkansas River flow of 20,600 cubic feet

per second (13 billion gallons per day).

By comparison, the total body dose rate to an individual in the

vicinity of the Muskogee plant from background sources has been

estimated at 107 millirems per year, not considering fallout radiation

sources or radon, including 43.4 mrem/yr from cosmic rays, 45.6 mrem/yr

from terrestrial sources, and 18 mrem/yr from internal emitters.

Background uranium concentrations in soil are typically 1.0 to 1.5

micrograms per gram, which is equivalent to 0.33 to 0.50 picocuries per

gram. The WIP processing is not expected to result in an increase in

soil radioactivity, because no radioactive materials will be released

to soils during processing.

The proposed license amendment will not have an adverse impact on

surface or ground water quality. In fact, there is expected to be a

potential benefit, since the removal of source material in the ponds

will reduce the potential for ground water and surface water

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contamination in the future. Remediation of past ground water

contamination from a pond leak in 1989 will continue under the

provisions of the renewed license.

The proposed license amendment will not result in any adverse

environmental impacts which could affect terrestrial and aquatic biota.

Accidents

The Environmental Report considered the potential for accidents at

the Muskogee plant. Material which could leak from tanks, pumps, or

pipes would be confined within the dissolution building. Pipe leaks

could lead to slurry's being leaked onto the ground surface. Such

accidents would be readily identified and cleaned up and would

represent no significant radiological impacts. Process chemicals,

including hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, and

potassium hydroxide, are stored in tanks within diked areas to contain

any leaks.

Transportation accidents represent a low radiological risk because

outgoing shipments of radioactive waste will be packaged in drums or

bags and transported in accordance with the U.S. Department of

Transportation (DOT) regulations. Transportation accidents could result

in spilled radioactive material that is readily cleaned up.

Furthermore, the low-activity materials that will be produced by the

WIP process do not represent a significant hazard during transport.

For soil or liquid transport, the accidental release of stored WIP

was considered worst case because of its associated radioactivity.

Rather than attempt to quantify this potential exposure, it was assumed

that its transport off-site via the river posed an unacceptable risk to

the public. The existing drainage and sump systems for the Chem A and

Chem C process buildings have thus been incorporated into the existing

WIP process design. The sump system includes a sump capable of holding

more than the total quantity of WIP that will be present in the

building at any given time. This system has sufficient capacity to

preclude any transport of liquids or slurries away from the immediate

process areas.

Transportation of nonradioactive industrial chemicals represents an

accident risk; however, these shipments do not pose any unique

transportation hazards beyond those associated with nonnuclear

facilities using similar chemicals. All shipments of industrial

chemicals to the Muskogee plant will be transported in accordance with

U.S. DOT and state and local laws.

Natural phenomena, such as tornadoes, earthquakes, flooding, and

fire, have also been considered. The probability of a tornado striking

the plant is 1.8 x 10-3 per year; this could result in dispersion

of material from the drum storage area, the milling room, the waste

holding ponds, and the digestion building. The Fansteel plant is

located in a quiet seismic region considered to be of minor seismic

risk. The site is located above the Arkansas River floodplain. Fansteel

will describe how it intends to address NRC guidance with respect to

fire prevention, detection, and suppression prior to startup of the WIP

processing facility.

Monitoring Programs

Monitoring programs have been developed to assure that there will

not be any undetected release of radioactivity from the Fansteel site

during the recovery and processing of WIP material.

Gases from the calciner in building Chem A will be exhausted

through a common duct into a wet scrubber that exhausts through a

vertical stack to the atmosphere. The stack is equipped with a

continuous radiation monitor. The process ventilation systems and

gaseous effluent control equipment are designed and will be operated in

accordance with the standard engineering practice. Operational checks

on these systems will be performed as part of the standard operating

procedures. Stack emissions will be controlled and sampled on a 24-hour

basis when operating.

Atmospheric effluents will be controlled through the use of wet

scrubbers. Scrubber liquids will be treated through the wastewater

treatment system, with the ground water collection system, laboratory,

deionized water, and chemical processing wastewaters, and discharged to

the Arkansas River through Outfall 001. Gross and gross

analyses are performed on a continuous water sample at the

effluent monitoring station when the station is in operation. This

outfall is also monitored for nonradiological parameters in accordance

with the NPDES permit.

Fansteel also monitors 25 ground water wells; depth, pH, fluoride,

ammonia, total dissolved solids, specific conductivity, and gross

and gross are measured monthly. This data is

recorded and maintained as permanent records.

Fansteel has committed to take certain actions if specified

radioactivity concentrations (action levels) for the Outfall 001

effluent and ground water analyses are exceeded. These action levels

are related to EPA drinking water standards for radionuclides in 40 CFR

Part 141 and to NRC effluent limits in 10 CFR Part 20.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

If the license amendment application is denied, Fansteel will be

prohibited from processing the pond residues, and will be required to

decommission the plant site without recovering the metals and rare

earth elements. This would require treatment and/or disposal of large

quantities of process residues. Such a denial would likely result in

either removal of the pond residues and disposal in a low-level

radioactive waste disposal facility or onsite disposal of the residues.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Hazards

Management and Waste Services, Radiation Control Program, Water Quality

Division.

Conclusion

The NRC has determined that issuance of the amendment to allow

Fansteel to process the pond residues will not result in a significant

impact to human health and the environment.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to the

amendment of Source Materials License SMB-911. On the basis of this

assessment, NRC has concluded that environmental impacts that would be

created by the proposed licensing action would not be significant and

do not warrant the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.

Accordingly, it has been determined that a finding of no significant

impact is appropriate.

The Environmental Assessment, the license amendment application,

and other documents related to this proposed action are available for

public inspection and copying at the Commission's public document room

in NRC's Region IV office, Harris Tower, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite

400, Arlington, Texas 76011-8064, and in NRC's headquarters public

document room, Gelman Building, 2120 L St., NW., Washington, DC 20037.

Opportunity for a Hearing

Any person whose interest may be affected by the amendment of this

license may file a request for a hearing. Any request for hearing must

be filed with the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555, within 30 days

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of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register; must be

served on the NRC staff (Executive Director for Operations, One White

Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852) and on the

licensee (Fansteel, Inc., Number Ten Tantalum Place, Muskogee, OK

74401); and must comply with the requirements for requesting a hearing

set forth in the Commission's regulation 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L,

``Informal Hearings Procedures for Adjudications in Materials Licensing

Proceedings.''

These requirements, which the requestor must address in detail,

are:

1. The interest of the requestor in the proceeding;

2. How that interest may be affected by the results of the

proceeding, including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted

a hearing;

3. The requestor's area of concern about the licensing activity

that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and

4. The circumstances establishing that the request for hearing is

timely, that is, filed within 30 days of the date of this notice.

In addressing how the requestor's interest may be affected by the

proceeding, the request should describe the nature of the requestor's

right under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to be made a

party to the proceeding; the nature and extent of the requestor's

property, financial, or other (e.g., health, safety) interest in the

proceeding; and the possible effect of any order that may be entered in

the proceeding upon the requestor's interest.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of June 1996.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert C. Pierson,

Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards,

NMSS.

[FR Doc. 96-15989 Filed 6-21-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P