[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-28640] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: November 21, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50-315 and 50-316] Indiana Michigan Power Co. (Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2); Exemption I Indiana Michigan Power Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-58 and DPR-74 which authorize operation of the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, at steady-state reactor power levels not in excess of 3250 and 3411 megawatts thermal, respectively. The Donald C. Cook facilities are pressurized water reactors located at the licensee's site in Berrien County, Michigan. These licenses provide, among other things, that they are subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. II Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2001, ``(a) A licensee shall dispose of licensed material only--(1) By transfer to an authorized recipient as provided in Sec. 20.2006 or in the regulations in parts 30, 40, 60, 61, 70, or 72 of this chapter; or (2) By decay in storage; or (3) By release in effluents within the limits in Sec. 20.1301; or (4) As authorized under Secs. 20.2002, 20.2003, 20.2004, or Sec. 20.2005.'' III By letter dated October 9, 1991, as supplemented October 23, 1991, September 3, 1993, and September 29, 1993, the licensee requested approval for disposal of licensed material pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Section 302. (That section has since been renumbered 2002). The licensee is requesting approval to leave approximately 942 cubic meters of slightly contaminated sludge in place underneath the upper parking lot on the D.C. Cook site. In 1982, approximately 942 cubic meters of slightly contaminated sludge were removed from the turbine room sump absorption pond and pumped to the upper parking lot located within the exclusion area of the D.C. Cook plant. The contaminated sludge was spread over an area approximately 4.7 acres. The sludge contained a total radionuclide inventory of 8.89 millicuries (mCi) of Cesium-137, Cesium-136, Cesium-134, Cobalt-60, and Iodine-131. IV Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2301, ``The Commission may, upon application by a licensee or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of the regulations in this part if it determines the exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or property.'' The staff has determined that the requested approval for disposal of licensed material pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Section 2002 necessitates an exemption to 10 CFR 20.2001. The licensee in 1982 evaluated the following potential exposure pathways to members of the general public from the radionuclides in the sludge: (1) External exposure caused by groundshine from the disposal site, (2) internal exposure caused by inhalation of resuspended radionuclide, and (3) internal exposure from ingesting ground water. The staff has reviewed the licensee's calculational methods and assumptions and finds that they are consistent with NUREG-1101, ``Onsite Disposal of Radioactive Waste,'' Volumes 1 and 2, November 1986 and February 1987, respectively. The staff finds the assessment methodology acceptable. The doses calculated by the licensee for the maximally exposed member of the public based on a total activity of 8.89 mCi disposed are listed below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Whole body dose received by Pathway maximally exposed individual (mrem/yr) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Groundshine................................................. 0.94 Inhalation.................................................. .94 Groundwater Ingestion....................................... .73 ----------- Total................................................. 2.61 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For perspective, the radiation from the naturally occurring radionuclides in soils and rocks plus cosmic radiation gives a person in Michigan a whole-body dose rate of about 89 mrem per year outdoors. On July 5, 1991, the licensee re-sampled the onsite disposal area to assure that no significant impacts and adverse effects had occurred. A counting procedure based on the appropriate environmental low-level doses was used by the licensee; however, no activity was detected during the re-sampling. This is consistent with the original activity of the material and the decay time. The reduced level of radioactivity would not be detectable against background through the shielding provided by the parking lot surface. The 1991 re-sampling process used by the licensee confirms that the radiological impact of the 1982 disposal was very small. Based on the staff's review of the licensee's discussion, the staff finds that the potential radiation exposure due to leaving the contaminated sludge in place is significant. Based on the staff review of the exposure potential of the original quantity of material, and the measured level of decay, the continued presence of the material poses no more radiological impact than disposal methods authorized by 10 CFR 20.2001. Therefore, the licensee's proposed action would not pose a radiological hazard to life or property and the exemption to 10 CFR 20.2001 allowing onsite storage of the radioactive material pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002 is acceptable. V The staff has reviewed the licensee's request and concluded that issuance of this exemption will not endanger life or property and will have no significant effect on the safety of the public or the plant. Accordingly, the Commission has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2301, that this exemption as described in Section IV is authorized by law, will not endanger life or property and is otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 20.2001. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the environment (October 31, 1994, 59 FR 54477). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 10th day of November 1994. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jack W. Roe, Director, Division of Reactor Projects--III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 94-28640 Filed 11-18-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M