[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12283-12285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5587]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-2377
Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Approval of Adjacent
Land Remediation Plan for Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation,
Tulsa, Oklahoma, License No. STB-472 (Terminated)
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
approval of the Adjacent Land Remediation Plan (ALRP) for Kaiser
Aluminum & Chemical Corporation (Kaiser), Tulsa, Oklahoma (Kaiser,
1998), submitted to NRC on August 17, 1998. Kaiser is obligated to
remediate the offsite property adjacent to their Tulsa, Oklahoma site
to meet the release criteria established in the Action Plan to Ensure
Timely Remediation of Sites Listed in the Site Decommissioning
Management Plan (hereafter known as the SDMP Action Plan) NRC, 1992).
Environmental Assessment
Introduction
On March 7, 1958, NRC issued Source Material License No. C-4012 to
Standard Magnesium Corporation (Standard Magnesium), for possession of
magnesium-thorium alloy. Standard Magnesium purchased magnesium-thorium
scrap metal for reclaiming purposes. The end product from Standard
Magnesium's manufacturing process was magnesium anodes used for
cathodic protection on items such as tanks and pipelines. NRC License
No. STB-472 superceded License No. C-4012 on November 22, 1961. In
1964, Standard Magnesium became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaiser
within the Division of Kaiser Chemical Company. On June 5, 1968,
License No. STB-472 was amended to include the possession of uranium,
so that Standard Magnesium could process magnesium slag containing
uranium. It does not appear that uranium was ever received or processed
on site. On March 16, 1971, License No. STB-472 was terminated at the
licensee's request.
In 1991, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was contracted, by
NRC, to review and evaluate all nuclear material licenses terminated by
NRC or its predecessor agencies since inception of material regulation
in the late 1940s. One of the objectives of this review was to identify
sites with a potential for meaningful residual contamination, based on
information in the license documentation. ORNL identified the Kaiser
site as having the potential for residual contamination. On November
17, 1993, an NRC inspector surveyed the Kaiser facility to assess the
potential for residual contamination at the site. The inspector found
contamination on the surface, indicating that waste magnesium-thorium
slag was improperly disposed of in the past. Off-site residual thorium
contamination was first identified during a subsequent NRC inspection
conducted on June 29, 1994. The off-site thorium contamination is due
to slag dumping in areas to the east and south of the current Kaiser
property boundary, on property which belonged to Standard Magnesium/
Kaiser during licensed operations. NRC notified Kaiser on August 19,
1994, that the site had been added to the Site Decommissioning
Management Plan (SDMP). Kaiser has agreed to perform remediation
activities in accordance with current regulations and release limits,
even though it is not currently a licensee since its license was
terminated in 1971.
Proposed Action
Kaiser is proposing to remediate the off-site areas to the east and
south of Kaiser's property which contain residual thorium contamination
above the unrestricted release limits specified in the SDMP Action Plan
(370 Becquerel per kilogram (Bq/Kg) (10 picocurie per gram (pCi/g))
total thorium). Kaiser proposes to:
(1) Excavate soil with thorium levels above the maximum average
concentration, and transport it directly to the Kaiser storage site, or
load the contamination soil onto trucks for transport to the storage
site.
(2) Control the excavation process to assure contamination is not
spread during excavation or transport;
(3) Stockpile contaminated soil on Kaiser Property within a fenced
location. It is estimated the 4673 cubic meters (m\3\ (165,000 cubic
feet (ft\3\)) of contaminated soil will be transported and stored on
Kaiser property pending final disposal
(4) Control stockpiled soil to minimize erosion, airborne dust, and
precipitation runoff;
(5) Conduct a final survey of excavated areas and transport routes
in accordance with NUREG/CR-5849, ``Manual for Conducting Radiological
Surveys in Support of License Termination;'' and
[[Page 12284]]
(6) Backfill excavated areas with unaffected material after
receiving NRM acceptance of the final survey report (Kaiser, 1998).
The Need for Proposed Action
The Kaiser property and adjacent land areas to the east and south
contain thorium contaminated soil upon which magnesium was extracted
from magnesium thorium alloys. The thorium-bearing slag was disposed of
on-site. Some of the slag was dumped onto, what is now, land adjacent
to the Kaiser property. Kaiser is proposing to remediate its property
and the adjacent land areas as separate actions, with the adjacent land
areas being remediated first.
Site characterization studies (Kaiser, 1999) indicate that thorium
contamination in the adjacent land areas extends from the Kaiser fence
up to 36.6 m (120 ft) from the fence. Observed thorium concentrations
on the adjacent property range from background to 13,478 Bq/kg (363.9
pCi/g) of soil. Exposure rate measurements range from background 2.6
nanoCoulomb per kilogram per hour (nC/kg hr) (10 microRoentgen per hour
(uR/hr)) (background) to 31 nC/kg hr (120 uR/hr). Calculations by
Kaiser indicate that soil with thorium concentrations above 111.11 Bq/
kg (3.0 pCi/g 232Th) of soil will require remediation to meet NRC's
unrestricted release limits. Kaiser estimates the volume of
contaminated soil in the adjacent land areas to be 4673 m3
(165,000 ft3). Kaiser proposes to excavate, transport, and
store the contaminated soil on Kaiser property pending final
disposition (Kaiser, 1998).
The proposed action is necessary for Kaiser to regain control of
the off-site thorium contaminated soil and to minimize exposures to the
public who may be inadvertently exposed to it.
Alternative to Proposed Action
The remediation approach proposed by Kaiser allows them to take
control of all contaminated material created by Standard Magnesium/
Kaiser and make adjacent land areas acceptable for unrestricted use.
Further, the proposed approach allows Kaiser to dispose of all
contaminated material at once. There are two alternatives to the
proposed action of excavating and storing contaminated soil on Kaiser
property: (1) No action; and (2) to excavate and transport the
contaminated material directly to a licensed disposal facility. The no-
action alternative is not acceptable because soil containing thorium at
levels exceeding NRC's limit for unrestricted use is accessible to the
public. The second alternative is not considered to be advantageous,
because it does not give Kaiser the option of disposing of all material
collectively. This alternative does not preclude Kaiser from sending
contaminated soil from adjacent land areas to a low-level radioactive
waste disposal facility in the future, if necessary.
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action
Remediation of the adjacent land areas could result in both
radiological and non-radiological environmental impacts. Radiological
environmental impacts that could result from the remediation of the
adjacent land areas include exposure, inhalation, and ingestion hazards
to workers and the public. These hazards could occur during excavation,
transport, or storage of the contaminated soil.
Potential radiological impacts during excavation include: (1)
Exposure; (2) inhalation and ingestion to workers; and (3) inhalation
and ingestion to the public. Kaiser has committed to perform work
activities in accordance with the Radiation Control Plan (RCP)
submitted to the NRC as Appendix C of the ALRP. Worker doses due to
direct exposure to the contaminated soil are expected to be small. Site
characterization revealed that 74 percent of the samples contained less
than 370 Bq/kg (10 pCi/g), and 83 percent contained less than 740 Bq/kg
(20 pCi/g) (Kaiser, 1999). Since worker exposure time will be short,
and thorium concentrations are relatively low, Kaiser estimates that
doses due to direct contact with soil will be less than 1 millisievert
per year (mSv/yr) (100 millirem per year (mrem/yr)). Inhalation and
ingestion impacts will be minimized to the workers and public by
controlling airborne material levels. Air sampling will be conducted in
work areas, and at work area boundaries to evaluate off-site releases.
Action will be taken if radioactivity levels exceed 10 percent of the
regulatory limit in work areas and 50 percent of the regulatory limit
at the work area boundary. Kaiser's RCP (Kaiser, 1998) includes
controls for keeping external and internal radiation exposures to
workers, and the public, ``as low as reasonably achievable'' (ALARA).
These controls include implementing: (1) The RCP; (2) radiation worker
training; (3) a respiratory protection program; (4) safety work permit
procedures; and (5) radioactive material storage and handling
procedures.
The potential for radiological impacts during transportation is
limited. Spillage during transportation is the only credible scenario
for workers receiving a potential dose. Since any spills could be
immediately recovered, doses due to direct exposure will be minimal.
The potential exists for contaminated material to become airborne
during transportation, unloading, or as a result of accidental spills.
In the ALRP, Kaiser commits to using load covers, or other means, as
necessary to prevent the spread of contamination during hauling.
Potential radiological impacts to workers and the public due to
airborne material will be controlled as described above.
Potential radiological impacts resulting from the storage of the
contaminated soil on Kaiser property include doses to the public from
airborne material and precipitation runoff. In the ALRP, Kaiser commits
to minimize the spread of contamination by storing soil on land that is
already contaminated. Erosion and dust will be controlled by planting
vegetation, covering with sheeting, or covering with clean soil.
Precipitation runoff will be controlled with engineering measures to
ensure that drainage from the stockpile will be into the retention
pond. The RCP also references a radioactive liquid handling procedure.
The potential for groundwater contamination at the site is minimal.
Site characterization sampling at the site indicates that the vertical
migration of the thorium is limited. Sampling revealed that thorium
concentrations dropped quickly in undisturbed soil. Sampling also
indicates that the freshwater pond, to the west of the site, controls
the groundwater flow in the water table aquifer (Kaiser, 1995). Water
samples taken from the freshwater pond that thorium concentrations
consistent with background levels.
NRC staff conducted an environmental justice review for the Kaiser
site. We have determined that there are no environmental justice issues
with the Kaiser site because there are no disproportionately high
minority or low-income populations near the site.
Agencies and Individuals Consulted
This Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared entirely by NRC
staff. No other sources were used beyond those referenced in this EA.
NRC staff provided a draft of the EA to Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality (ODEQ) for review. By facsimile dated July 30,
1999, ODEQ agreed with NRC's conclusion that the proposed action will
not have any significant affect on the quality of the human
environment.
NRC contacted the Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that the
proposed action will not have an adverse impact on threatened and
endangered species.
[[Page 12285]]
Mr. Ken Frazier informed the NRC by phone on August 2, 1999, that the
proposed action will have no impact on threatened and endangered
species.
NRC also contacted the Oklahoma Historical Society to determine if
the proposed action would have any adverse impacts on sacred or
historical properties near the Kaiser site. The Oklahoma Historical
Society informed Kaiser, by letter dated August 31, 1999, that there
are no historic properties affected by the project.
The Oklahoma Archeological Survey informed NRC, by letter dated
August 6, 1999, that no archeological sites are listed as occurring
within the project area and no archeological materials are likely to be
encountered.
The Creek Nation of Oklahoma informed Kaiser, by letter dated
August 5, 1999, that there are no religious or sacred sites within the
project area that will be affected by the undertaking of this project.
Conclusions
Radiological exposures to workers and the public will be in
accordance with 10 CFR Part 20 limits. Kaiser has committed to perform
remediation activities in accordance with an acceptable RCP. NRC staff
believes the RCP provides adequate controls to keep potential doses to
workers and the public from direct exposure, airborne material, and
released effluents, ALARA.
NRC staff also believes that the remediation alternative proposed
by Kaiser minimizes the potential dose to members of the public, and
other environmental impacts. Potential doses to members of the public
will be minimized by removing contaminated soil from public areas and
storing on property fenced and controlled by Kaiser. The proposed
remediation alternative also minimizes the other potential
environmental impacts. The volume of contaminated soil to be excavated
and stored on Kaiser property is a small fraction of the total volume
of contaminated soil present on Kaiser property requiring remediation.
Therefore, the potential environmental impact from the proposed action
is insignificant.
References
1. Kaiser Aluminum Specialty Products, ``Field Characterization
Report,'' April 18, 1995.
2. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, ``Adjacent Land
Remediation Plan for Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, Tulsa,
Oklahoma,'' Revision 0, August 1998.
3. Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, ``Adjacent Land
Characterization,'' March 1999.
4. NRC , ``Action Plan to Ensure Timely Remediation of Sites Listed
in the Site Decommissioning Management Plan,'' 57 FR 13389, April 16,
1992.
Finding of No Significant Impact
NRC has prepared an EA related to the approval of Kaiser's ALRP,
Terminated License No. STB-472. On the basis of this EA, NRC has
concluded that the environmental impacts that would be created by the
proposed action would not be significant and do not warrant the
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. Accordingly, it has
been determined that Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.
The EA and the documents related to this proposed action are
available for public inspection and copying at the NRC's Public
Document Room at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC
20555-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John T. Buckley, Project Manager,
Decommissioning Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards. Telephone: (301) 415-6607.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of February 2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-5587 Filed 3-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M