ML20034C211

Provides Info Re Interpretation of Bioassay Measurements to Assess Intakes of Radioactive Matl

ML20034C211
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	04/24/1990
From:	Dan Collins NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
To:	Tucker H DUKE POWER CO.
References
IEIN-82-18, NUDOCS 9005020173
Download: ML20034C211 (3)

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APR 2 41990

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1 Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, 50-287 License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, DPR-55 Duke Power Company ATTN: Mr. H. B. Tucker, Vice President Nuclear Production Department 422 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28242 Gentlemen:

SUBJECT:

INFORMATION REGARDING INTERPRETATION OF BI0 ASSAY MEASUREMENTS This is to provide you information regarding the interpretation of bicassey treasurements to assess intakes of. radioactive material.

Enclosed is an NRC memorandum which updates a position taken in Information Notice r32-18

" Interpretation of Bioassay Measurements; Assessment of Intakes."

This NRC memorandum specifies that assessment of individual intakes using bioassey data should be based on the best data and n.odels availeble for that purpose rather than the niodels in place at the time the NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 20 were implemented.

If you have any questions on the above, please give me a call.

Sincerely.

ORKINAL SIGNto BY DOUGLAS M CM v Douglas M. Collins, Chief Emergency Preparedness and Radiological Protection Branch Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards

Enclosure:

Memorandum dated March 14, 1990 cc w/ enc 1:

H. B. Barron Station Manager Oconee Nuclear Station P. O. Box 1439 Seneca, SC 29678 (cc w/enci cont'd - see page 2) 1 9005020173 900424 FDR ADOCK 05000269 Q

PDC i

S Duke Power Company 2

-(ccw/ enc 1 cont'd).

A. V. Carr, Esq Duke Power Company P. O Box'33189 422 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28242 County Supervisor of Oconee County Walhalla SC 29621 Robert B. Borsum-Babcock and Wilcox Company Nuclear Power Generation Division Suite 525, 1700 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD '20852 J Michael McGarry, Ill, Esq.

Bishop. Cook, Purcell and Reynolds 1400 L Street, NW Washington, D. C.

20005 Office of Intergovernmental Relations 116 West Jones Street Raleigh, NC 27603 Heyward G. Shealy, Chief Bureau of Radiological Health South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

?600 Bull Street Columbia, SC 29201 Manager, LIS -

NUS Corporation 2536 Countryside Boulevard Clearwater, FL 33515-Paul Guill Duke Power Company P. O. Box 33189 422 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28242 Karen E. Long Assistant Attorney General N. C. Department of Justice P. O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602

-State of South Carolina bec w/ enc 1:- (See page 3) e

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Duke Power Company 3

bec w/ enc 1:

L. Wiens, NRR B. R. Bonser, RII M. B. Shymlock, RII Document Control Desk NRC Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Route 2 Box 610 Seneca, SC 29678 i

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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REOULATORY COMMISSION

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March 14, 1990

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hEh0RANDUM FOR: Those on the Attached List i

FROM:

LeMoine J. Cunningham, Chief Radiation Protection Branch Division of Radiation Protection l

and Emergency Preparedness l

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l

SUBJECT:

URAFT NRC INFORMATION NOTICE, "lHTERPRETATION 0F B10 ASSAY MEASUREMENTS; ASSE$5HENT OF INTAKE" In a July 13, 1968 niemorandum,1 informed you that we had decided not to issue the enclosed draft information notice which had been prepared after resolution of HRC headquarters and regional office comments on earlier drafts.

(Note:

The technical contacts have been updated on the enclosed copy of the draf t.)

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A primary reason for this decision was that a regulatory guide endorsing the use of NUREG/CR-4884, " Interpretation of Bioassay Measurements," was to have been issued within a few months and we intended to have that guide incorporate the message in the enclosed craft information notice concerning the incorrect

" position" in Information Notice No. 82-18. That regulatory guide has not been issued and, although the guide is still under development, we do not expect it to be issueo in the near future.

We have reconsidered issuing the enclosed draft notice; however, we again have decided not to do so primarily because the regulatory guide incorporating the information is still planned and because the importance of the information con.

tained in the enclosed draft is below the current threshold of importance suf-ficient to warrant issuance of an NRC information notice. However, to make this information available to the public, we are placing a copy of this memo-I randum enclosure in the public document room. Therefore, you are free to trans-i l

mit copies to licensees if you so desire.

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e;4 e J. Cunningha, Chief Rad ation Protection Branch Division of Radiation Protection and Emergency Preparedness Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosure:

Subject Information Notice CONTACT: John D. Buchanan, NRR 492-1097 kNb-04

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p UNITED STATES i

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM!$510N l

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OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION WASHINGTON, D.C.

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sune xx, 1,88 l

l NRC INFORMTION NOTICE NO. 88 XX:

INTERPRETATION OF B10A$$AY MEASUREMENTS:

l ASSESSMENT OF INTAKES I

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i Addressees:

All nuclear power reactor facilities holding an operating license or a con.

struction pemit, research and test reactors, fuel facilities, and Priority I l

material licensees.

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I Background and

Purpose:

This information notice is intended to correct an NRC osition in Infomation Notice 82 18 (Refersnce !) that was in conflict with t e NRQ staff position f

e published in several regulatory guides. The NRC position in Information Notice l

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8218 indicates that, for p'urposes of deteretning compliance with the 10 CFR l

Part 20 intake limits, only the methodology of the International Comission on I

Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publicatien 2 (Reference 2) can be used in i

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assessing intakes of radioacti12 materiel using bioassay data. Another purpose cf this 1988 information notice is to call attention to a comprehensive new manual prepared for the NRC that can be used to compute intakes from both in vivo and in vitro bionssay measurements, ' Interpretation of Bioassay Easurements' TTJRIG/CR-4884).

It is expected that recipients will review the information in this information notice for applicability to their programs.

However, suggestions contained in this inferention notice do not constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.

Discussion:

The NRC staf f position with respect to bioassay is presented in NRC Regulatory 8.22, and 8.26.

In general, the position is that Guides S.9, 8.11, 8.20,l intake using bloessay data should be based on the best assessment of individua data and models available for that purpose.

IE Information Notice 8218, ' Assessment of Intakes of Radioactive Material by 7

Workers," issued in 1982, pointed out that the present NRC limits on intake are based on ICRP Publication 2 and concluded with the NRC position: *The NRC will continue to use the ICRP Publication 2 methodology in detemining compliance j

with 10 CFR 20 until the revision of 10 CFR 20 has been published as a final rule.'

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IN 88.xx 1986 yM June **,f 3

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Page 2 o l1' The NRC staff now recognites that this position in Information Notice it 18 j

(1) is incorrect in taiplying that only ICRP Publication 2 can be used for j

bicassay data to determine compliance with 10 CFR Pai't 20 and assessina i

(2) conflicts with the NRC staff position expressed in relevant regulatory puides. Although ICRP Publication 2 provides the basis for current 10 CFR Part 20 limit 5 on intake (based on long term, chronic exposures),because it it does not always protice en acequate bests for assessing individual intake i

dets not provide information on body content or escreta following single

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(acute) intake er information applicable to an individus) differing from the This inadequacy is recognized in

' standard men' defined in ICRP Publication 2.

l 2CRT Td11 cations 10 and 10A (References 3 and 4), which are endorsed in l

Regulatory Guide 8.9 and which are mentioned in Information Notice 82-18 as being used by the NRC to evaluate bioassey data to determine compliance with regulatory requirements.

i The NRC staff became aware of the problem with the NRC posigion in Information Notice 8218 as a result of reviews and discussions during g'its draft stage) of a draf t report, 'Jnterpretation of Sionssay Neasurements (Reference 6),

This prepared by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) under en NRC contract.

report (which was published in July 1987) is a comprehensive manual that for the first time, provides infora tion on how to compute intakes from both in vivo and in vitro bionssay measurements and contains tasles for the interpretation c,f This manual biosissy results, in terms of intake, for several hundred n9c11 des.

conforms to the positions in existing rggulatory guides, and the computed intake retention fractions in the report have been verified by comparison with results generated by other computer models using the same set of assumptions (RCMEDY andDOSEDAY/DOSEYR). The use of this report, with its straightforward method.

l ology, could help licensees avoid the difficulties associated with the use of J

the methodology in ICRP Publication 2.

4 The NRC plans to issue, for cowenent, a draf t regulatory guide that would endorse the BNL report for use in assessing intaket of radioactive material from the results of bioassay measurements.

In the interim, use of this report for the interpretation of bicassay measurements is consistent with the regula-tory positions in existing regulatory guides on blaassays therefore, the report

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may be used for this purpose. Of course, the limits on intake given in 30 CFR 20.103 and based on ICRP Publication 2 continue to apply until they are changed in a revision of 10 CFR Part 20. Furthermore, to the extent it is t

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I applicable. ICRP Publication 2 may continue to be used for assessing intakes of radioactive material for cosparison with the intake Ifmits of 20 CFR Part 20.

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No specific action or written res sense is required by this information notice.

administrator of the appropriate regional office or this office.If yet l 1

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i Charles E. Rossi, Director i

Division of Operational trents Assessment Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation j

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J'ober A Buchanart j

Technical Contacts: N, NRR 8tvdded 6, 8twoA$f RAS y,.

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(301) 492 4 422 References j

(1) It Information Notice 82-18, ' Assessment of Intakes of Radioactive Material by Workers.' June !!,1982.

(2) ' Report of Comittee !! on permissible Dose for Internal Radiation,'

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Recomendations of the International Comission on Radiological Protection, JCRP Publication 2, 1959.

(3) ' Report of Comittee !Y en tvaluation of Radiation Doses in Sody Tissues from Internal Contamination due to Occupational Exposure,' Reconnendations of the International Consission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Pubitcation 10,1968.

(4) 'The Assessment of Internal Contamination Resulting from Recurrent or A Report of ICRP Coenittee 4,' Recomendations of the Prolonged Uptakes;ission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 104, International Cosm

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1969.

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(5) Edward T. Lessard, Xia Tihua Kenneth W. Skrable et al.I), Interpretation of Sionssay Measurements," NUREG/CR 4884 (8NL-WUkEG 5206 July 1987.

List of Recently 1ssued RRC Information Notices

Attachment:

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