Environmental Assessment -- Test Area North pool stabilization project update

The purpose of this Environmental Assessment (EA) is to update the ``Test Area North Pool Stabilization Project`` EA (DOE/EA-1050) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) issued May 6, 1996. This update analyzes the environmental and health impacts of a drying process for the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear reactor core debris canisters now stored underwater in a facility on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). A drying process was analyzed in the predecision versions of the EA released in 1995 but that particular process was determined to be ineffective and dropped from the EA/FONSI issued May 6, 1996. A new drying process was subsequently developed and is analyzed in Section 2.1.2 of this document. As did the 1996 EA, this update analyzes the environmental and health impacts of removing various radioactive materials from underwater storage, dewatering these materials, constructing a new interim dry storage facility, and transporting and placing the materials into the new facility. Also, as did the 1996 EA, this EA analyzes the removal, treatment and disposal of water from the pool, and placement of the facility into a safe, standby condition. The entire action would take place within the boundaries of the INEEL. The materials are currently stored underwater in the Test Area North (TAN) building 607 pool, the new interim dry storage facility would be constructed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) which is about 25 miles south of TAN