[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 143 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40139-40140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19972]
[[Page 40139]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 070-3073]
Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Amendment of
Materials License No. SNM-1999, Kerr-McGee Corporation, Cushing
Refinery Site, Cushing, Oklahoma.
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (hereafter referred to as
NRC) is considering issuing a license amendment to Materials License
No. SNM-1999, held by the Kerr-McGee Corporation (Kerr-McGee or the
licensee), to authorize remediation of Acid Sludge Pit 4 located on its
Cushing refinery site (Cushing site located in Cushing, Oklahoma), and
authorize placement of radioactive contaminated material into the
radioactive material storage area (RMSA).
Summary of Environmental Assessment
Background
Kerr-McGee has environmental responsibility for a former refinery
site near the city of Cushing, Oklahoma. The refinery opened around
1912 and was purchased by Kerr-McGee in 1956. During the early 1960s,
in addition to petroleum processing, Kerr-McGee processed uranium fuel
and thorium metal in several buildings onsite under licenses issued by
the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The uranium fuel and thorium
processing area was decommissioned, the property and facilities were
released for unrestricted use, and the license was terminated by the
AEC. Kerr-McGee continued to operate the refinery until 1972, at which
time it was torn down. In May 1990 Kerr-McGee entered into a Consent
Order with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (now referred to as
the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; ODEQ), addressing the
investigation and remediation of the Cushing refinery site. The ODEQ
Consent Order divided the site work into radiological and non-
radiological remediation efforts. The non-radiological remediation is
being performed in a manner similar to the Federal Superfund Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) process. On April 6, 1993, NRC
issued Materials License SNM-1999 to Kerr-McGee Corporation, for the
radiological decommissioning of its Cushing site. This license
authorized the licensee to possess radioactive contaminated soil,
sludge, sediment, trash, building rubble, and any other radioactively
contaminated material, at its Cushing site.
Proposed Action
One of the refinery acid sludge pits being remediated under the
ODEQ Consent Order contains thorium contamination in one corner of the
pit. This affected pit is designated as Acid Sludge Pit 4. The licensee
proposed to remediate Acid Sludge Pit 4 based on the experience gained
from remediating non-radiologically contaminated acid sludge pits. The
licensee would establish a 50-by-50-foot grid system over the surface
of Acid Sludge Pit 4, referenced to the site-wide grid system. A layer
of reagent (agricultural lime) would be placed over each grid block.
The acidic sludge in each block would be neutralized to a pH of
approximately five to six by adding and mixing in the reagent to depth.
The mixing process should produce a relatively homogeneous material.
The licensee plans to surface-scan this material in 18-inch lifts, to
determine if material exceeds NRC's Branch Technical Position (BTP) (46
Federal Register 52061) Disposal Option 1 for thorium concentrations.
Material that exceeds this Option 1 limit would be transported to the
RMSA. Once this material is in the RMSA the licensee plans to package
and transport this material to a licensed offsite disposal facility,
the Envirocare Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site in Clive,
Utah, for disposal. Material that meets the Option 1 limit would be
excavated, stabilized by blending in cement kiln dust or similar
reagent, and transported to the onsite Other Industrial Waste (OIW)
disposal cell. The licensee plans to perform a final survey of the
material, once it is placed in the OIW disposal cell, to confirm that
the material meets NRC's release criteria, Option 1 limit.
There are five acid sludge pits located on the Cushing site. These
acid sludge pits contain acidic hydrocarbon sludge from an earlier
lubricating oil manufacturing operation. The waste is primarily heavy
hydrocarbon containing sulfuric acid (typically 15 to 20 percent). The
northwest corner of Acid Sludge Pit 4 also contains thorium-
contaminated material in concentrations that exceed current remediation
criteria and pose a long-term risk to the environment. The other acid
sludge pits do not contain radiologically contaminated material. Phase
One of the non-radiological effort is remediation of the five acid
sludge pits. The RI/FS process was completed and reviewed by the ODEQ
and local citizens. The ODEQ issued a record of decision for the acidic
sludge pits requiring neutralization, excavation, and placement in an
onsite engineered disposal cell.
License Condition 11.B.1 authorized construction of the RMSA but
prohibited use of the RMSA until the licensee demonstrated that liquid
effluent releases would be in compliance with the requirements of 10
CFR Part 20. The licensee requested License Condition 11.B.1 be amended
to allow radioactive contaminated material to be placed into the RMSA.
The licensee also provided its proposed RMSA liquid effluent monitoring
program.
In addition to the RMSA the licensee plans to construct an Acid
Sludge Pit 4 storm water retention pond (retention pond). The purpose
of the retention pond is to collect surface water runoff caused by
rainstorm events that may occur during the several week period while
the licensee will be performing Acid Sludge Pit 4 remediation
activities in zones 1 and 2 (known contaminated or possibly
contaminated areas, respectively). Therefore, surface water runoff that
may contain radiologically contaminated material from a rainstorm event
would be collected and monitored prior to release from this area. The
licensee plans to use the same liquid effluent monitoring procedures
prior to release of liquid from the retention pond as it plans to use
for monitoring RMSA liquid effluent releases. Finally, both the RMSA
and the retention pond use a common discharge point in Skull Creek.
The Need for Proposed Action
This proposed action is necessary to remove radiologically-
contaminated material from Acid Sludge Pit 4. This action will
facilitate compliance with the Consent Order, and remediation of Acid
Sludge Pit 4 for release for unrestricted use, a necessary action for
termination of Materials License SNM-1999.
Alternative to Proposed Action
An alternative to the proposed action is a no-action alternative.
No action would mean that Acid Sludge Pit 4 would not be remediated
now. This would prevent the licensee from complying with the ODEQ
Consent Order. Also, this conflicts with NRC's requirement, in 10 CFR
40.42, of timely remediation at sites that have ceased operation.
Although there is no immediate threat to the public health and safety
from this site, not undertaking remediation at this time does not solve
the regulatory and potential long-term health and safety problems
associated with storing this
[[Page 40140]]
waste. No action now would delay remediation until some time in the
future, when costs could be much higher than they are today. It is even
possible that no disposal option will be available in the future if the
current low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities are closed and
no new ones are opened. Therefore, the no-action alternative is not
acceptable.
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action
The 10 CFR Part 20 liquid effluent release limits are based on a
total effective dose equivalent of 50 mrem if the radionuclide were
ingested continuously over the course of a year. The licensee has
committed to maintain annual cumulative averaging less than 20 percent
of the effluent limits stipulated in Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 20. The
Cushing license SNM-1999 will be conditioned to reflect this
commitment. The licensee's analysis indicates that the actual releases
will likely be less than one percent of the effluent limits. If the
licensee did release liquid effluents at one percent of the 10 CFR Part
20 release limits and if a member of the public were able to directly
consume this contaminated liquid effluent, that member of the public
would receive a total effective dose of less than 0.5 mrem/year.
Further, if the licensee released liquid effluents at 20 percent of the
10 CFR Part 20 release limits and if a member of the public were able
to directly consume this contaminated liquid effluent, that member of
the public would receive a total effective dose of less than 10 mrem/
year. Therefore, effluent releases from the RMSA will be limited to an
annual average of not more than 20 percent of the 10 CFR Part 20 limit
and, in accordance with ALARA, any discharge above 20 percent of the
limit will be investigated and corrective measures will be taken and
documented. This condition will ensure that the maximum potential dose
to a member of the public is less than 10 mrem/year. Therefore, the
impact on the human environment due to the release of potentially
radioactive contaminated liquid effluent from either the RMSA or the
retention pond is insignificant.
Further, the low-level waste disposal facility, Envirocare,
eligible to receive this waste, is regulated under State of Utah rules
for land disposal of radioactive wastes, which provide for long-term
institutional control and minimize the potential for human intrusion
and other environmental impacts. Therefore, NRC staff believes that
disposing of the Acid Sludge Pit 4 radiologically contaminated wastes
at the Envirocare facility will not cause any significant impacts on
the human environment and is acceptable. The conditions and
restrictions placed on the Envirocare facility, combined with the
facility design provisions and its location, provide an acceptable
level of protection of human health and safety and the environment.
Conclusions
Based on NRC staff's evaluation of the licensee's Acid Sludge Pit 4
remediation plan and placement of radioactive contaminated material
into the RMSA, NRC staff has determined that the proposed plan and use
of the RMSA complies with NRC's public and occupational dose and
effluent limits, and that authorizing the proposed activities by
license amendment would not be a major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment. NRC staff concludes
that a finding of no significant impact is justified and appropriate,
and that an environmental impact statement is not required. In
accordance with the requirements of Subpart L of 10 CFR Part 2, an
Opportunity for a Hearing was offered.1
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\1\ 60 Federal Register 46318 (September 6, 1995).
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Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51, NRC has prepared an environmental
assessment related to the issuance of a license amendment to Materials
License SNM-1999, authorizing remediation of Acid Sludge Pit 4 and
placement of radioactive contaminated material into the RMSA. On the
basis of this environmental assessment, NRC has concluded that this
licensing action would not have any significant effect on the quality
of the human environment and does not warrant the preparation of an
environmental impact statement. Accordingly, it has been determined
that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.
Further Information
For further details with respect to this action, the Environmental
Assessment and other documents related to this proposed action are
available for public inspection and copying at NRC's Public Document
Room at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of July 1998.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence G. Bell,
Acting Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch,
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-19972 Filed 7-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P