Advanced Medical Systems, Inc., Issuance of Director's Decision under 10 CFR Sec. 2.206

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 30-016055]

Advanced Medical Systems, Inc., Issuance of Director's Decision

under 10 CFR Sec. 2.206

Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

has acted on a Petition for action under 10 CFR 2.206 dated March 3,

1993, filed by William B. Schatz, Esq., on behalf of the Northeast Ohio

Regional Sewer District (Petitioner), as supplemented by letters dated

September 13, 1994, October 13, 1994 and April 29, 1996, with regards

to NRC Licensee, Advanced Medical Systems, Inc. (AMS)

The Petitioner requested, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206, that the NRC:

(1) Modify AMS' License No. 34-19089-01 to require that AMS assume all

costs resulting from the off-site release of cobalt-60 that has been

deposited at the

[[Page 33683]]

Petitioner's Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center; and (2) order AMS

to decontaminate the sewer connecting its London Road facility with the

public sewer at London Road, and continue down stream with such

decontamination to the extent that sampling indicates is necessary.

By letters dated September 13, 1994, October 13, 1994, and April

29, 1996, the Petitioner filed supplements to the Petition. The

September 1994 supplement requested that NRC commence enforcement

actions against AMS for violations of 10 CFR 20.401(c)(3) and 10 CFR

20.303(a), based on assertions that the disposal records maintained by

AMS are grossly inaccurate, in violation of 10 CFR 20.401(c)(3), and

that AMS discharged material to the sewer that was not readily soluble

or dispersible in water, in violation of 10 CFR 20.303(a). In addition,

the September 1994 supplement requested that the March 3, 1993,

Petition be granted immediately insofar as it requested that AMS be

held responsible for all costs arising from contamination of the

Petitioner's treatment plant and that AMS be required to decontaminate

the sewer downstream from the London Road facility. In its October 1994

supplement, the Petitioner requested that the NRC commence an

enforcement action against AMS for violation of 10 CFR 20.2003, based

on the assertion that AMS had recently discharged cobalt-60 to the

sewer that was not soluble or readily dispersible biological material,

in violation of that provision. In its April 1996, supplement, the

Petitioner requested NRC action on a license requiring AMS to safely

and reasonably decontaminate the London Road interceptor (the sewer),

or, if the NRC's position is that such action has already been ordered,

NRC action requiring AMS to actually complete the decontamination.

For the reasons stated in the ``Director's Decision Under 10 CFR

2.206'' (DD-97-13), the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards has denied the first request, that NRC require

AMS to assume all costs resulting from the offsite contamination from

released licensed material within NRC limits. With regard to the

request to order AMS to decontaminate the sewer line, as set forth in

DD-97-13), NRC has already partially granted the Petition, insofar as

NRC has taken action by amending AMS'' License to require remediation

of the sewer line connecting the London Road Facility with the public

sewer at London Road. For the reasons stated in DD-97-13, the Director

has denied the remaining requests in the Petition and its supplements.

The complete text of DD-97-13 follows this notice and is available for

public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20555 and at the Local

Public Document Room, Perry Public Library, 3735 Main Street, Perry,

Ohio 44081.

A copy of this Decision will be filed with the Secretary of the

Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR

2.206(c) of the Commission's regulations. As provided by this

regulation, this Decision will constitute the final action of the

Commission 25 days after the date of issuance unless the Commission, on

its own motion, institutes review of the decision within that time.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of June, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Carl J. Paperiello,

Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Director's Decision under 10 CFR Sec. 2.206

I. Introduction

By letter dated March 3, 1993, addressed to Mr. James Taylor,

former Executive Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC), William B. Schatz, Esq., on behalf of the Northeast

Ohio Regional Sewer District (District), requested that NRC take action

with respect to Advanced Medical Systems, Inc. (AMS), of Cleveland,

Ohio, an NRC licensee. The District requested, pursuant to 10 CFR

Sec. 2.206, that NRC: (1) Modify AMS License No. 34-19089-01 to require

that AMS assume all costs resulting from the off-site release of

cobalt-60 that has been deposited at the District's Southerly

Wastewater Treatment Center (SWTC); and (2) order AMS to decontaminate

the sewer connecting its London Road facility with the public sewer at

London Road, and continue downstream with such decontamination to the

extent that sampling indicates is necessary.

The District alleges the following bases for its request: (1)

Cobalt-60 has been discovered in the ash piles resulting from the

incineration of sewage sludge at the District's SWTC; (2) AMS is the

only licensee in the District's service area authorized to process

cobalt-60 in a loose metallic form consistent with the form present in

the ash; (3) AMS is the only entity (except for the former owner of the

London Road facility) that has reported discharging cobalt-60 to the

sanitary sewer system leading to the SWTC; (4) NRC documents present

ample evidence of cobalt-60 contamination at the London Road facility,

including numerous drains inside the building; (5) there are excessive

exposure rates in the sewer connecting the building to the public sewer

system; (6) this sewer line has been classified as a restricted area,

which effectively denies the District access to the manhole for

sampling industrial discharges; and (7) the AMS London Road facility is

the source of the cobalt-60 at the SWTC.

By letter dated April 2, 1993, the Director, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, NRC, formally acknowledged receipt of

the Petition and informed the District that its request was being

treated pursuant to 10 CFR Sec. 2.206 of the Commission's regulations.

A notice of the receipt of the Petition was published in the Federal

Register on Tuesday, April 13, 1993 (58 FR 19282). Staff sent a copy of

the letter dated April 2, 1993, with a copy of the Petition, to AMS.

By letters dated September 13, 1994, October 13, 1994, and April

29, 1996, the District filed supplements to its March 3, 1993,

Petition. The District's September 1994 supplement requested that NRC

commence enforcement actions against AMS for violations of 10 CFR

Sec. 20.401(c)(3) and 10 CFR Sec. 20.303(a), based on assertions that

the disposal records maintained by AMS are grossly inaccurate, in

violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.401(c)(3), and that AMS discharged material

to the sewer that was not readily soluble in or dispersible in water,

in violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.303(a). In addition, the September 1994

supplement requested that the March 3, 1993, petition be granted

immediately insofar as it requested that AMS be held responsible for

all costs arising from contamination of the District's treatment plant

and that AMS be required to decontaminate the sewer downstream from the

London Road facility. In its October 1994 supplement, the District

requested that NRC commence an enforcement action against AMS for

violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003, based on the assertion that AMS had

recently discharged cobalt-60 to the sewer that was not soluble or

readily dispersible biological material, in violation of that

provision. In its April 1996 supplement, the District requested NRC

action on a license requiring AMS to safely and reasonably

decontaminate the London Road interceptor (the sewer), or, if NRC's

position is that such action has already been ordered, NRC action

requiring AMS to actually complete the decontamination.

[[Page 33684]]

Since receipt of the March 3, 1993, Petition, NRC has amended AMS'

license such that one of the District's requests has already been

partially granted, as set forth below. I have completed my evaluation

of the remaining matters raised by the District and have determined

that, for the reasons stated below, the other requests in the Petition

and its supplements should be denied.

II. Background

NRC issued License No. 34-19089-01 to AMS on November 2, 1979.

Picker Corporation had previously owned and operated the licensed

operation, facilities, and equipment since 1959. From 1979 to mid-1991,

the AMS license authorized the possession of 150,000 curies (5550

terabecquerels) of cobalt-60 in solid form for the purpose of

manufacturing sealed sources for distribution to authorized recipients

for use in teletherapy units (used at medical facilities for treatment

of medical conditions). The AMS license currently limits possession to

150,000 curies (5550 terabecquerels) as solid metal and 135,000 curies

(4995 terabecquerels) in sealed sources, for use in installing and

servicing teletherapy units, and training; the current license does not

authorize manufacture of sealed sources for distribution. The license

also authorizes possession of 40,000 curies (1480 terabecquerels) of

cesium-137 in sealed sources, and 4040 kilograms of plated depleted

uranium shielding, incident to teletherapy and industrial radiography

installation, maintenance, and service. The facility that houses the

licensed material is located on London Road in Cleveland, Ohio.

The District is responsible for operating three wastewater

treatment facilities in and around the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan

area. The District's SWTC has been operating since 1927 to remove grit

and debris from wastewater that the District services. This process

involves incineration of sludge, transport of the residual ash in a

slurry to settlement and evaporation ponds, and eventual transfer of

the dried ash to landfills. The SWTC also incinerates sludge generated

at other facilities, including the District's Easterly Plant, which

services the area where AMS is located.

In April 1991, NRC identified cobalt-60 at the SWTC in ash piles

coincidental to an aerial radiation survey of an unrelated site. In

September 1991 and March 1992, at the request of NRC, Oak Ridge

Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) performed surveys at the

SWTC to determine the extent of the cobalt-60 contamination at the

facility. The results of the ORISE surveys are reported in Radiological

Characterization Survey for Selected Outdoor Areas, Northeast Ohio

Regional Sewer District, Southerly Wastewater Plant, Cleveland, Ohio,

Final Report, August 1992 (hereafter referred to as ``ORISE report'').

The ORISE report indicated that there were elevated direct radiation

readings that were caused by cobalt-60 contamination, with elevated

concentrations in soil and sediment samples. Based on this ORISE report

and information collected and examined by NRC staff, NRC estimated that

a total activity of 414 millicuries (15.3 gigabecquerels) of cobalt-60

existed at the SWTC in 1992.

Since the District needs to transfer the dried ash from the

evaporation ponds to continue operations, NRC approved the site

remediation strategy for ash removal, and had ORISE perform an

independent survey to evaluate the radiological status of the

remediated area. The District performed a radiological characterization

of the facility to better determine the amount of cobalt-60 that is

actually present on the SWTC site; the District's consultant estimated

the quantity of cobalt-60 in the North Fill Area, as of 1993, to be

about 443 millicuries (16.4 gigabecquerels).

As discussed below, NRC has evaluated the District's concerns and

bases for its requests for NRC action. Although NRC has amended AMS'

license to require remediation of the interceptor sewer line operated

by the District in the vicinity of the connecting line from the AMS

facility, which partially grants one of the District's requests, the

District's remaining requests are denied for the reasons discussed

below.

III. Discussion

A. Timing and Source of Contamination Identified at the SWTC

In 1991, cobalt-60 was discovered in the North Fill

Area.1 The staff's review of the history of the SWTC

revealed that, after renovation of the incinerators between 1975 and

1978, the incinerators came back on line in November 1978, and the

current ponds were put into use for the first time. The ponds were then

cleaned for the first time from December 1982 to March 1983. The

District removed the ash from the evaporation ponds and placed it in

the North Fill Area, which was then landscaped. This was the only time

the North Fill Area was used for ash disposal. Accordingly, the cobalt-

60 entered the District's system and was deposited at SWTC between late

1978 (when the ponds were first used) and December 1982 (when the ponds

were first cleaned and the ash placed in the North Fill Area). See

Memorandum for Carl J. Paperiello, former Deputy Regional

Administrator, NRC Region III, from Loren J. Hueter, Radiation

Specialist, Division of Nuclear Material Safety, NRC Region III, on the

subject of ``Report on Trip to General Chemical Corporation (Non-

licensee), 5000 Warner Road, Cleveland, Ohio, and to Northeast Ohio

Regional Sewer District, 6000 Canal Road, Cleveland, Ohio,'' (Docket

No. 030-18276; License No. 34-17726-02) dated June 13, 1991. The

staff's conclusion as to when cobalt-60 contamination entered the

sanitary sewer system is supported by the District's letter, dated

September 13, 1994, which stated that the earliest possible date that

the cobalt-60 could have been discharged into the sanitary sewer was

not more than a week or two before the opening of lagoons in October

1978.

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\1\ Significant levels of cobalt-60 requiring remediation were

discovered in the North Fill Area, in the existing In-Place Ash

section of the South Fill Area, and in the northern section of the

South Fill Area. Only the North Fill Area contamination can be dated

with any degree of certainty, although AMS records indicate that

1989 was the last year AMS discharged cobalt-60 directly into the

sanitary sewer system.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In an attempt to determine all possible contributors of cobalt-60

contamination to the SWTC, NRC conducted a file review of all licenses

issued since 1975, active and terminated, for activities at facilities

in the zip code areas serviced by the District. NRC contacted existing

and previous licensees for additional information. The U.S. Department

of Energy was also contacted to determine if any of its operations in

the Cleveland metropolitan area could have contributed to the cobalt-60

contamination at the SWTC. Although other cobalt-60 users were found in

the NRC's file search, it was concluded that no facility, other than

AMS' facility at 1020 London Road, Cleveland, Ohio, was authorized to

possess the quantities of unsealed cobalt-60 that could have

contributed to the levels of cobalt-60 contamination found at the SWTC.

Memorandum from Roy Caniano, Chief, Materials Inspection Branch,

Division of Radiological Safety & Safeguards (DRSS), Region III, to

William L. Axelson, Director, DRSS, dated November 7, 1994 (hereafter

``Caniano memo'').

Given the information as to the timing of the disposals into the

sewer system that caused the cobalt-60 contamination at the SWTC, the

staff included Picker, which previously used the facility

[[Page 33685]]

under NRC license, in its review and inspection, although the District

did not seek action against Picker. Current and former Picker

employees, as noted in Inspection Report No. 030-16055/93003 (Section

3.C), issued November 7, 1994, stated that liquid radioactive waste was

routinely discharged from the London Road facility. They stated,

however, that the 1 curie (37 gigabecquerels) per year annual gross

quantity disposal limit (10 CFR Sec. 20.303) was never exceeded during

their respective tenures. Based on the information gathered during the

inspection, it is highly likely that Picker Corporation discharged

cobalt-60 into the sanitary sewerage system every year that it operated

the London road facility, including the 1978 and 1979 time period of

interest. As for AMS, its records indicate that a total of 209

millicuries (7.73 gigabecquerels) of unsealed cobalt-60 was disposed of

into the sanitary sewerage system during the period 1980 to 1989.

Caniano memo at 3. AMS records indicate that 1989 was the last year

that cobalt-60 was discharged directly into the sanitary sewerage

system. NRC Inspection Report No. 030-16055/93003(DRSS) at 7, issued

November 7, 1994. AMS records also specifically list releases during

the 1980-82 time frame. Inspection Report No. 030-16055/93002 at 17,

issued August 2, 1993. The information gathered by the staff indicates,

therefore, that cobalt-60 was likely released from the London Road

facility during the 1979-82 period of interest by both Picker and AMS.

AMS has recorded discharging cobalt-60 to the sanitary sewer system

that eventually leads to SWTC, as described above. AMS records

indicate, however, that it had been discharging cobalt-60 in accordance

with the quantities and concentrations authorized by the then-

applicable regulations and license. NRC's inspection and review of

records have not revealed any documentation at AMS or other evidence

that would indicate discharges in excess of authorized limits.

B. Request for NRC Action To Require AMS To Assume the Cost Resulting

From Offsite Release of Cobalt-60

The staff has carefully considered the action the District has

requested and the bases stated by the District for its request. In

addition, the staff has evaluated the results of its inspections and

all available information related to the District's requests. None of

the available information, individually or taken together, demonstrates

that AMS violated NRC regulatory limits or other requirements related

to the discharge of cobalt-60 into the sanitary sewer system.

In a proceeding involving the decommissioning of the Yankee Nuclear

Power Station near Rowe, Massachusetts, the Commission stated that it

had no authority to grant an intervenor's request for compensation

similar to the District's. Yankee Atomic Electric Co. (Yankee Nuclear

Power Station), CLI-96-7, 43 NRC 235 (1996). In the Yankee Atomic

proceeding, the licensee had initiated substantial decommissioning of

its facility through a ``Component Removal Project'' (CRP) under a new

Commission policy interpreting the decommissioning rule (10 CFR

Sec. 50.82) and had removed and disposed of many radioactive components

through the CRP. The intervenors succeeded in challenging the

Commission policy, which had allowed the licensee to initiate the CRP

without an opportunity for a hearing. CAN v. NRC, 59 F.3d 294 (1st Cir.

1995). As relief for the failure to offer an opportunity for a hearing,

and based on their assertion that the CRP had caused workers and the

public to receive doses far above those as low as reasonably

achievable, the intervenors requested the Commission to require the

licensee to establish a fund for the treatment of cancers caused by the

doses resulting from the CRP. Yankee Atomic, CLI 96-7 at 268. In

rejecting the intervenors' arguments, the Commission held that ``no

statute or regulation grants the Commission authority to require the

Licensee to pay (in effect) compensatory damages to private

individuals.'' Id. at 269.

The District's request for compensation from AMS for costs

resulting from offsite releases of cobalt-60 from the London Road

facility is not materially different from the Yankee Atomic

intervenors' request for compensation. No statute authorizes the NRC to

require any licensee to pay such compensatory damages, especially in a

case in which the releases that resulted in the third party's damages

were within applicable NRC limits.

The District, in addition to filing its Petition with NRC,

instituted a court action against AMS and other defendants for tort

remedies, including property damage and remediation costs, resulting

from the discharge of cobalt-60 into the District's system. The action,

which was pending before the United States District Court for the

Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division (Case No. 1:94 CV 2555),

has been settled. Letter dated January 2, 1997, from L. K. English,

Esq., Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, to J. Madera, Division of

Nuclear Material Safeguards, NRC. A court of competent jurisdiction,

and not NRC, is the proper forum for the District to seek compensatory

damages from AMS. Accordingly, the District's request for NRC action to

require AMS to assume the costs resulting from the release of cobalt-60

is denied.

C. Request To Require AMS to Decontaminate the Sewer Connecting Its

London Road Facility With the Public Sewer at London Road and Continue

Downstream to the Extent AMS/NRC Sampling Indicates Is Necessary

By letter dated April 29, 1996, the District supplemented its

original Petition with a request that AMS be required to ``safely and

reasonably'' decontaminate the London Road interceptor. In addition,

the District requested that NRC take action to have AMS complete the

decontamination of the interceptor if NRC believed that it had already

ordered AMS to take action to decontaminate the interceptor. The

indicated sewer connection that was identified as having excessive

exposure rates is on AMS property. NRC did issue a Notice of Violation

(NOV) for AMS' violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.105, in that the exposure

rates in the accessible sewer line on the AMS facility were excessive

for an unrestricted area. NOV issued to AMS, License No. 34-19089-01,

dated May 5, 1988, resulting from a special safety inspection conducted

on April 13, 1988 (NRC Inspection Report No. 16055/88001 (DRSS)).

However, the manhole controlling access to the sewer connection was

designated a restricted area; the sewer cover on the AMS property was

secured with a lock and bar; and the sewer connection area was

partially decontaminated, reducing the contamination and exposure rate

levels. Letter from T. J. Hebert, Chairman, Radioisotope Committee,

AMS, to R. E. Burgin, Senior Radiation Specialist, NRC Region III,

dated May 23, 1988. These facts were confirmed by Oak Ridge Associated

Universities, contracted by NRC to perform a radiological survey to

determine the then current conditions at the AMS facility. See Oak

Ridge Associated Universities Report Radiation Survey of the Advanced

Medical Systems, Inc., London Road Facility, Cleveland, Ohio, Final

Report at 20 (April 1989). The exposure rates are no longer considered

excessive as a result of the decontamination performed by AMS and the

designation of the manhole as a restricted area. Moreover, in 1995, AMS

permanently sealed the lateral from the old manhole to the sewer line.

AMS also removed most of the original foundation underdrain system and

replaced it with a new, clean system. AMS is currently required to test

the groundwater pumped from the new

[[Page 33686]]

foundation underdrain system, to ensure compliance with 10 CFR

Sec. 20.2003.

The NRC has taken action by issuing Amendment No. 32 to AMS'

license, dated March 17, 1995, in which the NRC, through Condition

19.F., required AMS to remediate the London Road interceptor in the

vicinity of the abandoned lateral, as described in an AMS letter

proposing action to remediate contaminated piping. See ``Action Plan

for the London Road Facility,'' at 2 (Jan. 27, 1996). License Condition

19 required that remediation of the interceptor be completed within 90

days (i.e., by June 15, 1995). In Amendment No. 35 to AMS' license,

dated June 16, 1995, NRC required AMS to initiate remediation

activities no later than July 8, 1995, and to notify NRC no later than

July 14, 1995, to confirm initiation of the remediation of the

interceptor. Amendment No. 35, however, deleted the June 15, 1995, date

for completion of remediation of the interceptor imposed by Amendment

No. 32.

By a letter dated July 12, 1995, AMS informed NRC that it would not

start the remediation of the interceptor until July 29, 1995, and did

not provide an estimated completion date for the remediation, as AMS

further informed NRC that it needed the District's approval to access

the interceptor. Letter from R. Meschter, Radiation Safety Officer

(RSO), AMS, to J. Caldwell, NRC, dated July 12, 1995. By a letter dated

July 19, 1995, AMS informed NRC that, for the same reasons given in the

July 12, 1995, letter, it would not initiate remediation until August

11, 1995. Letter from R. Meschter, RSO, AMS, to J. Caldwell, NRC, dated

July 19, 1995. At that time, AMS and the District still had not agreed

on arrangements for entry and evaluation of the interceptor.

In a letter dated January 2, 1997, from L. K. English, Esq.,

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, to J. Madera, NRC, the District

forwarded a copy of a settlement agreement between the District and AMS

regarding their court litigation. The settlement indicates that AMS

agreed, inter alia, to pay the District a fixed sum, and the District

agreed to allow re-connection of the AMS facility to the London Road

interceptor after AMS' taking certain actions pertaining to conditions

of the facility, and to design and construction of the connection. The

part of the agreement concerning re-connection provides an alternative

to use the present manhole located in London Road, provided that the

plans include decontamination of the interceptor, at AMS' cost, before

such use. The agreement specifies conditions and procedures under which

AMS may plan to use the present manhole in the interceptor. In a

meeting with NRC and AMS on February 10, 1997, AMS indicated that it

was its intention to reconnect. Official Transcript of Proceedings:

``Public Meeting with Advanced Medical Systems, Inc.,'' pp. 50-51 (Feb.

10, 1997). AMS stated it will probably take from nine months to a year

and a half for re-connection to actually happen. Id. at 51. In summary,

insofar as Amendments No. 32 and 35 require AMS to remediate the sewer

connecting its London Road facility with the public sewer, this request

of the District has been partially granted. Although access to the

interceptor is now controlled, License Condition 19.F. requires AMS to

remediate the interceptor. The staff intends to pursue this matter in

the near future. It is the staff's intent that the access concerns be

resolved promptly, so that remediation may begin and be completed as

soon as practical.

D. Other Issues Raised in Supplements to Petition

By letters dated September 13, 1994, and October 13, 1994, the

District supplemented its original Petition with a request that NRC

commence an appropriate enforcement action against AMS for the

maintenance of grossly inaccurate records of disposal of radioactive

material from 1978 to 1993, in violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.401(b)(3)

(in effect through December 31, 1993). The District also asserted that

AMS had disposed of cobalt-60 that was not ``readily soluble or

dispersible in water,'' in violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.303 (in effect

through December 31, 1993), and had more recently discharged cobalt-60

which was not ``readily soluble or dispersible biological material,''

in violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003 (in effect on January 1, 1994, and

thereafter).

The staff has conducted numerous recent inspections at the London

Road facility to address the District's concerns over cobalt-60

discharges into the sanitary sewerage system. On March 15, 1995, NRC

issued a Notice of Violation to AMS for failures to: (1) Evaluate the

quantity of cobalt-60 released to the sewer system resulting from

facility floods and certain decontamination activities; and (2) remove

non-suspendible solids by the use of a cloth filter, as required by

AMS' license conditions. The background relating to unmonitored

releases resulting from facility floods and certain decontamination

activities is set forth below.

The information as to when the unmonitored releases occurred came

from current and former Picker and AMS employees and identified several

occasions in the late 1960s and the mid-to late-1980s when the basement

was flooded, resulting in backflow into the sewer system. The available

information indicated that not all these occurrences were evaluated to

identify the amount of radioactivity that may have been released.

Inspection Report No. 030-16055/93003, at 16-19. Based on the extensive

information provided by the interviewees, the staff concluded that it

was unlikely that the cumulative total quantity of cobalt-60 released

during these unmonitored releases exceeded a few hundred millicuries.

Id.

As to the filtering of the waste water pumped from holding tanks in

the Waste Hold-Up Tank room, the information gathered from the

interviewees strongly indicated that the filter was not always in place

from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, thus raising the potential

for cobalt-60 pellets to have been discharged through this route into

the sewer system. Id. at 14.

The NRC has already taken enforcement action for the failures to:

(1) Evaluate and report certain releases into the sewer system as a

result of facility floods or decontamination activities that likely

included cobalt-60; and (2) ensure that waste water in the hold-up

tanks was passed through filters that should have captured any cobalt-

60 pellets before the release of the water to the sewer system. The

staff does not believe that further enforcement action for the matters

identified in the September 1994 supplement is warranted.

Regarding the October 1994 supplement's request for enforcement

action for violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003, the staff has not found

evidence, based on NRC interviews and review of records, that AMS

intentionally disposed of cobalt-60 into the facility's drains leading

to the District's sanitary sewerage system since May 1989. The AMS

records contain no discharge log entries after this date. Furthermore,

AMS has not generated liquid radioactive waste from manufacturing

operations in several years, and has no plans to do so in the future,

because of termination of source manufacturing operations. See

Inspection Report No. 030-16055/93002. However, both the District and

the staff performed sampling (post January 1, 1994, the effective date

of revision of 10 CFR Part 20) that identified cobalt-60 at the point

of discharge of the sanitary sewerage piping from the London Road

facility into the District's sewer line. See the

[[Page 33687]]

District's supplement to its Petition, dated October 13, 1994, and

Inspection Report

No. 030-16055/94003, issued on December 6, 1994. The presence of

the cobalt-60 appears to be a result of plate-out of cobalt-60 onto the

walls of the piping leading from the London Road facility. The staff

had characterized the results of its sampling as indicating an apparent

violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003. Id.

The sampling performed by the District and subsequent sampling

performed by the staff in early 1995 indicated that some or all the

cobalt-60 detected might be ``soluble,'' as that term is defined in NRC

Information Notice No. 94-07, dated January 28, 1994. The uncertainty

as to the solubility of the cobalt-60 prompted the staff to begin

preparations for a solubility analysis of the sample taken on August

17, 1994. In accordance with Region III policy, those samples had been

transferred back to the District, on whose property the samples had

been taken. Because of further analyses the District had performed on

the samples, the samples no longer existed in their original form;

therefore further solubility analyses could not be performed. Further

representative samples of the water at this point in the waste stream

could not be taken because of the District's plugging of the pipe. In

view of the inability of the staff to determine that the cobalt-60 in

the sampled water was, in fact, insoluble, there was an insufficient

basis to cite AMS for a violation of 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003. Furthermore,

there is not now a significant potential for discharge of cobalt-60

from the London Road facility to the District's system because: (1) old

piping connecting the facility to the District's lines has been

plugged; (2) the District has not permitted AMS to connect new clean

piping installed by AMS to the District's lines; and (3) AMS collects

and treats all water used on the site and holds it in tanks before it

is determined not to contain insoluble cobalt-60.

The staff believes that the vast majority of cobalt-60 inventory

and activity discharged into the District's sanitary sewerage system

was dispersible. It can be expected that a small amount of readily

dispersible material would plate-out onto the sewer system pipes over

the long history of cobalt-60 discharges by Picker and AMS. Staff

concludes that the fact that a small amount of cobalt-60 built up over

time in sewer pipes leading from the AMS facility, by itself, does not

support the District's assertion that a discharge in violation of 10

CFR Sec. 20.303 or 10 CFR Sec. 20.2003 occurred.

IV. Conclusion

For the reasons discussed above, no basis exists for taking any

action, in addition to the action described above, in response to the

requests in the Petition and its supplements. Accordingly, no further

action pursuant to 10 CFR Sec. 2.206 is being taken in this matter.

As provided by 10 CFR Sec. 2.206(c), a copy of this Decision will

be filed with the Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's

review. The Decision will become the final action of the Commission

twenty-five (25) days after issuance unless the Commission on its own

motion institutes review of the Decision within that time.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of June, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Carl J. Paperiello,

Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

[FR Doc. 97-16174 Filed 6-19-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P