[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65890-65891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26361]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-04781]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials; 
License No. 21-00182-03, for Unrestricted Release of the Pharmacia & 
Upjohn Company LLC; Facility in Kalamazoo, MI

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for License Amendment.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Snell, Senior Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9871; fax 
number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
Byproduct Materials License No. 21-00182-03. This license is held by 
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC (the Licensee), and authorizes the use 
of byproduct materials within Building 267 (the Facility), located at 
333 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Amendment of the license would 
authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee 
requested this action in a letter dated July 9, 2008 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML081920702). The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
in support of this proposed action in accordance with the requirements 
of Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR Part 
51). Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed 
action. The license will be amended following the publication of this 
FONSI and EA in the Federal Register.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Licensee's July 9, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 21-00182-03 was issued on April 24, 1958, 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. The license authorizes the use of byproduct materials for 
conducting research and development.
    The Facility is a six-story steel frame building on a 39-acre 
pharmaceutical research and development campus comprised of offices and 
laboratories located in a primarily commercial area. The Licensee 
ceased using licensed materials in the Facility in April 2008, and has 
conducted final status surveys of the Facility. The results of these 
surveys along with other supporting information were provided to the 
NRC to demonstrate that the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for 
unrestricted release have been met.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: Hydrogen-3 and 
carbon-14. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee 
conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the 
Facility affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted onsite final status surveys on the Facility 
during April, May and June 2008. The final status survey report was 
attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated July 9, 2008. The 
Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by 
using the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated 
Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee used the 
radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs), 
developed there by the NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 
CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual 
radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in 
soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR 
Part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status survey 
results were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As 
Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC 
thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are 
acceptable.
    Based on its review, the staff determined that the affected 
environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed 
action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological 
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facility'' 
(NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385). 
The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from 
the use of radioactive material at the Facility. The NRC staff reviewed 
the docket file records and the final status survey report to identify 
any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the environment 
surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or impacts to the environment 
were identified. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-
radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative 
environmental impacts.
    The NRC staff finds that the proposed amendment of the license and 
release of the Facility for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 
CFR Part 20. Based on its review, the staff considered the impact of 
the residual radioactivity at the Facility and concluded that the 
proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of 
the human environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action, 
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative 
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the 
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment 
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it 
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d) requiring that decommissioning of 
byproduct material Facility be completed and

[[Page 65891]]

approved by the NRC after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis 
of the Licensee's final status survey data confirmed that the Facility 
meets the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. 
Additionally, denying the amendment request would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the no-action alternative are therefore similar, 
and the no-action alternative is accordingly not further considered.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent 
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR 
20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the 
quality of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the 
proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the 
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for review on 
October 1, 2008. By response dated October 9, 2008, the State agreed 
with the conclusions of the EA, and otherwise provided no comments.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a 
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical 
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that 
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential 
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
license amendment and supporting documentation, are available 
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the 
NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents 
related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS 
accession numbers.
    1. Dee L. Clement, Pfizer, Inc., letter to William Snell, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, July 9, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML081920702);
    2. Dee L. Clement, Pfizer, Inc., letter to William Snell, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, April 8, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML081010514);
    3. Dee L. Clement, Pfizer, Inc., letter to William Snell, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, March 25, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML080930101);
    4. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';
    5. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions'';
    6. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facility'';
    7. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance.''
    8. By response dated October 9, 2008, the State had no comments.

If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to [email protected]. These documents may also be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. 
The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Lisle, Illinois, this 22nd day of October 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christine Lipa,
Chief, Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, Division 
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III.
[FR Doc. E8-26361 Filed 11-4-08; 8:45 am]
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