[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 57100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21341]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Radiac Research Corporation, Brooklyn, NY; Notice of Issuance of
Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by petition dated November 4, 2003,
Michael Gerrard of Arnold and Porter, representing Neighbors Against
Garbage (the Petitioners), filed a Petition pursuant to Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, Section 2.206. The Petitioners requested
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) immediately revoke,
suspend or modify the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL)
license held by Radiac Research Corporation under the NRC's authority
pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended to protect
the common defense and security.
The basis for this request was that Radiac's radioactive waste
storage operation adjoining the Radiac hazardous waste transfer and
storage operation in Brooklyn, New York represented a significant risk
to the common defense and security.
In a letter dated December 17, 2003, the NRC informed the
Petitioners that the request for immediate action was denied because
the limits on types and activity of radioactive material that Radiac
was authorized to possess were below the levels of concern. The letter
added that the issues identified in the petition would be reviewed
under 10 CFR 2.206 and that this review would be conducted by the
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS).
The Petitioner and the Licensee both participated in a meeting with
the NMSS Petition Review Board (PRB) on February 20, 2004. At this
meeting, the Petitioner provided additional information concerning the
bases for the Petition, and the Licensee provided additional
information concerning their response to the Petition. A concerned
citizen and a representative of the Honorable Nydia M.
Vel[aacute]zquez, US. House of Representatives, provided statements.
Two other concerned citizens present at the public meeting later
provided written statements via e-mail on February 27, 2004. The
written presentations of the parties, as well as the transcript of this
meeting, have been treated as a supplement to the Petition and are
available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of the NRC's public
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. The ADAMS Accession Numbers for the packages containing all
the publicly available documents regarding this petition are
ML041040731 and ML041240485. If you do not have access to ADAMS or
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].
In a letter dated December 10, 2003, addressed to the Honorable
Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, NRC, the Honorable Nydia M. Vel[aacute]zquez,
U.S. House of Representatives, requested the NRC to investigate the
risk of an accident or terrorist event at the Radiac facility. By
letter dated February 10, 2004, Chairman Nils J. Diaz informed
Congresswoman Vel[aacute]zquez that the NRC is reviewing similar common
defense and security issues identified in the Neighbors Against Garbage
2.206 petition and that she would be informed of the results of that
review.
In a letter dated February 19, 2004, addressed to the Honorable
Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, NRC, Mr. Vincent V. Abate, Chairman, Community
Board No. 1, representing Brooklyn, New York, presented information
pertinent to the Petition. By letter dated March 30, 2004, the PRB
informed Mr. Abate that the information would be considered as a
supplement to the Petition.
In letters dated February 27, 2004, the Petitioner and Licensee
provided supplemental information concerning the petition. In the
Licensee's letter was a request to reject the petition based on
procedural issues. In a letter dated April 27, 2004, the NRC staff
informed the Petitioner and the Licensee that the Licensee's request to
reject the petition was denied, that the PRB accepted the petition for
review because it satisfied the criteria under 10 CFR 2.206 and
Management Directive 8.11, and that the NRC staff would review the
technical merits of the petition.
In a letter dated March 18, 2004, the Licensee provided
supplemental information concerning the petition. In a letter dated,
April 12, 2004, the Petitioner provided supplemental information
concerning the petition.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
Petitioners and to the licensee for comment on June 14, 2004. The
Petitioners responded with comments on July 15, 2004. The licensee did
not provide comments. The comments and the NRC staff's response to them
are Enclosures to this Director's Decision.
The NMSS Office Director has denied the request of the Petitioner
to revoke, suspend, or modify the NYDOL license held by Radiac Research
Corporation under the NRC's authority to protect the common defense and
security. The reasons for the decisions are explained in the Director's
Decision pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 [DD-04-04], the complete text of
which is available in ADAMS for inspection at the Commission's Public
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and from the ADAMS public access
component on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov, under the ``Public
Involvement'' icon.
A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR
2.206 of the Commission's regulations.
As provided for by this regulation, the Director's Decision will
constitute the final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of
the decision, unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a
review of the Director's Decision within that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of September 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack R. Strosnider,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-21341 Filed 9-22-04; 8:45 am]
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