[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3903-3905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01074]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Amended Record of Decision for the Installation and Operation of
a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth,
Ohio Site
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Amended record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security
[[Page 3904]]
Administration (NNSA) is announcing this amendment to the July 2004
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement
for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride
Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) (DOE/EIS-
0360). In this amended ROD, DOE/NNSA is announcing its decision to
implement its preferred alternative for the construction and operation
of a depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion
facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, a DOE Office of Environmental
Management (EM) site. This amended ROD addresses DOE/NNSA's intent to
construct and operate a fourth process line within the conversion
facility, as previously analyzed in the aforementioned FEIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the
addition of the fourth processing line, please contact Ms. Casey
Deering, Director, Office of Secondary Stage Production Modernization,
Office of Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration,
telephone (202) 586-6075; or by email to [email protected].
For information on NNSA's NEPA process, please contact Mr. John
Weckerle, NEPA Compliance Officer, National Nuclear Security
Administration, Office of General Counsel, Telephone (505) 845-6026; or
by email to [email protected]. This Amended Record of Decision
is available on the internet at http://energy.gov/nepa.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In June 2004, DOE issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement
for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride
Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) (DOE/EIS-
0360). In the 2004 FEIS, DOE analyzed the potential environmental
impacts from the construction, operation, maintenance, and
decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the proposed depleted
uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility at three
alternative locations within the Portsmouth site. DOE reviewed
transportation of cylinders (DUF6, normal and enriched
UF6, and empty) stored at the East Tennessee Technology Park
(ETTP) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Portsmouth; construction of a new
cylinder storage yard at Portsmouth (if required) for the ETTP
cylinders; transportation of depleted uranium conversion products and
waste materials to a disposal facility; transportation and sale of the
aqueous hydrogen fluoride (HF) produced as a conversion co-product; and
neutralization of aqueous HF to calcium fluoride (CaF2) and
its sale or disposal in the event that the aqueous HF product is not
sold. An option of shipping the ETTP cylinders to the Paducah,
Kentucky, site was also considered, as was an option of expanding
operations by increasing throughput (through efficiency improvements or
by adding a fourth conversion line) or by extending the period of
operation. The EIS analyzed the No Action Alternative and three
alternative locations within the plant, all of which utilized the same
proposed equipment and processes. Location A, the preferred
Alternative, was located in the west-central portion of the site;
Location B was located in the southwestern portion of the site, and
Location C was located in the southeastern portion of the site. A
similar EIS was issued concurrently for construction and operation of a
DUF6 conversion facility at DOE EM's Paducah site (DOE/EIS-
0359). In the July 27, 2004, ROD (69 FR 44649), DOE chose Alternative
Location A and announced its decision to install three of the four
processing lines analyzed in the EIS at Portsmouth.
DOE/NNSA now announces its decision to add the fourth processing
line analyzed in the 2004 EIS. The process alteration to add the fourth
process line is in response to the government's need to meet high
purity depleted uranium (HPDU) demand to execute DOE/NNSA mission
requirements. Neither commercial nor Y-12 capabilities exist to convert
DUF6 to DUF4 to support depleted uranium metal
production. This line will use utility equipment and materials
identical to those currently in operation. The process will be altered
slightly to produce DUF4 that will be provided to a
commercial vendor for additional processing.
The United States has produced DUF6 since the early
1950s as part of the process of enriching natural uranium for both
civilian and military applications. The EM sites at Portsmouth and
Paducah are currently charged with converting approximately 70,000
DUF6 cylinders into an impure oxide (UOx) for
disposition as waste or for reuse. The Portsmouth site currently has
three process lines in place for this conversion with space designed
into the process building to accept a fourth line. This space is the
proposed location to accept the additional equipment items and provide
the DUF6 conversion to DUF4.
The Portsmouth DUF6 Conversion Facility was commissioned
to process the DUF6 stored in cylinders into a more stable
chemical form (UOx). Current DUF6 cylinder
inventory at Portsmouth is ~19,000 cylinders with ~18 years of
processing needed to complete DUF6 to UOx
conversion. Portsmouth has three operable process lines to accomplish
this mission; each line is capable of processing approximately one
standard 48'' cylinder per 24-hour workday. The Portsmouth
DUF6 Conversion Facility and its infrastructure were
designed and constructed to support four process lines, however only
three lines were installed. The physical configuration of the building
has already been satisfactorily evaluated in the FEIS to support a
fourth process line with respect to seismic design criteria and natural
phenomenon hazards. There is adequate space to support an additional
process line with respect to the following equipment, utilities and
support systems: Electrical power, sanitary water, process water,
cooling water, hydrogen, nitrogen, potassium hydroxide, hydrofluoric
acid handling, cylinder movement, material handling, instrument air,
fire suppression, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC),
decontamination, emission controls, waste handling, and environmental
monitoring. This utility equipment is identical to equipment currently
in operation at the facility. The Portsmouth DUF6 Conversion
Facility meets the DOE criteria for a Hazard Category 3 Nuclear
Facility.
Currently the facility reacts the DUF6 with
H2 (hydrogen) and H2O (steam) to produce the
UOx. This reaction generates hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a
production/conversion co-product in molar proportion to the reaction.
Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) is used in an off gas scrubber to neutralize
the HF vapor which is not collected for resale. As decided in the ROD,
the aqueous HF produced during conversion will be sold for use, as
appropriate. If necessary, CaF2 (Calcium Fluoride) will be
produced and dispositioned.
Amended Decision
DOE/NNSA is amending DOE's previous decision (69 FR 44649). DOE/
NNSA will install the fourth conversion line and will slightly alter
the process when reacting the DUF6. Typically, as stated
above, the DUF6 is reacted with H2 and
H2O (steam) to produce the UOx. The altered
process will still react DUF6 with H2 but will
omit the H2O (steam) from the initial part of the conversion
process. The N2 will still be used as an inert motive force
gas and the off gas will still be scrubbed with KOH. At the
[[Page 3905]]
end of the process, H2O (steam) will then be used, but only
to dilute the generated HF to the desired concentration (molarity). The
HF will still be stored in tanks to be sold for use, or converted to
CaF2, as described above. The resulting product,
DUF4, will be provided to a commercial vendor for additional
processing. This operation avoids having to provide for subsequent
disposition of the UOx and provides a strategic commodity
that can be used in NNSA programs.
Basis for Decision
Implementing this decision supports DOE's continuing need to
convert its inventory of DUF6 to a more stable chemical form
for use or disposal, as defined in the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium
Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS)
(DOE/EIS-0360). In this instance, the use will be the production of
DUF4 that can be provided to a commercial vendor for later
conversion into metallic depleted uranium for government use. The
current proposal does not represent a substantive change to operations,
activities, and associated impacts assessed in DOE/EIS-0360. Any
applicable updates related to the International Building Code and life
safety codes will be incorporated into the NNSA Conversion Project new
equipment design. The proposed conversion to DUF4 would
reduce the UOx quantity that would need to be dispositioned
at a commercial facility (sold, re-used, or disposed of as waste), as a
quantity of DUF6 would be converted to DUF4 and
HF instead of oxide. Processes and equipment used for this purpose
would be similar or identical to those associated with current
conversion activities. The total amount of DU planned for transport
would remain unchanged from quantities evaluated in the 2004 EIS;
however, the form of a small percentage of the transported material
would change. Radiological impacts from handling/transportation between
the two material forms are comparable. In the event of a container or
equipment breach, a release of DUF4 would result in reduced
hazards in comparison to that of depleted uranium oxide because
DUF4 would be slightly less prone to becoming airborne.
In addition, the planned transportation destinations for oxide
involve greater distances than the proposed destination options for
DUF4. Finally, less HF will be generated during the
conversion to DUF4 as compared to the conversion to oxide
material.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of December 2019, for
the United States Department of Energy.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty,
Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, National Nuclear Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-01074 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
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