LOC Comments on proposed changes to DOE Order 5400.5

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

For those RadSafers interested in the issue, below are the LOC's
official comments on the subject proposed page change.

By the way, in a conference call yesterday with some of the key players
at DOE about this issue (to clarify our FOIA request), we finally got
them to admit:

- There was no health problem with recycling D&D metals as it had been
done, and no significant public health improvement will occur from the
new regulations.

- The Secretary of Energy was responding to concerns from the steel
industry regarding the "perceptions" of the problem with recycling metal
from D&D projects and took the step to avoid possible significant
financial impact to the steel industry.

- The Secretary of Energy was responding to concerns from the "public"
and certain politicians (this is probably the heart of the matter).

- There was no scientific or technical basis for the changes.

--Susan Gawarecki

THE LOC's COMMENTS:

December 1, 2000

Mr. Harold T. Peterson, Jr.
Office of Environmental Policy and Guidance
U.S. Department of Energy (EH-41)
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC  20585

Subject:  Comments on proposed changes to DOE Order 5400.5, "Radiation
Protection of the Public and Environment" 

References:
1.	Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson from CAP Chair Norman
Mulvenon and LOC Executive Director Susan Gawarecki; dated February 9,
2000; Subject "Nickel Recycling at K-25 Site, Oak Ridge Reservation,
Tennessee"

2.	Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson from LOC Chair Jerry
Kuhaida; dated April 24, 2000; Subject "LOC Concern Regarding Suspension
of Nickel Recycling at K-25 Site, Oak Ridge Reservation, Tennessee"

3.	Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson from LOC Chair Jerry
Kuhaida; dated July 20, 2000; Subject "LOC concerns regarding suspension
of release of potentially contaminated scrap metal for recycling from
DOE facilities"

4.	Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson from LOC Chair Jerry
Kuhaida; dated September 29, 2000; Subject "DOE Moratorium on Metals
Recycling; Carolyn Huntoon letters of July 28, 2000, and September 14,
2000"

5.	Letter to FOIA/Privacy Act Division Director Abel Lopez from LOC
Chair Jerry Kuhaida; dated September 29, 2000; Subject "Freedom of
Information Act request for documentation related to DOE's Reuse and
Recycling Task Force and subsequent decision to suspend recycling of
residually contaminated metal"

Dear Mr. Peterson:

The Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc. (LOC) voted at
its regular meeting of November 30, 2000, to submit the following
comments on the proposed changes to DOE Order 5400.5, "Radiation
Protection of the Public and Environment."  The LOC, advised by its
Citizens' Advisory Panel, has investigated the need for this policy
change from a public health perspective, the current regulatory
framework, technical issues, and economic repercussions.  We have
written several letters to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson regarding
the decision to suspend metal recycling and requesting additional
information as to how the decision was reached, finally resorting to
filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA request
number F2000-00694).  Copies of this correspondence are enclosed for
your ready reference.

There is no significant public health benefit of DOE refusing to release
any metal with residual minor contamination.  When Tennessee's Division
of Radiological Health issued a license to Manufacturing Sciences
Corporation (MSC) to release volumetrically contaminated nickel, they
calculated extremely conservative release limits based on the material
being used as a hip replacement.  MSC's decontamination technique
allowed it to keep the metal well within the prescribed limits. 
Furthermore, as no negative health effects have ever been demonstrated
for low-level exposures, the expense of regulating to an ill-defined
"background level" is completely unjustified.

DOE should not have to refrain from an activity already legal and deemed
by regulatory standards to be acceptable from a public health
perspective.  The Department of Defense (the "Nuclear Navy"), the
nuclear power industry, and commercial operations licensed by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are allowed to release
decontaminated metal with residual surface contamination into public
commerce under NRC guidance as laid out in Regulatory Guide 1.86. 
Furthermore, scrap metal and metal consumer products imported from
overseas may have residual levels of contamination as allowed by
regulatory bodies in other countries, particularly those following
International Atomic Energy Agency guidance.  It should also be noted
that the vast majority of recycled steel is reformed into construction
members (girders, reinforcing bar) that the general public never comes
in contact with.

The proposed changes to DOE Order 5400.5 are vague and raise technical
questions as to how this order can be implemented effectively and
consistently.  Some technical questions that arise are:

·	How does DOE define "background" levels of radiation?
·	All metals smelted since the end of World War II contain low but
detectable levels of fission products.  How will DOE distinguish
radioactivity attributed to DOE activities from that which has resulted
from aboveground testing and has been subsequently incorporated into all
post-WWII metal? 
·	Chapter 5, Section 4.a.(2), refers to "appropriate commercially
available technology;" how will DOE determine what is "appropriate" or
not?  Will additional guidance or a standard be established?

DOE should examine proposed cleanup activities at all of its sites to
determine the true cost of not releasing slightly contaminated metals. 
The suspension of recycling of the volumetrically contaminated nickel
and then the surface-contaminated scrap metal will cost DOE
approximately an additional $55 million at Oak Ridge on one contract
alone.  These costs were to be avoided by allowing the contractor, BNFL,
to sell the metal to be recycled.  Loss of opportunity cost of recycling
this material is magnified by the additional storage and/or disposal
costs.  The effective huge increase in costs of decontamination and
decommissioning (D&D) of the gaseous diffusion facilities will delay the
environmental cleanup and reindustrialization at Oak Ridge.  D&D
projects across the DOE complex will be similarly affected.  DOE should
undertake a cost-benefit analysis of this proposed action prior to
making such a change to DOE Order 5400.5.

The LOC presents conclusions and recommendations on the proposed changes
to DOE Order 5400.5.  The LOC concludes that the proposed changes are
unnecessary, create excessive regulation, do not provide any additional
protection of human health, are difficult to implement, are costly to
administer, and create additional negative environmental impacts by
diverting recyclable scrap metal to limited-capacity disposal sites. 
The LOC recommends that:
1.	DOE should not implement the proposed changes to DOE Order 5400.5; 
2.	DOE should lift the moratorium on recycling volumetrically and
surface-contaminated metals; and
3.	DOE should base any further policy decisions on release of
decontaminated metals on good science and in-depth technical analysis.

The LOC is a non-profit regional organization established to provide
local government and citizen oversight of the environmental management
activities and input into decision-making at the DOE's Oak Ridge
Reservation.  The Board of Directors of the LOC is composed of the
elected and appointed officials of the seven surrounding counties and is
chaired by the Mayor of the City of Oak Ridge.  The Chair of the LOC's
Citizens' Advisory Panel also serves on the LOC Board.  Funding for the
LOC is provided by the State of Tennessee under the Tennessee Oversight
Agreement.

Sincerely,

Jerry Kuhaida, Ph.D.
Chair, Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
-- 
.....................................................
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
                       -----                       
The LOC newsletter "Insights" is posted on our Web site
http://www.local-oversight.org - E-mail loc@icx.net 
.....................................................
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