[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60508-60511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20804]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Revision to the Record of Decision for the Department of Energy's
Waste Management Program
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Revision to record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE), pursuant to 10 CFR 1021.315,
is revising the Record of Decision for the Department of Energy's Waste
Management Program: Treatment and Storage of Transuranic Waste, issued
on January 20, 1998 (63 FR 3629) and revised previously on December 29,
2000 (65 FR 82985) and July 13, 2001 (66 FR 38646). On September 6,
2002 (67 FR 56989) and June 30, 2004 (69 FR 39446) the Department
decided to send the waste from Battelle Columbus Laboratory West
Jefferson site to the Hanford Site. The Department has now decided to
transfer approximately 37 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) waste
generated as part of the cleanup of the Battelle Columbus Laboratory
West Jefferson site near Columbus, Ohio, to the Savannah River Site
(SRS) and/or the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) site near Andrews,
Texas for either characterization or storage until the waste can be
disposed of at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
Both SRS and WCS offer viable storage options for the Battelle TRU
waste. Pursuant to this decision, DOE may ship all of the Battelle TRU
waste to either SRS or WCS, or it may choose to ship a portion of the
waste to SRS and the remainder of the waste to WCS.
The Remote-Handled (RH) TRU waste (approximately 25 cubic meters,
including about 3 cubic meters of mixed TRU waste [containing both
radioactive and hazardous components]) would be stored at SRS or WCS
for up to five years. The CH-TRU waste (approximately 12 cubic meters,
including about 2 cubic meters of mixed TRU waste) would be
characterized at SRS under the existing characterization program and
shipped to WIPP for disposal or stored at WCS for up to five years. If
DOE's request for modification of the WIPP hazardous waste facility
permit currently pending before the New Mexico Environment Department
is granted without substantial change, DOE may be able to ship the
Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste from SRS or WCS to WIPP near
Carlsbad, NM for disposal, without additional characterization. If
additional characterization is necessary prior to disposal at WIPP, the
Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste may be shipped from SRS or WCS to
another DOE site for characterization.
DOE has prepared a Supplement Analysis (SA) in accordance with DOE
NEPA regulations (10 CFR 1021.314) to determine whether the proposed
off-site shipment of the Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste for storage
at SRS or WCS prior to disposal at WIPP is a substantial change to the
proposal or whether there are significant new circumstances or
information relevant to environmental concerns such that a supplement
to the WM PEIS or a new EIS would be needed. Based on the SA, DOE has
determined that a supplement to the WM PEIS or a new EIS is not needed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Waste Management
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS), the 1998 WM PEIS
ROD for TRU waste, the revised WM PEIS RODs for TRU waste, this revised
ROD, and the Supplement Analysis for Transportation, Storage,
Characterization, and Disposal of Transuranic Waste Currently Stored at
the Battelle West Jefferson Site near Columbus, Ohio (DOE/EIS-0200-SA-
02) will be available on DOE's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Web site at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa under DOE NEPA Documents. To
request copies of any of these documents, please write or call:
The Center for Environmental Management Information, P.O. Box
23769, Washington, DC 20026-3769, Telephone: 1-800-736-3282 (in
Washington, DC: 202-863-5084).
For further information regarding the storage, characterization,
and disposal of Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste, or to obtain copies
of the Supplement
[[Page 60509]]
Analysis discussed herein, contact: Mr. Harold Johnson, Carlsbad Field
Office, U.S. Department of Energy, 4021 National Parks Highway,
Carlsbad, NM 88220, Telephone: 505-234-7349.
For further information on the DOE program for the management of
TRU waste or this revision to the ROD, contact: Ms. Lynne Smith, Office
of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, 19001
Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874, Telephone: 301-903-6828.
For information on DOE's NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, EH-42, U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20585, Telephone 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
TRU waste is waste that contains alpha particle-emitting
radionuclides with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92) and
half-lives greater than 20 years in concentrations greater than 100
nanocuries per gram. TRU waste is classified according to the radiation
dose at a package surface. CH-TRU waste has a radiation dose rate at a
package surface of 200 millirem per hour or less; this waste can safely
be handled directly by personnel. RH-TRU waste has a radiation dose
rate at a package surface greater than 200 millirem per hour, and must
be handled remotely (e.g., with machinery designed to shield workers
from radiation). Mixed TRU waste contains both radioactive and
hazardous components.
The 37 cubic meters of TRU waste at the Battelle West Jefferson
site consist of approximately 12 cubic meters of CH-TRU waste and
approximately 25 cubic meters of RH-TRU waste. At the Battelle West
Jefferson site, most of the CH-TRU waste is stored in six standard
waste boxes in three concrete shielding units. One additional 30 gallon
drum of possible CH-TRU waste (this waste was originally thought to be
low-level waste, but may eventually be determined to be TRU waste due
to the presence of americium) is stored in a locked cargo container at
the Battelle site. The RH-TRU waste is contained in 110 55-gallon drums
(stored in 11 concrete shielding units) and two RH-TRU 72-B shipping
casks (the two shipping casks hold a total of five drums).
In the WM PEIS, DOE analyzed the potential environmental impacts of
the management (treatment and storage) of TRU waste at DOE sites (DOE
estimated that 580 cubic meters of RH-TRU waste had been generated and
was being stored at the Battelle West Jefferson site but did not
specifically analyze the treatment or storage of that TRU waste at off-
site locations). In the 1998 WM PEIS ROD for TRU waste, DOE decided
that ``each of the Department's sites that currently has or will
generate TRU waste will prepare and store its waste on site'' prior to
shipment to WIPP. (The only exception to this decision was the Sandia
National Laboratory in New Mexico, which will ship its waste to the Los
Alamos National Laboratory for disposal preparation and storage before
disposal at WIPP.) DOE also noted that ``in the future, the Department
may decide to ship transuranic wastes from sites where it may be
impractical to prepare them for disposal to sites where DOE has or will
have the necessary capability,'' stating that ``[t]ransportation of TRU
waste would occur only in situations where the sites at which the waste
is located lack the capability to prepare it for disposal.'' The WM
PEIS ROD also stated that the sites that could receive TRU waste
shipments from other sites were the Idaho National Laboratory (formerly
known as the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory),
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the SRS, and the Hanford Site, and that
such decisions would be subject to appropriate review under NEPA.
In the WIPP SEIS-II, DOE analyzed the potential environmental
impacts associated with disposing of TRU waste at WIPP. DOE's Proposed
Action was to open WIPP and dispose of 175,600 cubic meters of defense
TRU waste; this waste volume included 580 cubic meters of Battelle West
Jefferson RH-TRU waste. In addition, DOE analyzed several action
alternatives that would consolidate waste from some smaller-quantity
DOE sites at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, SRS, and Hanford.
In the Savannah River Site Waste Management Final Environmental
Impact Statement (SRS WM EIS) (DOE 1995) DOE examined the environmental
impacts of alternative strategies for managing various waste types
(including TRU wastes) at SRS. In its initial ROD, DOE selected an
alternative that included storage of TRU waste at SRS. In a subsequent
ROD, DOE decided to construct and operate a TRU waste characterization/
certification facility to characterize, repackage, and certify CH-TRU
waste for disposal at WIPP.
The Battelle West Jefferson facility is privately owned; however,
as part of the closeout of its nuclear materials research contract, DOE
is assisting in the remediation of the site. Contract terms specify
that all radioactive waste generated during the facility cleanup is
``DOE-owned'' for the purposes of disposal. The TRU waste must be
shipped off-site by December 2005, to comply with Battelle's NRC
license, which will expire at the end of 2005. Removal of the TRU waste
from the Battelle West Jefferson site is required to allow site closure
in fiscal year 2006. The Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste is not
eligible for direct shipment to WIPP for disposal because the Battelle
West Jefferson facility does not have the capability to certify the CH-
TRU waste for disposal and WIPP is not yet authorized by the State of
New Mexico to accept RH-TRU waste for disposal. Because the Battelle
West Jefferson site is closing, developing the capability at that site
to certify TRU waste for disposal is not cost-effective.
In an amended ROD pursuant to the WM PEIS (69 Fed. Reg. 39446, June
30, 2004), DOE decided to send the Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste to
the Hanford site for storage and eventual shipment to WIPP. For the
reasons described in DOE's Supplement Analysis (described in IV below)
and in DOE's Notice of Availability of the Supplement Analysis (70 Fed.
Reg. 53353, September 8, 2005), DOE has now decided to ship the waste
to SRS or WCS for storage or characterization until the waste can be
disposed of at WIPP.
II. Decision
DOE has decided to transfer approximately 37 cubic meters of CH and
RH-TRU waste and up to 14 concrete shielding units (in 39 truck
shipments) from the Battelle West Jefferson site to SRS and/or WCS. At
SRS or WCS, the RH-TRU waste would be stored for a period not to exceed
five years. At WCS, the CH-TRU waste would also be stored for up to
five years. At SRS, the CH-TRU waste would be characterized under the
existing SRS CH-TRU program and shipped to WIPP for disposal. DOE will
ship a total of approximately 12 cubic meters of CH-TRU waste in
TRUPACT-II shipping casks (up to two truck shipments) and approximately
25 cubic meters of RH-TRU waste in 10-160B and RH-TRU 72-B shipping
casks (up to 14 truck shipments). Onsite activities will involve
preparing the waste for shipment (loading the waste into the shipping
casks and loading the trucks for transport).
If DOE's request for modification of the WIPP hazardous waste
facility permit currently pending before the New Mexico Environment
Department is granted without substantial change, DOE may be able to
ship the Battelle
[[Page 60510]]
West Jefferson TRU waste from SRS or WCS to WIPP near Carlsbad, NM for
disposal, without additional characterization. If additional
characterization is necessary prior to disposal at WIPP, the Battelle
West Jefferson TRU waste may be shipped from SRS or WCS to another DOE
site for characterization. DOE has identified the Hanford Site, the
Idaho National Laboratory, SRS (for waste stored at WCS) and the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory as possible characterization sites for this
waste. The decision regarding whether to ship the waste directly to
WIPP or to another site for characterization will depend on the
characterization requirements that are established as a result of DOE's
pending Hazardous Waste Facility Permit modification request and the
characterization capabilities that are available or planned at the
individual sites at the time of any decision. Such a decision would be
the subject to appropriate additional National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) review if required.
III. Basis for the Decision
DOE needs to ship its TRU waste from the Battelle West Jefferson
site for offsite storage prior to characterization for disposal at
WIPP. However, this waste is not eligible for disposal at WIPP at this
time, which results in the need to ship the waste to safe, secure
storage until it can be shipped to WIPP. The Battelle West Jefferson
site is a privately-owned site subject to regulation by the NRC. The
NRC license expires in December 2005, and DOE has committed to close
the site in Fiscal Year 2006. Continued storage would violate the
current license issued by the NRC.
IV. Supplement Analysis
To determine whether the proposed action would warrant a supplement
to the WM PEIS DOE prepared the Supplement Analysis for Transportation,
Storage, Characterization, and Disposal of Transuranic Waste Currently
Stored at the Battelle West Jefferson Site near Columbus, Ohio (DOE/
EIS-0200-SA-02) (SA). DOE considered both the SRS and WCS as possible
storage sites for the Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste. Each site has
advantages. For example, the shorter transportation route between
Battelle and SRS would mean waste removal from Battelle could be
accomplished more quickly. Also, the CH-TRU waste could be
characterized at SRS and sent to WIPP for disposal, thus minimizing the
amount of waste that would have to be stored. WCS, on the other hand,
is close to WIPP, and subsequent transportation to WIPP for disposal
could have less impact if, under the permit modification to be issued
by the State of New Mexico, the waste can eventually be shipped to WIPP
without further characterization.
Preparation for Shipment. As discussed in the SA, it is expected
that seven or eight workers would be involved in preparing the waste
for shipment. Based on past experience with TRU waste handling at the
Battelle West Jefferson site, DOE estimates that worker exposure would
be less than 0.5 person-rem, a level that is equivalent to a risk of a
latent cancer fatality of 2.5 x 10-4. During this period,
access to the Battelle West Jefferson site would be controlled, so
there would be no exposure of the public to radiation.
If a TRU waste drop accident were to occur, DOE's analysis
concluded that all radiation doses would be below 100 mrem per accident
and external exposures from groundshine would be less than 1 mrem per
hour. Total dose to the maximally exposed member of the public would be
4.2 x 10-2 rem, resulting in a risk of a latent cancer
fatality of 2.5 x 10-5. The accident with the highest dose,
a drop accident involving a drum of RH-TRU waste, had an estimated
radiation dose of 8.5 x 10-2 rem. This is equivalent to a
risk of a latent cancer fatality of 5.1 x 10-5 to the
maximally exposed individual.
Transportation and Unloading. The total calculated fatalities from
all shipments to either SRS or WCS are much less than one (3.5 x
10-3 for shipments to SRS and 5.0 x 10-3 for
shipments to WCS). The transportation impacts would include those from
the shipment of the Battelle West Jefferson TRU waste (up to 16
shipments), shipments of characterized CH-TRU waste from SRS to WIPP
(up to 2 shipments) and the shipment of concrete shielding units in
which the waste could be stored (up to 39 shipments). The radiation
dose to workers as a result of unloading the waste at SRS or WCS would
be less than 0.5 person-rem. This is the equivalent to the risk of a
latent cancer fatality of 2.5 x 10-4.
Storage of TRU waste. Based on the one year of experience with
monitoring and maintenance of the TRU waste storage pad at the Battelle
West Jefferson site, DOE estimates that routine exposures from
monitoring, inspection and maintenance activities for TRU waste (stored
in 14 concrete storage units, two RH-TRU 72-B casks, and in one drum in
a locked cargo container) results in a total exposure of no more than 8
x 10-3 person-rem at the Battelle West Jefferson site
annually. Assuming a 5-year storage period at SRS or WCS, the total
worker exposure would be no more than 4 x 10-2 person-rem (8
x 10-3 person-rem for 5 years). This is equivalent to the
risk of a latent cancer fatality of 2.0 x 10-5. Radiation
surveys at the Battelle West Jefferson site have verified that
radiation exposures beyond the storage area would be at background
levels, so the exposure to noninvolved workers and the general public
at SRS or WCS would be zero.
The impacts to workers of a TRU waste accident during unloading or
storage at SRS or WCS would be similar to the accident impacts for a
waste container drop during loading at the Battelle West Jefferson
site. The impacts to the MEI would be expected to be less than at the
Battelle West Jefferson site because the MEI would be farther away from
the accident at SRS or WCS.
Characterization of CH-TRU waste--DOE estimates that worker
exposure from characterizing the CH-TRU waste at SRS would be about
0.005 person-rem, which is the equivalent of a latent cancer risk of
2.5 x 10-6 for the involved workers. The impacts from
characterizing RH-TRU waste at SRS would be about 0.03 person-rem which
is the equivalent of a latent cancer risk of 1.5 x 10-5 for
the involved workers. A characterization accident would be expected to
result in an exposure of about 9.0 x 10-6 rem for the MEI,
which is the equivalent of a latent cancer risk of 5.4 x
10-9.
In the SA, DOE analyzed the health, environmental and
transportation impacts of shipping the Battelle West Jefferson TRU
waste to SRS or WCS. DOE concluded that the potential impacts
identified would not exceed impacts reported in the WM PEIS or the WIPP
SEIS-II. DOE published a Notice of Availability of the SA in the
Federal Register on September 8, 2005 (70 Fed. Reg. 53353). DOE stated
that it would issue an amended ROD no sooner than 30 days after
publication of the Notice, and that it would consider public comments
received during this period.
V. Response to Public Comments on the Supplement Analysis
DOE received two comments during the 30-day public notification of
the availability of the SA, which commenced on September 8, 2005. One
commenter objected to shipping the Battelle waste and storing it until
it can ``theoretically'' be disposed of at a ``potential future'' WIPP
site, citing concerns about ``leaking valves'' on casks used for
transportation of wastes. The commenter stated that the safest way to
treat radioactive waste is to leave
[[Page 60511]]
the waste ``in the ground where it is'' rather than expose the public
to risk by transporting the waste to another site.
DOE cannot leave the waste at Battelle since to do so would violate
the NRC requirements for continued storage of this waste. The waste is
currently in aboveground storage, rather than ``in the ground'' and
poses some continuing risk to the surrounding population. The waste
will be transported to another site in NRC approved TRU waste casks
that are sealed to prevent leakage. The WIPP site is an existing deep
underground disposal site that is designed to isolate the waste from
humans and the environment.
One commenter stated that DOE cannot choose WCS as a storage site
for the Battelle West Jefferson waste. The commenter asserted that,
because WCS was not included as an alternative in the WM PEIS and
because DOE has not conducted an analysis of the environmental impacts
of storage at the WCS site, DOE cannot choose WCS as a storage site
without completing a supplemental WM PEIS that includes WCS as an
alternative. The commenter also asserted that storage at WCS is
inappropriate because WCS, as a non-DOE site, is unable to prepare the
waste for shipment to WIPP, while SRS (and other DOE sites considered
in the WM PEIS) could. The commenter further asserted that the
definition of interim storage contained in the WCS license would
prevent storage of the Battelle West Jefferson Waste because the waste
does not meet WIPP waste acceptance criteria. In addition, the
commenter states that DOE should have considered Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as possible
alternative storage sites for this waste and it should have provided a
more extensive discussion of the alternative of continued onsite
storage at the Battelle West Jefferson site.
Although the WM PEIS did not analyze waste management actions at
commercial sites, DOE is not precluded from using such sites. Further,
based on the conclusions in the SA, DOE does not believe that a
supplemental EIS is needed.
There is no requirement that a site be a DOE site before a waste
characterization program can be established at that site. The
definition of interim storage does not prevent WCS from storing the
Battelle West Jefferson waste. Under the definition cited by the
commenter, the waste would have to be properly packaged and meet the
waste acceptance criteria for ``an authorized disposal facility, or an
authorized federal agency.'' However, even if the waste does not meet
the waste acceptance criteria for WIPP (the authorized disposal
facility), the waste will meet the waste acceptance criteria for a DOE
site (e.g. SRS) before it would be sent to WCS for storage. This would
be sufficient to meet the definition of the WCS license.
The alternatives of sending the waste to ORNL or INL were
considered in the WM PEIS and not chosen in the original Record of
Decision. DOE is not reconsidering that decision at this time. The
alternative of continued storage at Battelle is unacceptable because
NRC has indicated it will not renew the Battelle license for this
waste.
The SA reviewed the potential health and environmental impacts of
the new proposed action as compared to those identified in the WM PEIS,
the WIPP SEIS-II, and the SRS Waste Management EIS. The potential
impacts of the proposed action are very small and would not add
significantly to those previously reported.
DOE has determined, therefore, that the proposed actions would not,
either under incident-free or accident conditions, present a
substantial change relevant to environmental concerns or significant
new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and
bearing on the proposed action or its impacts. Therefore, DOE
determined that a supplemental EIS or a new EIS is not required under
40 CFR 1502.9(c) or 10 CFR 1021.314(c) to implement this proposal.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 12th day of October 2005.
Dr. In[eacute]s R. Triay,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 05-20804 Filed 10-17-05; 8:45 am]
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