[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 124 (Thursday, June 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42109-42111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13882]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-0320; NRC-2023-0042]
TMI-2 Solutions; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, or Commission) is
issuing an exemption in response to a September 29, 2022, request from
TMI-2 Solutions, LLC (TMI-2 Solutions, or Licensee) for an exemption
from NRC regulations. The action exempts TMI-2 Solutions from the
requirements to maintain a radiation monitoring system in each area
where licensed special nuclear material is handled, used, or stored
that would energize clearly audible alarm signals if accidental
criticality occurred during decommissioning. In evaluating the
exemption request, the NRC staff determined that the Licensee's
proposed decommissioning activities do not present any credible
criticality hazards.
DATES: The exemption was issued on and was effective on May 2, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0042 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0042. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first
time that it is mentioned in this document.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6822, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
TMI-2 Solutions is the holder of Possession Only License (POL) No.
DPR-73 for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2). The
POL provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all
rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC now or hereafter in effect.
TMI-2 is located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
[[Page 42110]]
The NRC previously granted TMI-2 an exemption from the criticality
accident monitoring requirements of section 70.24 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Criticality accident
requirements,'' for Special Nuclear Material (SNM) storage, on June 15,
1992 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20210D729). In its exemption request (ADAMS
Accession No. ML22276A024), the Licensee noted that the June 15, 1992,
exemption stated:
``. . . it is appropriate to request an exemption from 10 CFR 70.24
if an evaluation determines that a potential for criticality does not
exist, as for example where the quantities or form of special nuclear
material make criticality practically impossible or where geometric
spacing is used to preclude criticality.''
The NRC granted the 1992 exemption based on the lack of a credible
criticality hazard related to the storage of fissionable material at
the facility (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML20210D728). That exemption,
however, only covered the initial cleanup of TMI-2 fuel debris.
Consequently, as TMI-2 Solutions progresses to radiological
decommissioning of TMI-2, including activities beyond the initial
cleanup of TMI-2 fuel debris, the 1992 exemption will no longer apply.
Therefore, TMI-2 Solutions requested this exemption from 10 CFR 70.24,
which will extend until license termination.
II. Request/Action
Section 70.24 requires, in relevant part, that each licensee
authorized to possess special nuclear material in a quantity exceeding
700 grams of contained uranium-235, 520 grams of uranium-233, 450 grams
of plutonium, 1,500 grams of contained uranium-235 if no uranium
enriched to more than 4 percent by weight of uranium-235 is present, or
450 grams of any combination thereof, shall maintain a monitoring
system in each area in which such licensed special nuclear material is
handled, used, or stored. The monitoring system must use gamma- or
neutron-sensitive radiation detectors which will energize clearly
audible alarm signals if accidental criticality occurs.
In its exemption application, TMI-2 Solutions states that
criticality is not credible at TMI-2, and therefore it considers an
exemption to 10 CFR 70.24 for a criticality monitoring system to be
appropriate for decommissioning. The licensee states that TMI2-RA-COR-
2022-0008, ``Supplemental Information to License Amendment Request--
Three Mile Island, Unit 2, Decommissioning Technical Specifications,''
demonstrates that the spent fuel mass limit (SFML) associated with
remaining fuel bearing material at TMI-2 is 1361 kilograms (kg) of
uranium oxide (UO2). The licensee notes that this SFML is 24
percent higher than the previous estimate on record for remaining fuel
bearing material at TMI-2, which the NRC staff found to analytically
preclude a credible criticality accident at TMI-2 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23094A269). The updated SFML result represents a more accurate and
updated calculation from the 1990 SFML calculation. The Licensee
arrived at this updated calculation by taking credit for impurities and
actual enrichment based on the results of physical samples taken during
the defueling effort.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17(a), ``Specific exemptions,'' the
Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its
own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part
70 when the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
interest of the public.
The NRC staff has reviewed the exemption request and finds that
granting the proposed exemption will not result in a violation of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Commission's regulations, or
other laws. As explained as follows, the proposed exemption will not
endanger life or property, or the common defense and security, and is
otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, the exemption is
authorized by law.
The exemption presents no undue risk to the public health and
safety and therefore will not endanger life or property. Based on the
NRC staff's evaluation, the NRC staff determined that the Licensee's
proposed decommissioning activities do not present any credible
criticality hazards. Because there are no credible criticality hazards
related to the Licensee's proposed decommissioning activities and
because all activities will be conducted such that subcriticality is
assured under normal and all credible abnormal conditions, the NRC
staff concludes that the Licensee's program will provide reasonable
assurance of adequate protection of the health and safety of workers
and the public.
The exemption is consistent with the Common Defense and Security
because the NRC staff determined there would be no impact to the
physical protection plan, emergency preparedness, environmental
monitoring, effluent monitoring, or material control and accountability
programs at TMI-2. Further, as described in the NRC staff's safety
evaluation, the NRC staff conducted independent evaluations and
concluded that criticality is not credible; therefore, an exemption
from criticality monitoring requirements is warranted. The NRC staff
agrees with the licensee's conclusion in its application that the
requested exemption to the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24 does not
involve information or activities that could potentially impact the
common defense and security. The Licensee demonstrated that there is no
credible criticality hazard, and the existing administrative
restrictions described in the TMI-2 Fuel Bearing Material Program
prevent proliferation and limit aggregation. The elimination of the
criticality monitoring requirements does not involve information or
activities that could potentially impact the common defense and
security of the United States.
Further, while administrative controls for geometric spacing are
not necessary because there is not enough UO2 to assemble an
optimal critical configuration, TMI-2 Solutions will be implementing
local administrative controls as part of its Fuel Bearing Material
Management Program for the purpose of defense in depth. These
administrative controls will apply to the activities which will handle
the highest quantities of fuel bearing material (e.g., segmenting the
reactor vessel internals which represent 925 kg UO2 or 68
percent of the SFML). These defense in depth controls will include
control on the physical location of segmentation equipment and limiting
the number of waste receptacles (i.e., physical manifestations of
controls on geometric spacing).
Finally, the NRC staff concludes that the exemption is in the
public interest. As stated previously, the Licensee demonstrated that
criticality is not credible during site decommissioning activities
under credible normal and credible abnormal conditions. Therefore,
conducting criticality monitoring at TMI-2 would expend NRC staff
inspection and other NRC staff regulatory resources that could be used
for other activities at the facility. Additionally, the Licensee states
that, if the exemption request were denied, its personnel would
experience a slight increase in occupational dose during the
maintenance of criticality monitors, which would not be consistent with
as low as reasonably achievable principles. The NRC staff agrees.
[[Page 42111]]
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
70.17(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
interest of the public. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants TMI-2
Solutions an exemption from 10 CFR 70.24 during decommissioning.
Dated: June 26, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jane E. Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-13882 Filed 6-28-23; 8:45 am]
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