[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6006-6007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2665]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-04783]
Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for the Dow Chemical
Company and Release of Its Facility in Midland, MI
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of consideration of amendment request to Byproduct
Material License No. 21-00265-06.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Peter J. Lee, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear
[[Page 6007]]
Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle,
Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 829-9870 or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of an amendment to the Dow Chemical Company Byproduct Material
License No. 21-00265-06, to remove the possession or use of thorium
from its Midland, Michigan facility license and release that portion of
the facility for unrestricted use.
The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in
support of this licensing action in accordance with the requirements of
10 CFR part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate.
II. EA Summary
The purpose of the proposed action is to remove the possession or
use of thorium from its Midland, Michigan facility license and release
that portion of the facility for unrestricted use. This license was
approved for research and development of a thorium containing catalyst.
On September 26, 2003, Dow Chemical Company submitted a license
amendment request to remove the possession or use of thorium from its
license. The Dow Chemical Company has conducted surveys of the facility
and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the site meets
the license criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted
release. The staff has examined the Dow Chemical Company's request and
the information that the licensee has provided in support of its
request, including the surveys performed by the Dow Chemical Company to
demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402, ``'Radiological Criteria
for Unrestricted Use,''' to ensure that the NRC's decision is
protective of the public health and safety and the environment. Based
on its review, the staff has determined that the affected environment
and the environmental impacts associated with the removal of the
possession or use of thorium from Byproduct Material License No. 21-
00265-06 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 Facilities''
(NUREG-1496). Additionally, no non-radiological impacts were
identified. The staff also finds that the proposed release for
unrestricted use of the Dow Chemical Company facility is in compliance
with the 10 CFR part 20.1402 and no other activities in the area that
could result in cumulative impacts.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of Dow
Chemical Company's proposed license amendment to remove the possession
or use of thorium from its Midland, Michigan facility license and
release that portion of the facility for unrestricted use. On the basis
of the EA, the staff has concluded that the environmental impacts from
the proposed action would not be significant. Accordingly, the staff
has determined that a FONSI is appropriate, and has determined that the
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
IV. Further Information
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,''
Dow Chemical Company's request, the EA summarized above, and the
documents related to this proposed action are available electronically
for public inspection and copying from the Publicly Available Records
(PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible
from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
These documents include Dow Chemical Company's letter dated September
26, 2003, with enclosures (Accession No. ML033570177); and the EA
summarized above (Accession No. ML040280082).These documents may also
be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's
Public Document Room (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 27th day of January 2004.
Christopher G. Miller,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
RIII.
[FR Doc. 04-2665 Filed 2-6-04; 8:45 am]
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