ML18250A142
| ML18250A142 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/09/1987 |
| From: | Stello V NRC/EDO |
| To: | Commissioners NRC/OCM |
| References | |
| FRN-56FR67011, RULE-PR-31, RULE-PR-32 SECY-87-167 | |
| Download: ML18250A142 (7) | |
Text
POLICY 1S$UE Jub 98 1987 (Information) SECY-87-167
-£!!!:
For: The COll'lllis,toners Victor Stello, Jr.
Extcut1vt Director for Oper1t1ons SubJtct: RESULTS OF THE GENERAL LICENSE STUDY AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES TAKEN OR PLANNED 8Y THE STAFF Purpo11: To provfde the Coaf ssfoners fnfonnatfon on the study of the tffectfvtntss of tht NRC g1n1r1l lfc1n11s that w11 fnttfeted by the Offfct of Nuclear Hlteriel Safety and Saf1gu1rd1 (NNSS) fn 1984, 1nd to discuss me11urts tlktn or planned to IHI t1k1n 11 1 result of the study. No .Conntssfon 1ctfon ts requesttd or required.
Sunury: The stiff studied the perfol"'lllnct of tht general lfc1n1tt1 1t Aefntafnfng control of-thetr dtvfces and the rtsks 111oct1ted wtth loss or ~fshandling of th111 and concluded t111t tht NRC progr111 has provided the publfc adequate protection gfven the large number of devices fnvolved. To enhance tht effectiveness of thts progra11, the sttff hu taken ctrtlfn ecttons 1nd p*1 .. ns ctrtatn 1dd1tfonal actions toward f~provtd accountabflity and control of these devices.
- Dtscuufon: Gtn1r1l Ltcens, P,:,r111: NRC's regul1tfons provfde for several 91ner11 ltcen111 or th, us, of c1rtatn devtc11 contafnfng rad1oactfvt .. tertal. Under a gtn1r1l lfcenst a ,,.rson 111y obtain and use tht d1vfce wfttlout obtafnfng I sptc1ffc lfcen,,
from the NRC. That' fs, the person does not sublltt 1n applfca-tion for I lfc1n1e 1uthorfztny use of the radfoactfve .. t1rt1l, but aust comply wftll appltcab t HRC rules.
Gtntrtl lfc1n111 were provfdtd by Niles proaul91t1d 111ny y11rs ago as* 1111n, of sfll1)1ffyfng tht lfc1n1fng process wtttr,
- c111-by*c111 d1te,wtn1t1on of the adequacy of u11r qualfffca*
tfons ts not necessary. A 91111r1ll1 lfcensed d1vfc1 ts d1sfgn1d with fntt.rent r1cl11t1on safety ft1tu"s so that ft can be used by persons wtthout any radfatfon trafnfng or 1xpert1nc1, or spec;alfztd f1cflftf11 or 1qufP119nt other tllan those whfch are part of tht devfce.
Contact:
Steven L. 8eggett, NMSS 4:!7-9005
Tht Connfss1oners 2 Gtntr1lly lfctnsed devfces include those used for detecttn9,
_..1,urfng, or c~ntro11tng thickness, density, level, fnttrf1ce loc1tton, leakage, ch,.fcal co,nposftfon, or for producing 1fght or 1n fon1zed 1t111o1phere. These devices may contain I ftw tenths of* *fcrocurfe of bet1/g11111t1 emitters or up to curfe qu1~tttt1s of bttl/9111111/neutron ..ftters .
An estf1111ted 200,000 dtvfces are used throughout tht country under the general lfctnse provtsfons; the bulk of these,,.. rela*
tfvely lowtr*hAz1rd devfces, such as trtttum exit stgns ustd tn offtce butldtn91 and aircraft. History has shown that the IIOrt h1zardous 91ugfng devtces have survived, wtth source intact, 1111ults of explosfon, ffrt, and being run over by heavy earth-moving 1qut,..nt.
Dtvtces used under the general license aust be ~*nufactured and dfstrtbuttd under* spectftc ltcense fssutd by the NRC or by an Agr,..,nt State. 1"'- device 111.11t bt so desfgntd that tt can be oper1ttd by persons wfth no radfologfcal protection trafntng. Inst1ll1tfon, servicing, and perfodtc testing of the dtvfce are usually requfred to be perfonned by a sp,cfffc lfcens11 whose tr11n1ng tnd expert1nce wtth r1df1tton have be,n evaluated by tht NAC or ,n AgrteNnt State. When the usfr no longer needs the devfce. tt 11111st be transferred to 1 specific 11censee for dt1po11l. In effect, the user has a
- b11ck box* that perfor111 specfftc functions. It ts to be flll1nt1fned 1ccord1ng to requirements set out fn the regula*
tfons and then returned to I specific licensee for safe disposal.
Persons obtlfntng dtvfces for use under the general ltc1n11 are fdentffftd to tht NRC (or the 1pproprf1te Agreeeent State) 1n quarterly reports of transfers subllttttd by tht lfcensed vendor. Whtn the general lic1n1ee disposes of I device, the regulatfons raqufre tht 11n,~a1 licensee to report that fact to tht appropriate regulatory agency.
Althoufh the general lfctnse provtstons have betn part of the NRC'1 and the Ataatc Energy C01111ts11on's) re9ul1ttons for about 27 years, the NRC had not conducted a review about how tffectfvt these gentral lfcen111 have bttn fn protecting the ht1lth end safety of worke" and the public. Tht NRC has expe"dtd 11ttlt tffort fn 1nspectfon vtsfts to tht gtneral 1tcen1111. Thfs fs, at least p1rtt1lly, a consequence of the relatfvely 111111 radfatfon rfst fl"OII yen1r111y licensed devfcts coapared to the rfsk ff'OII other NRC*l ctnstd in1t1Jl1tfon1.
Wtth lf~fttd rescurces to perfonn tnspectfons, the NRC has fvt" very ltttle regulatory atttntfon to users of gen1r111y tcensed devtces.
The C011111sion1rs 3 Httd For and Conduct of the Stud : Several recent occurrences 1
involvtng byproduct ma£trfa1 ht1 lighted the need to review the 1ff1cttv1n11s of* tht genera lfcenst provfsfons. A r1dto-1cttv1 cobllt-60 telethtrapy source tn Mextco tn1dvertently tnttred the scrap 1111t1l chatn, was .. 1ttd, and afxtd wtth scrap which eventually bee... refnforctng bars, t1ble1, etc. Although that occurrence dfd not involve I generally ltc1n11d devtce 1nd contatntd 1Uch IIOrt radtoactfvtty titan generally lfcenstd d1vfct1 nol"llllly contain, ft ratsed qu11tton1 about tht poss1-bt1tty of 91n1r111y ltctnsed devf~,1 contltntng r1dtoactfve 111ttrt1I 1110 being taproperly controlled 1nd tndtny up fn a
- , ..1t1r. A gauge that had bten used under I genera lfcenst w11 returned to the vendor whert ft was discovered that the r1dto1cttv1 source w1s afssfng. The source w11 later found tn I floor dratn back 1t tht gauge user*, plant. In another case, an Agrt111ent State reported that, when tt startod col-ltctfng ftts for users of generally 11ctnsed d1vtces, * *** it w11 found that many ltcensets could not be located and SOllt others that were located were unaware of havfng any radto-act1vt ..terttls fn thttr possessfon ****
- Ffnally. several Agr....nt States, afttr tnspectton of 111ny of their general licensees, rtconnended (through the Conftrenct of Radiation Control Proyr** Otrectors) that NRC revftw tht eff1cttventss of general fctnses for protection of tht public health 1nd sazety and tht environintnt.
To help answer the question of whether NRC has a proble11 wfth respect to devtce users under general license, and, tf there f, 1 problem, what remedial 1ctton should bt taken, tflSS fnftfattd, study tn 1984 to detenntr.e 1f lfctnsees could account for thtfr 91ug11 and ff they .-ere 1w1re of related rtgulatory rtsponstbflittes. Inspections of g1n1r1l lfctnsees were also perfonned by regulatory 1genc11s 1n Agreenent Stites and by the NRt*s Regional offices.
R11uJt1 of tlte Styctr: The study covered several 1rt11 of safety co,1carft 1&out the use under tht general lfctnse provfsfons and revtalect the following ftndfngs: (1) 350 cor.pantes were con-tacted; they possessed about 1000 devtces, 36 of which could not be located by tither tht general ltcenstts or the NRC; (2) about 30 percent of the gtnera 1 lf censHs contacted could not 1dt*
quately 1ccount for dletr ttn1r1lly lfctnsed d1vfc1s; (3) about 80 percent of the genera 1 1f c1nsff1 contacted were un1ware of
,..,1atory requfrt111tnts; (4) about 3 percent of spectffcally licensed vtlldors ftfled to rtport to NRC 11111 of dtvfces to geftlrel licensees; (5) abOut 80 percent of the ,,ner1l 11censets
.,.. unaw.re th1y ware fn possess f on of gtntra 1 y 1teen std dtvfces such** ext\ 1tgn1. and (6) about 50 percent of the
,...,11 lfctnsees were not p1rfor11t~g leak tests or shutter tests et the prtscrfa,.d tfllt tnttrvals. In general, persons pcssessfng the 110rt pottr.ttally h111rdou1 gauging devfcts hAve I btttar 9r11p of regulatory requfr111tnts.
The Colafss1on1rs In order to put thfs 1pP1rtntly poor understanding *nd perfonn,nce by general ltcenstts tn proper perspectfve, one needs to assess
- tht rfsk 1ssoc1ittd with the v*rfous sources used undtr gener1l license.
Radfolop1ca1 Rfsk: Th* radfolo9fc1l risk assocfated wtth the use of 16out zoO,ooo dtvtces under ttt. 91ner1l lfcens1 can be placed fnto categorfes denoted 1s low, aedf1111, 1nd hfgh. The low rfsk group includes not only those devfces that art used 11 prescribed by regu11ttons, but 11so those devtces where 1 bre1ch of cont1f11111nt by unauthorized ..thods results fn ~tni*
mal rtsk. This group fncludts about 100,000 trit1ua ex1t signs and *bout 50,000 poloni111-210 1t1tic elfMfnators. The exposure potential of the d1vtc11 falls wtthin acceptable revulatory requtr1111nts.
Ttt. ..dtum rtsk group fncludes tho** devices that would gtve SOllt exposure to 1ndfvfdu1l(1) ff the sh1tldtng were breached.
Further, ff I sealed source contafntng r1dto1ctiv1 aaterfal fn this group was ruptured, the exposure to people would, for aost scenarios, fall within acceptable regulatory lfefts for accf*
dtntal exposure. There art about 30,000 dtvtces contitning v1rfous isotopes and 1ctfvftf11 fn this group. Liquid sc:Jnt111atton counters wfth a 40 microcurfe fnttrnal countfng sflnd1rd of cestum-137 and backscatter gauges wfth about 100 microcuries of hydrogen-3, carbon-14, strontfU11*90, or promtthiu,n-147 art examples.
The hfgh rtsk group includes about 20,000 devfces that would gfve sertous exposure to fndfv1duals ff the shielding were bre1ch1d. Further, these devfces could be recycled 1s scrap, 1ventually contlllfnatfng tht scrap recovery facf11ty and con*
SU111r products. The severtty of the consequence depends on source activtty, isotope, and the ty,,. of consu1111r product.
Dtvfces fn th11 group 91n1rally trt ruggedly built and ire d1119n1d such that tht rad101cttv1 .. terial ts well shielded.
Experience ha1 shown that the dtvfcts have survived, wtth source intact, such 1ss1ult111 ffrt, dust explosion followed by fire, and btfn9 run over by heavy earth-aoving equipment. Therefore, whflt hypothtt1ca11y
- person atght be styntffcantly exposed fn 1 wors1-ca11 s1tuat1on involving I genera ly 11ctnsed source, ac&Mal experience over 1111ny years wfth the general license prograa has not fdtntfffed strfous exposure proble11s due to the rugged destgn of the d1vtc1s.
Correcttve Measures Taken and or Planned: Ttt. results of the staff study tdtnttffed the generally poor und1rst1ndfng and poor performance of the 91n1r1l 11censets fn invtntoryfng and leak chtckfng their sources, and t"- 91ner1lly 1d1qu1t1 prottctfon 1fford1d the publtc notwithsi.ndtn9 the possible afsh1ndlfng or loss nf these sources.
The C0111tiss10,ers 5 Htverth1less. the staff has taken cert.in actfons ind tdent1f1ed 1ddttfon1l *ctfons to take to provfde soae 1,nprov...nt tn the degree of pu1'1fc health protectiori ~rovtded by tht NRC
- re9uhtory progrui. The stiff worked with the lnstftutt of Scrap Iron and Stetl, Inc., to publish a beoklet w1rnfng scrap dealers tbc,ut the potentt1l hlzerd of a r1d101ctfv1 source.
The staff published an tnfor111tfun poster (NUREG/8R0108) to serve 111 warning th1t I r1dfo1ctfv* source 1111 be present.
Infonutton Notices were sent to both vendors and general lfcens,es which encouraged vendors to c0111Unfc1tt aore effectively wfth thefr cust0111rs about regulatory requfrtr.'lfnts.
Tht staff stlrttd a ru111111kfn9 proJtct on gauges used under the gtntr1l license provision of 10 CFR Stctfon 31.5.
However, after ffndfng 1ccount1btlfty probl111s wfth this group of general ltcensees. the study w11 broadened to dtttf"lllirt ff there were 1ccount1tflft.y probl111s wfth ftntr1l lfcensets under about etght other gener11 lfcen1e1. When th*
t1ntatfv1 study ffndfngs rev11Jed sfm11ar 1ccount1bflfty probl11111 11 with gauges. the 10 CFR Sectfon 31.5 ru1 ... tfng was tennfnated p1ndiny the C011Pletfon of th1 study and the
,n1ly11s of tht radio 09tc1l risk 111ocf1ted wtth the other devfces used under general licenses.
l1s1d on the results of the complete general license study and th1 analysis of radfologfcal risk, th1 staff ts refnttt1tfng the rulttnakfng proc1ss. In 1ddtt1on to c1ar1fyfng SOIII confustng sections of the regulation which should improve cQ11Plf1nce. the m11n thrust of the rulemaking ..ay fnvolve a ustr and device regfstr1tion provision. In 1ddftfon, the proposed rule aay rtquirt periodic reporting by general lfcensees that possess the mort potentially h1z1rdous sources to conffnn that they hive the devtc11, and that the devfces ire being used ind 1111tnt1fned according to tht requfr1111nts set out fn the reyulatfons. The ...cent reorganfzatfon of NRC transferred ni ttnakfng rtsponstb111tfes to RES wfth technical tnput frcMn HMSS and other offices. As this ruletn1kfng could affect M1ny Agr11111nt State 111nuf1cturers, IIISS staff hive ..de tnfttal contacts wfth GPA stiff to establfsh I workin9 group to provfdt input tn the rule.. king process.
T~t Conn1ss1oners 6 As I result of tht study, the staff is tending out* second lnfonnat1on Notice to vendors. and ts revising a computer
- regfstry to 111n1ge the general licensees and those devices possessed by each general lfcensee. Thfs syst111 could be used to contact the general lfctnsees 1nd thus provfde *
..,ns to track thefr locatfon and 110nttor accountebf11ty more closely.
Victor S lo, *
£xecut1vt Director for Oper1tfons
GENERAL - 1*
General Lfcens1ng Information 200,000 devices A. 100,000 Tr1t1u* exit signs
- 8. 50,000 Po-210 static 111*1nators
- c. 30,000 L1qutd sc1nttllatton and back scatter sources of cs-187, H*3, c-1,. Sr-90, or promethiu,a-147;40-100 uCt .
- o. 20,000 Level test gauges up to 1C1 of radtoact1ve m1tert1l Spectffc License (1) Medical 111 types 2000 (2) Acad*fc 81 (3) In vitro t11tfng 11bor1tori11 96 (4) Nuclear phan11cf1s 43 (5) Mtdtcal product distrtbut1on 22 (6) Well logging 139 (7) Gauges fixed and portable 2145 (8) Manufacturing and d1strtbutton 38 (9) Nuclear laundry ~*
(10) Wastt 9tsposa1 61