ML20056G113
| ML20056G113 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/18/1993 |
| From: | Liza Cunningham Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Axelsen W, Cline W, Joyner J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I), NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II), NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9309020069 | |
| Download: ML20056G113 (4) | |
Text
7 JUN 181993 MEMORANDUM FOR:
James H. Joyner, Chief, FRSSB, DRSS, Region I William E. Cline, Chief, RPEPB, DRSS, Region II William L. Axelsen, Chief, RPB, DRSS, Region III i
L. Joseph Callan, Director, DRSS, Region IV James H. Reese, Chief, RRPB, DRSS, Region V l
FROM:
LeMoine J. Cunningham, Chief Radiation Protection Branch Division of Radiation Safety t
and Safeguards Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
HEALTH PHYSICS POSITION: AIRBORNE THORIUM FROM WELDING RODS l
r i
The subject health physics position is enclosed for your information. This position document has been revised in response to comments received on a draft that was sent to you on May 26, 1993.
This position resulted from a question from a corporate health physicist at a nuclear utility that had found airborne thorium in a nuclear power plant.
l Although this regulatory position is presented quite clearly in 10 CFR Part 40, it is being issued in this form to call attention to an exemption that might otherwise be overlooked by Part 50 licensees.
This memorandum and enclosure are being placed in the NRC Public Document Room and copies may be given to licensees.
Original signed by Le!.bine J. Cunnin; ham
~
I LeMoine J. Cunningham, Chief Radiation Protection Branch Division of Radiation Safety j
and Safeguards Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
As stated i
Contact:
John Buchanan 1
(301) 504-3184 DISTRIBUTION:
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ENCLOSURE Health Physics Position Airborne Thorium from Welding Rods QUESTION: Are there any NRC regulatory requirements that apply to airborne thorium caused by grinding the tips and using welding rods containing thorium?
ANSWER: No.
10 CFR 40, " Domestic Licensing of Source Material," in subsection 40.13(c)(1)(iii), provide.c that any person is exempt from the regulations in Part 40 and from the requirements for an NRC license to the extent that the person receives, possesses, uses, or transfers any quantities of thorium contained in welding, rods. Therefore, there are no NRC regulatory requirements that apply to airborne thorium caused by grinding and using welding rods that contain thorium.
ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION: The statement of considerations for the 10 CFR Part 40 exemption for thoriated welding rods does not include any information on the radiological hazards associated with their use; however, some information on the radiation doses associated with the use of these rods is provided on the following page.
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Supplemental Technical Information on Radiation Doses Resulting from the Use of Thoriated Tungsten Welding Rods Information on this subject is provided in the references listed below.
Reference 2 includes the following summary statement concerning radiation doses:
The maximum individual fifty-year dose commitment to bone for welders was estimated at between 55 and 2,000 mrem for a one-year exposure.
Welders not engaged in welding at home and occasional welders were estimated to receive a bone dose commitment of 16 mrem to 575 mrem and 1.3 to 115 mrem, respectively. A maximum individual bone dose commitment range between 30 and 230 mrem was estimated for nonwelders.
External doses for all group members were estimated to be less than 1 mrem.
Reference 4 includes the "ollowing statement:
The results for the grinding and welding operations, to date, show that all personal and area air samples are below the maximum permissible concentration for Th-232 as well as below the derived air concentration.
References
)
1.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Estimated Radiation Doses from Thorium and Daughters Contained in Thoriated Welding Electrodes," NUREG/CR-1039, December 1979.
2.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, " Environmental Assessment of Consumer Products Containing Radioactive Material," Section 6, "Thoriated Tungsten l
Welding Rods," NUREG/CR-1775, October 1980.
1 3.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP),
" Radiation Exposure of the U.S. Population from Consumer Products and
)
Miscellaneous Sources," NCRP Report No. 95, 1987.
(Note: This report i
summarizes data from References 1 and 2 above.)
4.
E. M. Crim and T. D. Bradley, " Evaluation of Personal Breathing Zone and Area Air Concentrations of Thorium During Grinding and Welding Operations Using Thoriated Tungsten Electrodes," Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Thirty-Eighth Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Atlanta, Georgia,11-15 July 1993, HeaMh Physics, Vol. 64, Supplement 1, page 585, June 1993.
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