[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 134 (Thursday, July 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36562-36566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17438]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement on the, Disposition of Scrap Metals and Announcement of
Public Scoping Meetings
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department of Energy's (DOE's)
intention to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(PEIS), under the National Environmental Policy Act, on the policy
alternatives for the disposition of DOE scrap metals that may have
residual surface radioactivity. The primary metals to be considered in
the analysis are carbon steel and stainless steel. Other metals [e.g.,
copper, aluminum, lead, and precious metals (silver, gold, platinum)],
which exist in smaller quantities, will also be addressed in the PEIS.
The disposition alternatives to be analyzed include: continuation of
the suspension on unrestricted release of scrap metals from DOE
radiological areas for recycling; unrestricted release of scrap metals
for recycling under existing DOE requirements; unrestricted release of
scrap metals for recycling under alternative requirements; and no
unrestricted release for recycling of scrap metals with any potential
for residual surface radioactivity.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with publication of this Notice
and concludes September 10, 2001. DOE invites Federal agencies, Native
American tribes, state and local governments, and members of the public
to comment on the scope of this PEIS. DOE will consider all comments
received by the close of the scoping period and will consider comments
received after that date to the extent practicable. DOE will conduct
public scoping meetings to assist in defining the appropriate scope of
the PEIS, including the alternatives and significant environmental
issues to be considered. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION under Public
Scoping Process for meeting locations.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the scope of the PEIS may be mailed to the
address below or sent by facsimile or electronic mail. Written comments
may be mailed to the following address: Kenneth G. Picha, Jr., Office
of Technical Program Integration, EM-22, Attn: Metals Disposition PEIS,
Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0113.
Otherwise, send comments via facsimile to Metals Disposition PEIS
at 301-903-9770 or send electronic mail to
[email protected]. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION under
Public Scoping Process for meeting locations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request further information about
this PEIS, the public scoping meetings, or to be placed on the PEIS
distribution list, use any of the methods listed under ADDRESSES above.
For background documents in hard copy related to this PEIS contact the
DOE Center for Environmental Management Information at 800-736-3282.
For general information concerning the DOE National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) process, contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office
of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119, Telephone: 202-
586-4600, Voice Mail: 800-472-2756, Facsimile: 202-586-7031.
Additional NEPA information is also available on the DOE website:
http//tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Definitions
For purposes of this Notice, the following terms are defined:
Continued Radiological Control: The disposition of surplus and
scrap metals for subsequent reuse or recycle in a government or
commercial radiological application. Such reuse or recycle activities
would be conducted under established agency-to-agency protocols,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses, or NRC Agreement State
licenses.
DOE Radiological Area: An area, designated under 10 CFR Part 835,
for which DOE requires specific measures to be taken, such as access
control and monitoring, to protect DOE workers from radiological
hazards. A radiological area may or may not contain radioactive
materials. An example of a radiological area that does not contain
radioactive material is an area that contains only devices that produce
radiation, such as X-ray machines, but which are not themselves
radioactive and are unable to make other materials radioactive.
Recycle: The series of activities, including collection,
separation, and processing, by which products or other materials are
recovered from the solid waste stream for use in the form of raw
materials in the manufacture of new products. (Executive Order 13101)
Residual Radioactivity: Any radioactivity that is in or on soil,
air, equipment, or structures as a consequence of past operations or
activities at a DOE site. (Residual radioactivity does not include
background radioactivity.)
Restricted Release: The release of scrap metals from DOE
radiological control for a limited, specifically-stated application,
subject to restrictions on use implemented by a designated party or
through a specific process. An example would be the release of scrap
steel specifically for use in making radioactive waste storage
containers.
Reuse: The subsequent use of a surplus item in its original form
for the same or similar purpose.
Scrap metal: Surplus metal that has no value except for its basic
material content. Scrap metal could include items such as furniture and
equipment
[[Page 36563]]
that cannot be reused, construction steel, and metals not yet put to
use such as ingots that would have to be processed to be used.
Surplus metal: Metal items that DOE does not need.
Unrestricted Release: The release of property, including scrap
metal, without any restrictions or controls on its use.
Volumetrically Contaminated: A material that has residual
radioactivity distributed throughout its volume, as opposed to residing
only on the exterior surface of the material.
Background
DOE generates surplus and scrap material during the normal course
of activities. The types of surplus and scrap material include metals,
concrete, soils, paper, wood, chemicals, equipment, and facilities.
Consistent with common industrial practice, DOE has historically sought
to reduce the amount of material that must be disposed of by reusing
and recycling as much of this surplus and scrap material as possible.
This practice is consistent with the requirements of Executive Orders
13101, Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and
Federal Acquisition, and 13148, Greening the Government Through
Leadership in Environmental Management. Historically, some of this
material has been reused or recycled within the DOE system, some has
been released for reuse or recycling outside of DOE, and some has been
disposed of. The residual value of reused or recycled materials, along
with the costs avoided by not having to pay to dispose of such
materials, have reduced the cost of environmental cleanup and waste
disposal activities at DOE sites.
The recycling of materials that have residual radioactivity could
affect workers involved in the recycling of those materials, and also
the general public, because products manufactured from recycled
materials may have many exposure pathways to the public. To protect
recycle workers, the general public, and the environment, DOE has
established requirements (DOE Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the
Public) for surveying materials for radioactivity and for allowable
residual radioactivity levels for unrestricted release of such
materials. These requirements allow unrestricted release of materials
with radioactivity slightly above background radioactivity levels.
Release limits under DOE Order 5400.5 are comparable to those in
corresponding regulations established by the NRC and NRC Agreement
States, and are generally more stringent than international standards
set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. These release limits are
intended to provide assurance that potential exposures to the public
from residual radioactivity will be well below general radiation
exposure limits established by DOE and NRC for protection of the
public.
Despite these release limits, however, some members of the public
and some industry groups have expressed concern regarding the potential
impacts from radioactivity in or on the material released. This concern
has primarily focused on releases of metals from DOE facilities, and is
related to a number of factors, including the wide range of potential
uses of recycled metals, such as in household products, and the
potential effects on industrial operations and product acceptability.
Although DOE has not identified any evidence that the public might be
harmed by releases from DOE facilities, DOE has, in response to
previously expressed concerns, identified opportunities to improve
radiation monitoring, independent verifications, and record keeping and
reporting.
The Department also responded to the stakeholders' concerns by
taking two actions. First, on January 12, 2000, the Department
established a moratorium on the release of volumetrically contaminated
metals from any DOE location pending a decision by the NRC on potential
policy and technical approaches for release of solid materials. The NRC
continues to review this issue and the DOE moratorium remains in
effect. Second, on July 13, 2000, the Department: (1) Initiated a
process to improve the administration of its release limits, (2)
enhanced its criteria for controlling the release of metal for
recycling, and (3) temporarily suspended the unrestricted release of
scrap metal, for recycling, from radiological areas at DOE facilities.
The suspension was to remain in effect until DOE directives and
guidance were reviewed and amended as necessary to ensure that no metal
with detectable radioactivity above background (using appropriate
commercially available monitoring equipment) would undergo unrestricted
release for recycling. The suspension does not apply to metals released
from non-radiological areas.
DOE subsequently proposed revisions to DOE Order 5400.5 that, if
implemented, would permit the unrestricted release of scrap metals for
recycling only if the metal had no residual radioactivity as determined
by measurement or process knowledge. These proposed order revisions
were made available for public comment (65 FR 60653, October 12, 2000).
After considering comments received on the proposed revisions, DOE
decided on January 19, 2001 to: (1) Continue the suspension on
unrestricted release for recycling of scrap metals from radiological
areas, and (2) suspend work on DOE Order 5400.5 revisions governing
unrestricted release for recycling of metals, pending the preparation
of a PEIS to allow an open discussion of concerns about such releases.
(Note: This Notice of Intent to Prepare a PEIS is being provided to all
persons who indicated they were interested in the proposed DOE Order
5400.5 revisions.)
DOE's materials release procedures that are not affected by the
January 19, 2001, decision continue to be implemented. For example, all
materials, including metals, located outside a DOE radiological area
can be reused or recycled if the requirements established for
radiological protection of the public (DOE Order 5400.5) are met. These
same radiological protection requirements continue to govern the
unrestricted release of surplus metal items from radiological areas for
reuse rather than recycling.
DOE is reviewing international and national consensus-based
radiological standards for unrestricted release of materials and is
monitoring and, as appropriate, participating in related NRC and
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) activities, but DOE has no specific
plans for changing its own standards until at least the NAS has
completed the current studies. DOE is, however, implementing procedural
improvements for the existing release requirements in DOE Order 5400.5
to: (1) Clearly define areas and activities that can potentially
radiologically contaminate materials; (2) clearly define radiological
release criteria, including measurement and survey protocols; (3)
ensure that released materials meet DOE requirements; and (4) improve
DOE reporting on releases of material from radiological control. DOE
also intends to prepare a PEIS on its policies relating to scrap metal
recycling to allow for full and open dialogue with the public on the
issues. While this PEIS is being prepared, DOE will continue the July
2000 suspension on recycling of scrap metal from radiological areas
into commerce, unless DOE makes a specific determination that the metal
could not have been radioactively contaminated by DOE activities or
operations.
Purpose and Need for Action
The PEIS announced in this notice is being prepared in response to
DOE's January 19, 2001, decision. DOE will use the PEIS as a basis for
decisions
[[Page 36564]]
concerning disposition policies for the recycle of scrap metals that
may have residual surface radioactivity.
In focusing the PEIS specifically on scrap metals, DOE considered
whether the scope of the PEIS should include all potentially
radioactive materials that might be released from DOE sites, including
large volumes of concrete and soils. Recycled metals have comprised
approximately one-quarter of the total amount of materials recycled by
DOE. The options for reuse, recycling or disposal, however, vary widely
among material categories. For example, the management of scrap metals
and the steps by which they are recycled into commerce, and the
consequent means by which people and the environment could be exposed
to any residual radioactivity, are quite different from the
corresponding process for other materials, such as soils, which might
typically be used in highway construction projects rather than in
manufactured products.
In addition, radiation exposure pathways for the various metal and
non-metal materials are not likely to be connected, cumulative, or
similar, and assessments to date indicate that potential radiation
exposure from any of these materials (including metals) is very small,
both individually and collectively.
DOE estimates that surplus metals currently in inventory and to be
generated over the next 35 years will total more than a million tons, a
significant fraction of which will contain no residual radioactivity.
DOE estimates that approximately 30-50% of its surplus metals will be
scrap metals that will be candidates for recycling, based on economic
considerations. DOE's Environmental Management Program's
decontamination and decommissioning activities are responsible for the
majority of the current inventory of scrap metals, and will also
generate the majority of the scrap metals that will become available
for recycling in the future.
The current and future expected surplus metals are mostly carbon
steel, stainless steel, and nickel. There will be more surplus carbon
steel than all other surplus metals combined. Unlike the steels
proposed to be addressed in the EIS, all the nickel is considered to be
volumetrically contaminated, and is not covered in the proposed scope
of the PEIS. There are smaller quantities of other metals [e.g.,
copper, aluminum, lead, and precious metals (silver, gold, platinum)]
that will be addressed in the PEIS. More than half of the current and
forecast scrap metal amounts, including almost all of the scrap nickel,
will result from the decommissioning of the Gaseous Diffusion Plants in
Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The estimated average generation rates
through the year 2015 are 50,000 tons per year for carbon steel, 4,000
tons per year for stainless steel, and 3,000 tons per year for nickel.
DOE proposes that the PEIS would not address volumetrically
contaminated nickel and other metals, which remain subject to a
moratorium on their release pending the outcome of NRC's review
process. DOE plans to focus the PEIS primarily on those metals that
represent the greatest potential for impacts due to their volumes,
i.e., carbon steel and stainless steel. By focusing on the recycle of
non-volumetrically contaminated scrap metals, DOE believes it can most
effectively evaluate the benefits and risks of specific disposition
alternatives. This would present the public and DOE with relevant,
timely, and immediately useful information for resolving the most
pressing and significant of DOE's material disposition issues.
For all these reasons, DOE believes the greatest value to the
Department and the public for this effort will be to focus this PEIS on
the recycle of scrap metals with potential for residual surface
radioactivity.
As noted above, similar issues are being evaluated through the
ongoing process being conducted by the NRC and the NAS to address
technical requirements and NRC standards for unrestricted release of
radioactively contaminated solid materials. DOE expects that this PEIS
will be useful to NRC and NAS, and DOE also intends to incorporate into
the PEIS any timely and relevant information developed by NRC and NAS.
Preliminary Alternatives
Consistent with NEPA implementation requirements, the PEIS will
assess the range of reasonable alternative policies regarding
disposition of DOE scrap metals with any potential for residual surface
radioactivity. Each alternative identified below is a strategy or
policy option. DOE welcomes comments on these or other reasonable
alternatives and on the identification of a preferred alternative.
No Action Alternative (Continue Current Suspension on Unrestricted
Release for Recycling of Scrap Metals from Radiological Areas)--The No
Action Alternative would continue the status-quo established by the
July 13, 2000, DOE policy decision, suspending the unrestricted release
for recycling of scrap metals from DOE radiological areas. Such metals
would be dispositioned through continued radiological control,
restricted release for recycle, onsite storage, or disposal. Disposal
would be either as radioactive waste at DOE or non-DOE facilities, in
accordance with DOE's requirements for the applicable waste
classification (i.e., transuranic, low-level, or mixed low-level), or
as non-radioactive waste at appropriate facilities (industrial
landfills, sanitary landfills, or hazardous waste disposal sites),
depending upon the waste's characteristics after final treatment.
Disposal in an industrial or sanitary landfill or a hazardous waste
disposal facility would be considered a restricted release from
radiological control.
Alternative 1 (Unrestricted Release for Recycling of Scrap Metals
under Requirements in DOE Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the
Public)--This alternative would permit unrestricted release of scrap
metals from DOE radiological areas and scrap metals outside
radiological areas that may have residual surface radioactivity,
through application of radiological control standards currently
incorporated in DOE Order 5400.5 (August 1993). This was the practice
DOE followed before the July 2000 suspension. Such metals that could
not meet these requirements would be dispositioned through continued
radiological control, restricted release for recycle, onsite storage,
or disposal, as described above under the No Action Alternative.
Alternative 2 (Unrestricted Release for Recycling of Scrap Metals
for Recycle under Alternative Standards)--This broad alternative would
permit unrestricted release of scrap metals from DOE radiological areas
and scrap metals outside radiological areas that may have residual
surface radioactivity, if they satisfy specific radiation protection
requirements other than those in DOE Order 5400.5. DOE would analyze
several alternative threshold radiological criteria for unrestricted
release. Alternative radiological criteria that could be considered
include international (e.g., International Atomic Energy Agency,
European Commission) and U.S. (e.g., NRC, American National Standards
Institute, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements)
standards for unrestricted release. In addition, a more stringent
standard that requires ``radioactivity indistinguishable from
background'' will be evaluated. Under each alternative standard, metals
that do not satisfy the standard for unrestricted release would be
dispositioned through continued radiological control, restricted
release for recycle, onsite
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storage, or disposal, as described above under the No Action
Alternative.
Alternative 3 (No Unrestricted Release for Recycling of Scrap
Metals with Potential for Residual Surface Radioactivity)--This
alternative would permit the unrestricted release for recycling of
scrap metals from DOE sites only if there is clear process knowledge,
confirmed by monitoring, that there is no potential for residual
surface radioactivity. Metals that do not meet this condition would be
dispositioned through continued radiological control, restricted
release for recycle, onsite storage, or disposal, as described above
under the No Action Alternative.
Preliminary Identification of Issues
DOE intends to address the issues listed below in the process of
considering the potential impacts of alternatives for disposition of
scrap metals from radiological areas or scrap metals outside
radiological areas that may have residual surface radioactivity. DOE
invites comment from Federal agencies, Native American tribes, state
and local governments, and the public on these and any other issues
that should be considered in the PEIS:
Potential impacts on public health from using products
made from recycled metals.
Improvements in DOE's procedures for unrestricted release
of scrap metals.
Potential impacts from alternative approaches for
determining which scrap metals on DOE sites may have come from
radiological areas or may have residual radioactivity. Such approaches
include: (1) Using records pertaining to the locations of the metal
during its use and the circumstances to which it was subjected, (2)
conducting radiation surveys of scrap metals, (3) using records to
determine appropriate radiation survey strategies, and (4) integrating
elements of each approach into formal procedures or protocols.
Potential effects on air, soil, and surface and ground
water from recycling, storage and disposal activities, and from
reasonably foreseeable accidents associated with these activities.
Potential impacts on ecological resources, including
threatened and endangered species, floodplains, and wetlands.
Potential health impacts on the public and DOE's workers
from exposure to radiological and chemical hazards during routine
recycling, storage or disposal operations and reasonably foreseeable
accidents.
Radiological considerations related to the management of
recycled materials by both the commercial scrap metal recycle and
metal-producing industries, including potential impacts on workers.
Potential environmental and health impacts that might be
avoided by recycling metals, as opposed to their disposal.
Potential effects on industrial applications of recycled
metals.
Socioeconomic impacts.
Compliance with applicable Federal, state and local
requirements and agreements, and consistency with U.S. and
international standards for unrestricted release.
Potential effects on radioactive waste and non-radioactive
waste disposal site construction and operation if scrap metals that
might otherwise be recycled were instead disposed of.
Potential effect on DOE's environmental cleanup activities
and related costs.
Pollution prevention, waste minimization, and energy and
water use reduction technologies to reduce the use of energy, water,
and hazardous substances, and to mitigate environmental impacts during
activities to disposition scrap metals from DOE sites.
Impacts on cultural and historic resources.
Cumulative environmental impacts of past, present and
reasonably foreseeable future actions.
Irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources.
In addition, DOE requests that the public provide information on,
or responses to, specific topics such as:
What other impacts beyond those identified above should
DOE consider?
Information sources for evaluating environmental impacts
associated with the recycling of scrap metals that may have residual
surface radioactivity.
What specific health and safety impacts have arisen from
implementing DOE's metals recycling program?
What specific harm could occur to the general public or
recycle industry workers under implementation of DOE Order 5400.5 or
other standards for unrestricted release of scrap metals?
Related NEPA Documents
This PEIS will consider the information and analyses in the
following DOE NEPA documents, which can be found at DOE Field Office
Public Reading Rooms, the Environmental Management Information Center
(800 736-3282), the DOE Environmental Management website (http://www.em.doe.gov/index4.html ), or the DOE NEPA website (http://tis.doe.gov/nepa/).
Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Managing Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Radioactive
and Hazardous Waste (DOE/PEIS-0200-F, May 1997).
Sale of Radioactively Contaminated Scrap Nickel Ingots at
the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, KY (DOE/EA-0994, April
1996).
Recycling of Slightly Activated Copper Coil Windings from
the 184-inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley,
California (DOE/EA-0851, June 1993).
Public Scoping Process
DOE will hold meetings in the following locations.
July 31, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North Augusta,
South Carolina 29841
August 2, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 South Tulane Avenue, Oak
Ridge, Tennessee 37830
August 7, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
Holiday Inn Oakland Airport, 500 Hegenberger Road, Oakland, California
94621
August 9, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
Red Lion Hotel, 802 George Washington Way, Richland, Washington 99352
August 14, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel, 35 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
45202
August 16, 2001
2:00-5:00 pm
8:00-11:00 pm
Hilton Crystal City, 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington Virginia
22202
At 1:00 and 7:00 pm prior to each public scoping meeting, an
information/open house will be offered to persons interested in
radiation fundamentals, including sources and health effects, not
specifically related to metal recycling.
At each scoping meeting, the public will have the opportunity to
ask questions and to comment orally or in writing on the scope of the
PEIS, including the alternatives and issues that DOE should consider.
Also, at these meetings, DOE plans to provide background information on
the program and the PEIS preparation schedule.
[[Page 36566]]
To ensure that the full range of issues related to the preparation
of this PEIS is addressed, DOE is inviting comments on the proposed
scope of the PEIS from all interested parties during the scoping
period. Written comments should be addressed to Mr. Kenneth G. Picha,
Jr. as provided above under the heading ADDRESSES. Agencies,
organizations, and the general public are also invited to present oral
comments at the public scoping meetings to be held at the places listed
above. Written and oral comments will be given equal consideration. To
ensure that everyone has an adequate opportunity to speak, each speaker
at a scoping meeting will be allotted five minutes. Depending on the
number of persons who ask to speak, more time may be provided for
speakers representing organizations. Persons wishing to speak on behalf
of organizations should identify the organization in their request.
Written comments will also be accepted at the meetings. Speakers at the
scoping meetings are encouraged to provide written versions of their
oral comments for the record.
DOE will record and prepare transcripts of the oral comments
received during the public scoping meetings. Interested persons will be
able to receive copies of the transcripts and written comments by
requesting this information from Mr. Picha (see ADDRESSES).
Preliminary PEIS Schedule
DOE plans to complete the Draft PEIS by January 2002. DOE will
announce the availability of the Draft PEIS in the Federal Register and
other media, and will provide the public, organizations, and agencies
with an opportunity to submit comments. These comments will be
considered and addressed in the Final PEIS, which DOE plans to issue by
about July 2002. DOE will issue a Record of Decision no sooner than 30
days after publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's notice
of availability of the Final PEIS.
Issued in Washington, D.C, on July 6, 2001.
Steven V. Cary,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 01-17438 Filed 7-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P