Environmental Impact Statement for Siting, Construction, and Operation of the National Spallation Neutron Source

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Impact Statement for Siting, Construction, and

Operation of the National Spallation Neutron Source

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to

prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS), pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act

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(NEPA), on the siting, construction, and operation of the proposed

National Spallation Neutron Source (NSNS). The proposed NSNS facility

would consist of a proton accelerator system; a spallation target; and

appropriate experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and support

facilities to allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron research.

The proposed site for the NSNS is the DOE-owned Oak Ridge National

Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The alternative sites under

consideration are three other DOE-owned laboratories: Argonne National

Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los

Alamos, New Mexico; and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New

York. DOE invites the public, organizations, and agencies to present

oral or written comments concerning: (1) The scope of the EIS, (2) the

issues the EIS should address, and (3) the alternatives the EIS should

analyze.

DATES: The public scoping period begins with publication of this NOI

and continues until September 12, 1997. Written comments submitted by

mail should be postmarked by that date to ensure consideration.

Comments mailed after that date will be considered to the extent

practicable.

DOE will conduct public scoping meetings to assist in defining the

appropriate scope of the EIS and to identify significant environmental

issues to be addressed. These meetings will be held at the following

times and locations:

August 11, 1997, American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 South

Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830; Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m. and

6:30-9:30 p.m.

August 14, 1997, Argonne National Laboratory, Building 401--Advanced

Photon Source, Room A1100, 9700 Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439;

Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m.

August 19, 1997, Los Alamos Area Office, Main Conference Room (Room

100), 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544; Times: 1:30-4:30

p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m.

September 4, 1997, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Berkner Hall (Bldg.

488), Brookhaven Avenue, Upton, New York 11973; Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m.

and 6:30-9:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Please direct comments or suggestions on the scope of the

EIS, requests to speak at the public scoping meetings, requests for

meeting special needs to enable participation at scoping meetings

(e.g., interpreter for the hearing-impaired) and questions concerning

the project to: David Wilfert, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge

Operations Office, 200 Administration Road, 146/FEDC, Oak Ridge,

Tennessee 37831, telephone: (800) 927-9964, facsimile: (423) 576-4542,

or e-mail [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information associated

with the research aspects of the NSNS, please contact: Iran Thomas,

Deputy Associate Director, Office of Basic Energy Research, Office of

Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy, ER-10, Germantown, MD

20874, telephone: (301) 903-3427.

For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact:

Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-

42, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585-0119, telephone: (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-

2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Over the past 40 years, the use of neutrons for research purposes,

a use pioneered in the United States, has played a valuable role in

advancements in the fields of fundamental physical and biological

sciences, material technology, and medicine. However, in the last two

decades, the United States has fallen behind the European scientific

community in the availability of state-of-the-art neutron sources and

instrumentation because of the age of its existing facilities. Existing

United States reactor-based neutron sources were built in the 1960s,

and existing accelerator-based sources were built in the early 1980s.

These facilities have had minimal upgrading and modernization, and are

not well suited for the specific areas of research to which scientific

investigation has evolved. In 1994, a proposal to build a new reactor-

based neutron source, the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS), was not

supported by Congress because of high costs (approximately $3 billion)

and potential nuclear proliferation issues. Now, DOE is proposing to

construct and operate the NSNS Project to provide the United States

with a modern accelerator-based neutron source and neutron science

research facility at a cost of approximately $1 billion to meet current

and future research needs.

The proposed NSNS would produce short pulses of neutrons for use in

materials research. This would be accomplished through the

``spallation'' process wherein (1) subatomic particles, called protons,

are accelerated to very high energies; (2) the high energy protons are

``bunched'' into a compact group; (3) the bunched, high energy protons

are directed onto a target made of a high atomic number material, in

this case mercury; and (4) the collision of the protons with the target

produces a pulse of neutrons from the target material. Once the

spallation process is completed and the neutron pulse is produced, the

neutrons would be slowed to useful energy levels, and would be guided

onto samples of the materials being studied. The interactions of the

neutrons and the specimens would be measured and analyzed, thus

revealing information on the structure, properties, and behavior of the

test material.

Purpose and Need for the NSNS

The purpose of the proposed NSNS Project is to provide the United

States with its only modern, high performance pulsed neutron research

facility. Since the 1970s, numerous assessments have firmly established

the need for new neutron sources and instrumentation in the United

States. The proposed facility would allow for advanced research in the

United States in the physical and biological sciences, for industrial

application, and medical research. Current facilities are inadequate to

meet the existing demand for neutron research and, even if upgraded,

would not be able to satisfy the growing future demand.

The need for new neutron sources has been recognized by national

panels investigating the status of neutron sources and science in the

United States since a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study in 1984.

After reviewing all major domestic facilities for materials research, a

NAS panel recommended:

1. Construction of a steady-state, high-flux neutron source; and

2. Development of a plan leading to the construction of a major

pulsed spallation neutron source.

These recommendations were reaffirmed in 1993 by DOE's Basic Energy

Science Advisory Committee (BESAC) Panel on ``Neutron Sources for

America's Future.'' Although a reactor-based Advanced Neutron Source

(ANS) Project was proposed in each of fiscal years 1994 and 1995, the

proposal was not continued in the fiscal year 1996 budget process,

primarily due to the high cost (approximately $3 billion) of the total

project. As a result, emphasis shifted to the lower cost proposed

accelerator-based NSNS facility. According to the most recent BESAC

recommendations (1996), there is an urgent need to build a short pulsed

spallation source in the 1 MW power

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range, dedicated to neutron scattering, with sufficient design

flexibility to permit future modification for operation at higher

power. The EIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts

associated with the construction and operation of the facility in its

fully upgraded condition (4-5 MW).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

The proposed NSNS facility would consist of a proton accelerator

system, a spallation source to produce neutron pulses, and appropriate

experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and support facilities to

allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron research. The NSNS

Project would provide key capabilities to support multiple elements of

DOE strategic planning, such as:

Constructing leading-edge facilities for use by

industries, universities, and government laboratories;

Providing new insights into the nature of matter and

energy;

Maintaining core competencies and partnering with the

private sector and other agencies; and

Accelerating the use of emerging technologies.

DOE proposes to construct and operate the NSNS at Oak Ridge

National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Locating the NSNS

at ORNL would offer access to existing facilities which could support

the proposed NSNS facility and would take advantage of experienced

staff at those facilities, including researchers with expertise in the

appropriate scientific disciplines. Supporting facilities, including

utilities, waste management and storage facilities, also exist at ORNL.

DOE will evaluate reasonable alternative locations, the no-action

alternative, and technology alternatives. In addition to ORNL, the

proposed site of the NSNS, the EIS will also analyze the potential

environmental impacts associated with constructing and operation of the

NSNS at three other reasonable sites: Argonne National Laboratory

(ANL), Argonne, Illinois; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los

Alamos, New Mexico; and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton,

New York. DOE identified these sites as reasonable through the

application of four screening criteria to a total of thirty-nine

candidate sites. The four criteria were: (1) The availability of 110

acres of land; (2) the existence of a one mile buffer zone separating

the proposed NSNS from populated areas; (3) the ready availability of

50 to 60 MW of electric power; and (4) existence of the infrastructure

and trained personnel associated with an ongoing neutron science

program. Technology alternatives include reactor-based neutron sources

and variations in the accelerator-based system. The no action

alternative would be not to build or operate the NSNS.

Conceptual Design

Neutrons are one of two major particles (protons being the other)

comprising the nucleus of atoms, and because they have no electric

charge, they can penetrate deeply into the molecules of test materials

to give scientists new insights into the structure and properties of

the material. The NSNS facility would extract neutrons from the nuclei

of ``target'' material so they can be subsequently used for research on

various specimens.

A process known as ``spallation'' is applied to extract neutrons

from target nuclei. In the spallation process, target nuclei containing

large numbers of neutrons (typically heavy metals such as lead,

mercury, tungsten, etc.) are struck with high energy (fast moving)

particles to eject some of the contained neutrons. A large part of the

NSNS facility is the accelerator system needed to produce and deliver

the high energy particles (in this case protons) onto the target

material. The accelerator system is comprised of:

1. An ion source to electrically charge hydrogen atoms (a hydrogen

atom is comprised of a single proton in the nucleus and one orbiting

electron) so they can be accelerated using magnetic fields and

electromagnetic energy. This part of the facility is relatively small,

i.e., only a few meters in length.

2. A Linear Accelerator (linac), which is a series of energy-

inducing devices used to accelerate (increase energy level) the protons

(hydrogen ions) and form a beam of high energy particles. The linac

structure is approximately 550 meters (about \1/3\ mile) long.

3. A storage ring to accumulate large numbers of the high energy

protons, and then release that grouping of protons in a single pulse

onto the target. The storage ring is a rectangular-shaped structure

approximately 80 meters across.

The accelerator system is operated so that proton pulses from the

storage ring are repeatedly directed onto the target at a repetition

rate of 6 Hz (60 times per second). The initial design of the NSNS

would involve approximately 1 MW of power (equivalent to approximately

1,340 horsepower) being deposited onto the target from this series of

proton pulses. As time and technology permits, the NSNS may undergo a

series of upgrades in future years to raise the beam power on the

target.

The target of the proton pulse power would be liquid mercury

circulated in a stainless steel vessel. Mercury, as a target material,

provides good conversion of protons to released neutrons and, as a

liquid, it can be continuously circulated in a closed system to absorb

the impact of the proton pulses, release pulses of neutrons, and

transport impact energy (heat) to remote cooling systems. Approximately

1 cubic meter of mercury would be used in the NSNS, a volume that would

be expected to last for the facility's design life of 40 years.

Because the neutrons released by the spallation process are moving

very fast, they must be moderated (slowed) to levels suitable for

research needs. Neutron moderation is achieved by successive collisions

of the fast neutrons with cooler nuclei. In the NSNS, two thermal

moderators and two cryogenic moderators would be positioned around the

mercury target to slow the neutrons in each pulse. First, the thermal

moderators would use water to slow the neutrons to speeds associated

with room temperatures (approximately 2200 meters per second).

Concurrently, cryogenic moderators would use liquid hydrogen to slow

the neutrons to speeds associated with very low temperatures

(approximately 500 meters per second). Beam guides, 18 in all, would

direct the slowed neutrons to experiment stations where the scientific

research is conducted. The building housing the target, moderators,

beam guides, and research instruments would be approximately 50 by 75

meters in size.

The NSNS facility would be appropriately integrated into the site

infrastructure of the host laboratory, including roadways, utilities,

and monitoring systems. The laboratory would provide security and fire

protection. The entire facility would require approximately 110 acres

of cleared land, and ready access to and availability of 50-60 MW of

electric power. It would have a design lifetime of 40 years, but the

design would not preclude lifetime extensions beyond 40 years. Systems

and structures would be designed to facilitate eventual decontamination

and removal.

Design of the NSNS is projected to span four years (FY 1999-2002),

and construction nearly five years (FY 2000-2004). Facility

commissioning would occur in FY 2003-2004, with FY 2005 being the first

full year of operation. Project staffing is estimated to rise from

approximately 30 to approximately 90 during conceptual design (FY 1996-

1998); rise from approximately 100 to a peak of approximately 1200 and

decline to approximately 225 during design/

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construction (FY 1999-2004); and hold at approximately 225 for

operation (FY 2004 and beyond). The estimated total project cost from

conceptual design through commissioning is approximately $1 billion.

Preliminary Environmental Analysis

DOE plans to analyze potential impacts of the NSNS project on the

following parameters. This list is neither intended to be all-

inclusive, nor is it a predetermination of potential impacts. Additions

to or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the scoping

process.

Earth Resources: physiography, topography, geology, and

soil characteristics.

Land Use: plans, policies and controls.

Water Resources: surface and groundwater hydrology, use,

and quality.

Air Quality: Meteorological basis, ambient background,

pollutant sources, and potential degradation.

Radiation Background: Cosmic, rock, soil, water, and air.

Hazardous Materials: Handling, storage, and use; waste

management both near- and long-term.

Noise: Ambient, sources, and sensitive receptors.

Ecological Resources: Aquatic, terrestrial, economically/

recreationally important species, threatened and endangered species.

Socioeconomics: Demography, economic base, labor pool,

housing, transportation, utilities, public services/facilities,

education, recreation, and cultural resources.

Historical and Archaeological Resources: Paleontological

and archaeological sites, Native American resources, historic and

prehistoric sites.

Scenic and Visual Resources.

Wetlands: Protection and remediation.

Health and Safety: Public and occupational impacts from

routine operation and credible accident scenarios.

Natural Disasters: Floods, tornadoes, and seismic events.

Unavoidable Adverse Impacts.

Natural and Depletable Resources: Requirements and

conservation potential.

Environmental Justice: Disproportionately high and adverse

impacts to minority and low income populations.

The preliminary identification of reasonable alternatives and

environmental issues presented in this NOI is not meant to be

exhaustive or final. Alternatives other than those presented in this

document may warrant examination, and new issues may be identified for

evaluation.

Relevant issues related to decommissioning of the NSNS will be

addressed to the extent possible. Additional NEPA review may be

necessary in the future when decommissioning plans are proposed.

Scoping Meetings

The purpose of this NOI is to encourage early public involvement in

the EIS process and to solicit public comments on the proposed scope

and content of the EIS. DOE plans to hold formal public scoping

meetings in the vicinity of the proposed and alternative sites to

solicit both oral and written comments from interested parties.

DOE will designate a presiding officer for the scoping meetings.

The scoping meetings will not be conducted as evidentiary hearings, and

there will be no questioning of the commentors. However, the presiding

officer may ask for clarification of statements to ensure that DOE

fully understands the comments and suggestions. The presiding officer

will establish the order of speakers. At the opening of each meeting,

the presiding officer will announce any additional procedures necessary

for the conduct of the meetings. To ensure that all persons wishing to

make a presentation are given the opportunity, a five-minute limit may

be enforced for each speaker, with the exception of public officials

and representatives of groups who will be allotted ten minutes each.

Comment cards will also be available for those who would prefer to

submit their comments in written form.

DOE will make transcripts of the scoping meetings and other

environmental and project-related materials available for public review

in the following reading rooms:

1. U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Public Reading

Room, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585, Telephone: (202) 586-3142

2. U.S. Department of Energy Reading Room, Oak Ridge Operations Office,

200 Administration Road, Room G-217, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831,

Telephone: (423) 241-4780

3. Argonne National Laboratory, 3/3 Documents Department, University

Library, Third Floor Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, 801

South Morgan Street, Chicago, Illinois 60439, Telephone: (312) 996-2738

4. BNL Research Library, Bldg. 477A Brookhaven Ave., Upton, NY 11973,

Telephone: (516) 344-3483

5. Longwood Public Library, 800 Middle Country Rd., Middle Island, NY

11953, Telephone: (516) 924-6400

6. Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 301 William Floyd

Parkway, Shirley, NY 11967, Telephone: (516) 399-1511

7. Los Alamos National Laboratory Public Outreach and Reading Room, Los

Alamos, New Mexico 87544, Telephone: (505) 665-2127

NEPA Process

The EIS for the proposed facility will be prepared according to the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Council on Environmental

Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of

NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA Regulations (10 CFR part

1021).

The draft EIS is scheduled to be published by March 1998. A 45-day

comment period on the draft EIS is planned, and public hearings to

receive comments will be held approximately one month after

distribution of the draft EIS. Availability of the draft EIS, the dates

of the public comment period, and information about the public hearings

will be announced in the Federal Register and in the local news media

when the draft EIS is distributed.

The final EIS, which will incorporate public comments received on

the draft EIS, is expected in July 1998. No sooner than 30 days after a

notice of availability of the final EIS is published in the Federal

Register, DOE will issue its Record of Decision and publish it in the

Federal Register.

Signed in Washington, DC this 21st day of July, 1997.

Peter N. Brush,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 97-19616 Filed 7-24-97; 8:45 am]

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