ML20005A913

Responds to Forwarding Constituent Comments on Proposed Rules 10CFR30,32,70 & 150 Re Use of Smelted Alloys in Commercial Products.Radiation Levels Would Not Be High Enough to Cause Cancer

ML20005A913
Person / Time
Issue date:	06/08/1981
From:	Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA)
To:	Damato A SENATE
Shared Package
ML20005A914	List: ML20005A913 ML20005A916
References
FRN-45FR70874, RULE-PR-150, RULE-PR-30, RULE-PR-32, RULE-PR-70, TASK-OS, TASK-TP-710-1 45FR70874-3579, NUDOCS 8107060026
Download: ML20005A913 (2)

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Dear Senator D'Amato:

Thank you for your letter dated May 20, 1981 on behalf of your constituent, Miriam Hecht, concerning amendments now under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to exempt from licensing and regulatory requirements tect.aetium-99 and low-enriched uranium as residual contamination in any smelted alloy.

The rulemaking in question was originally undertaken by the Commission at the request of the 'Jepartment of Energy and pursuant to a 1974. amendment (p.L.93-377) to the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954.

The rulemaking would permit the recycling of scrap metal from discarded equipment at DOE's uranium enrichment plants. This scrap metal is sometimes contaminated with small amounts of byproduct or special nuclear material resulting from the enrichment process.

This contamination cannot practically be removed but is considered too insignificant to constitute a radiation health or safety problem.

Until Congress amended the AEA in 1974, it was necessary for the Commission to issue a specific license-for the possession of this type of radioactive material, no matter how small the quantity.

In amending the Act, Congress gave.the.. Commission _t.he authority to exempt minute quantities o' 2pecial nuclear material from its licensing requirements if it finds thes a licensing exemption "will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common def1nse and security and.to che health and safety of the,public."

We would like to emphasize that under the proposed amendments persons who smelt scrap contaminated with technetium-99 or low-enriched uranium or wno are the first transferors of such smelted alloy would not be exempt from licensing reacirements.

Such persons would be under license and would be required to sr..ait a description of the decontamination and smelting l

procedures and sampling and analytical procedures to be used.

This would i

assure that the smelted alloys subsequently to be used under the exemption meet the proposed maximum contaminatier, limits.

It also should be noted that the scope of the exemption is narrow permitting only the technetium-99 and low-enriched uranium as the contaminants.

Contami-nants such as plutonium, high-enriched uranium or other transuranics are not included in the exemption.

The Tc-99 and low-enriched uranium would be minor constituents (less than 5 parts per million (ppm) and 17.5 ppm, respectively)

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• I9 03 ine resulting levels of contamination would be at or cel:w those of many products commonly in use which contain traces of unenriched uranium. For exampl e, most building materials contain some traces of uranium (granite,'

4.7 ppm; cement, 3.4 ppm; by-product gypsum,13.7. ppm). Dental porcelain, used in making fcise teeth, has been found to contain' from 10 to 990 ppm uranium.

The NRC upper limit for unimportant quantities of unenriched uraniun is 500 ppm.

There is essentially no difference in the nature of the radioactivity emitted from this unenriched uraniuni and the low-enriched uranium being considered for exemption.

The NRC staff has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in support of the proposed rule.

Without the exemption, thousands of tons of government-owned nickel, copper, iron and steel scrap would have.to be disposed of.as radioactive waste at substantial cost to the taxpayers.

If exempted, this metal could be smelted down and resold for in excess of

$40 million.

Further, energy savings from recycle have been estimated at

- the equivalent of about 170,000 barrels of crude oil or 30,000 Mg of coal. -By comparison with these benefits, the risk of cancer from release and unrestricted use of the entire ' inventory of smelted alloy is estimated to be considerably less than one.

This means that it is highly unlikely that the recycled alloy would cause even one cancer in one person in the total U.3. population.

Notice of the proposed rule was made in the Federal Register and the press on October 27, 1980.

The coment period expired December 11, 1980.

Over 3,300 public comments 'were~rscei9ed:

Comments +i+1 be reviewed and addressed in the Final EIS before c.ny decision is made by the Comission on promulgation.of a_ final rule.

i Your interest in this matter is appreciated.

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garldn Kammere'r, Director 6 Office of Congressional Affairs l

Enclosure:

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