ML20011F096
| ML20011F096 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/20/1990 |
| From: | Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (GPA) |
| To: | Scott H RHODE ISLAND, STATE OF |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9003010088 | |
| Download: ML20011F096 (6) | |
Text
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- ja* **%k UNITED STATES i
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 5
W ASHlWTON,0. C. 70666 February 20, 1990 l
H. Denman Scott, M.D.
Director of Health Rhode Island Department of Health
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Cannon Building, Davis Street i
Providence, RI 02908
Dear Dr. Scott:
This letter confirms the discussion between John McGrath, NRC State Agreements Officer, and John T. Tierney, Associate Director of the Department of Health, on October 27, 1989 following our review and evaluation of the State's radiation control program.
As a result of our review of the State's program and the routine exchance of information between the Nuclear Regulatory Connission and the State, j
the staff determined that the State's program for the regulation of agreement materials is adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with the Commission's program. The finding of compatibility is based upon the State's actions to implement certain requirements through the licensing process on an interim basis while completing the process of adopting them as regulations. These requirements, which pertain to radiography safety, were adopted by NRC in July 1966 and must be adopted by Agreement States to maintain compatibility. A three-year interval is allowed by NRC guidelines for such adoption by the Agreement States. We recommend the State initiate l
rulemaking to adopt other NRC rules that are needed to maintain i
compatibility.
For example, three NRC rules must be adopted in 1990 to l-meet this objective and are listed in Enclosure 2.
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An explanation of our policies and practices for reviewing Agreement L
State programs is attached as Enclosure 1.
I l contains connents regarding the State's program which were discussed with Associate Director Tierney and Charles McMahon during our exit meeting with them. As indicated during our exit meeting, we request l
a response from the State on the issues discussed in Enclosure 2.
We are enclosing a second copy of this letter for placement in-the State's public document room or otherwise to be made available for public view.
We would like to take this opportunity to compliment the State on the excellent manner in which the State's overall radiation control program continues to be conducted. Rhode Island became an Agreement State in 1980. Program reviews conducted by NRC since that time have never resulted in any significant adverse connent concerning the program. We congratulate you on this achievement and on the State s efforts to 90030100ss 900220 D)
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-H. Denman Scott 2
FEB 2 01993-protect public health and safety. We appreciate the continued cooperation with the NRC and the courtesy extended by your staff to Mr. McGrath during the review.
S rely.0,J 46L wt Carlton Kamme er. Director State Programs Office of Governmental and Public Affairs
Enclosures:
As stated cc w/encis:
J. M. Taylor, Executive Director for Operations W. Russell, Regional Administrator, Region i I.
M. Knapp. Director, DRSS, Region I State Liaison Officer NRC Public Document Room State Public Document Room E
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v APPLICATION OF " GUIDELINES FOR NRC REVIEW OF AGREEMENT STATE RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAMS" The " Guidelines for NRC Review of Agreement State Radiation Control Programs" were published in the Federal Register on June 4, 1987, as an NRC Policy Statement. The Guide provides 29 indicators for evaluating Agreement State program areas. Guidance as to their relative importance to an
. Agreement State program is provided by categorizing the indicators into two categories.
Category I indicators address program functions which directly relate to the State's ability to protect the public health and safety.
If significant problems exist in one or more Category I indicator areas, then the need for improvements may be critical.
Cotcgory II indictiors address program functions which provide essentini H
technical and administrative support for the primary program functions.
Good performance in meeting the guidelines for these indicators is essential in order to avoid the development of problems in one or more of the principal pogram areas,-i.e., those that fall under Category I indicators.
Category II indicators frequently can be used to identify underlying problems that are causing or contributing to difficulties in Category I indicators.
It is the NRC's intention to use these categories in the following manner.
In reporting findings to State management, the NRC will indicate the i.
category of each comment made.
If no significant Category I coments are provided, this will indicate that the program is adequate to protect the public health and safety and is compatible with the NRC's program.
If one i
or more significant Category I comments are provided, the State will be notified that the program deficiencies may seriously affect the State's ability to protect the public health and safety and that the need for improvement in particular program areas is critical.
If, following receipt and evaluation, the State's response appears satisfactory in addressing the significant Category I coments, the staff may offer findings of adequacy and compatibility as appro)riate or defer such offering until the State's actions are examined and t1eir effectiveness confirmed in a subsequent review.
If additional information is needed to evaluate the' State's
. actions, the staff may request the information through follow-up correspondence or perform a special limited review. ' NRC staff may hold a special meeting with appropriate State representatives.
No significant items will be left unresolved over a prolonged period. The Comission will
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be informed and copies of the review correspondence to the States will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
If the State program does not improve or if additional significant Category I deficiencies have developed, a staff finding that the program is not adequate will be considered and the NRC may institute proceedings to suspend or revoke all or part of the Agreement in accordance with Section 274j of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
ENCLOSURE 1
p SVmARY OF ASSESSMENTS AND COMMENTS RHODE ISLAND RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM FOR THE PERIOD l
NOVEMBER 5, 1987 TO OCTOBER 27, 1989 b
Legl)fReview 4 s program e iew was conducted in accordance with the Comission's 1
Policy Statet for reviewing Agreement State Programs published in the 6
Federal Register on June 4, 1987, and the internal procedures established l
by the Office of Governmental and Public Affairs, State Programs, State Agreements Program. The State's program was reviewed against the 29 program indicators provided in the Guidelines. The review included discussions with program staff, technir.a1 evaluation of selected license and compiance files, the evalueticn of the Shu's respor.su to an ta questionnaire that was'sent to the State in preparation for the review, and a field accompaniment of a State inspector.
The seventh regulatory program review meeting with the State was held
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during the period October 23-27, 1989 in Providence, Rhode Island. The l
State was represented by Charles McMahon, Supervising Radiation Control Specialist. A review of selected license, compliance and incident files was conducted by John McGrath, Region I, during the period October 25-26, 1989. A field accompaniment of a State' inspector at an institutional medical facility was conducted on October 24, 1989 by John McGrath. A closecut meeting was held with the Associate Director of the Department of Health, John T. Tierney, on October 27, 1989.
Conclusion i
The Rhode Island program for the control of agreement materials was found to be adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with the Commission's program.
Status of Program Related to Previous NRC Findings jl
.The results of NRC's previous review were reported to the State in a letter dated December 1,1987. No specific comments or recommendations for program improvements were made.
Current Review Comments and Recommendations All 29 program indicators were reviewed and the State fully satisfies 27 of these indicators. Specific coments and recommendations for the remaining two indicators are as follows:
ENCLOSURE 2
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LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS Status and Compatibility of Regulations is a Category I indicator.
The following comment and recomendation concern an issue which, while not considered of major significance'at this time, may become so in the near future.
Coment For regulations deemed to be a matter of compatibility by NRC, State regulations should be amended as soon as practicable, but no later
- than three years. On July 16, 1986 the NRC regulations on Industrial Radiography (10 CFR 34) were amended, and this amendment-is a matter of compatibility.
It has not yet been adopted by the State. The State as an interim measure is implementing-these requirenents through thc licensing process.
The State's radiation control regulations were last amended in October 1984. During an interim visit to Rhode Island in October 1988, we recomended that the State consider initiating action to update the regulations. As a result of this recomendation, your staff prepared a draft revision to the State regulations which has been reviewed by our Region I office.
However, at the current time it is being reviewed by'the Department's legal staff and has been tied up for some period of time.
Recommendation
-We recommend that the Department revitalize its internal review process and complete the revision of the regulations as soon as possible.
We also recommend the State begin now the process for maintaining the regulations current and compatible. The following NRC regulations have been issued within the-three-year guideline, and need to be adopted by the State to maintain compatibility:
Bankruptcy Notification NRC Rule Effective 2/11/87 Medical Misadministration Reporting NRC Rule Effective 4/1/87 Well Logging Requirements NRC Rule Effective 7/14/87 Certification of Dosimetry Processors NRC Rule Effective 2/12/88 Decomission Rule NRC Rule Effective 7/12/88 II. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION Quality of Emergency Planning is a Category I indicator. The following comment and recomendation concerns an issue which is not of major significance.
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-Comment The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA).has the o
L responsibility for coordinating emergency response in the State.
E The State emergency plan ' Annex G, states that RIEMA will direct and control all response actlvities. Although the State Department of'
- Health is listed in the plan as a part of the emergency response organization, its specific role is not spelled out in the Also, the Department staff could not determine when RIEMA' plan.
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emergency call list was last revised.
It currently needs minor revisions to reflect recent changes in Department of Health staff and the NRC Region I address. According to the radiation control program staff, RIEMA has, in the past, not followed any standard protocol for informing the Department of Health of reported radiation incidents. The Department's licensees have been reporting.
incidents directiv to the Department, ir comp 11ence with the lepartmer.t's regulations and the Ltpu..:. r.t's responses have t w timely.
For other incidents, such as transportation incidents, it is not clear that the Department would be informed by RIEMA of the event.
Recommendation The.Rhode Island Department of Health has regulatory responsibility for radiation safety in the State and further possesses-technical expertise on radiation matters. The State emergency plan should explicitly address the inclusion of Department personnel in all aspects of emergency response. We understand that Departmental staff has initiated discussions with RIEMA to address-this issue.
We support this initiative and urge prompt resolution of these-concerns. The discussions should include consideration of.
amendments to Annex G to reflect the role-of;the Department'as a regulating Agency for radiation safety. The RIEMA emergency call
-list should be reviewed periodically to assure that it contains appropriate, current entries for the Department and others=who are
, listed.
Summary Discussion with State Representatives
- A summary meeting to present the results of the regulatory program rev1ew was held with Mr. John T. Tierney, Associate Director, Department of Health, on October 27, 1989. Mr. Charles McMahon, Supervising Radiation Control Specialist, was also present. The NRC representative, L
John McGrath,-indicated that the Rhode Island program continues to be-f conducted in an excellent manner. 'In addition to-the comments discussed above, it was noted that with the retirement of Jim Hickey, the program is currently without a senior manager. Although this has not as yet resulted in any programmatic problems, the position should be filled as socn as possible. Mr. Tierney stated that they are actively seeking a candidate for the position and it is a high priority item with the Department.
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