ML20059F130
| ML20059F130 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/03/1993 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| FRN-58FR47676, RULE-PRM-20-21 NUDOCS 9311040144 | |
| Download: ML20059F130 (9) | |
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(FP P R 4'76 76)
[7590-01-P]
gg. DL nsEC NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 20
'93 SD -7 P :22
[ Docket No. PRM-20-21]
Keith J.
- Schlager, Ph.D.,
et al.,
Receipt of a Petition for Rulemaking AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION:
Petition for rulemaking; Notice of receipt.
SUMMARY
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by Keith J.
- Schiager, Ph.D.,
et al.
The petition has been docketed by the Commission and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-20-21.
The petitioners request that the NRC amend its regulations governing the disposal of cottain low-level radioactive wastes to provide additional options for the disposal of very low concentrations of short-lived radionuclides.
The petitioners believe such an amendment would permit more cost-effective radioactive waste management by research institutions and would public health and safety /9 not adversely affect follow /14
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ing publication in the DATE:
Submit comments by (75 days Federal Recister).
Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES:
Submit comments to:
Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
Attention:
Docketing and Service Branch.
Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, f A * ]$ld $b 9311040144 930903
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'h Maryland, between 7:45 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
i For a copy of the petition, write:
Rules Review Section, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of 1
Inf ormation and Publications '. 3rvices, Office of Administration, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael T.
Lesar, Office of Administration, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,.
l DC 20555.
Telephone:
301-492-7758 or Toll Free:
800-368-5642.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
I The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a petition for rulemaking submitted by Keith J.
- Schlager, Ph.D.,
et al.,
dated May 18, 1993.
The petition was docketed as PRM-20-21 on F
July 6, 1993.
The petitioners requested that the NRC amend its regulations in 10 CFR Part 20 that will become mandatory for all licensees on January 1, 1994, to permit additional methods for disposal of certain low-level radioactive wastes.
The petitioners note that current NRC regulations on low-level radioactive waste disposal (10 CFR 20.306) permit the disposal of liquid scintillation fluid that contains no more than 0.05 microcurie of hydrogen-3 (H-3) or carbca-14 (C-14) per gram.
The petitioners believe this provision is appropriate j
because it allows disposal of flammable solvents by incineration but claim that procedures other than liquid scintillation i
counting generate similar flammable or combustible liquid wastes l
' l that contain low concentrations of H-3 and C-14.
On May 21, 1991 2
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(56 FR 23360, 23391), the NRC published a final rule that added i
revised standards for protection against radiation to the regulations in 10 CFR Part 20.
Although the final rule cecame effective June 20, 1991, licensees are not required to implement-the provisions of the final rule until January 1, 1994. The petitioners contend that the regulations that become candatory for all licensees on January 1, 1994, are too restrictive and s
prevent many research institutions from pursuing certain types of i
research that cannot be conducted effectively without the use of radicactive materials.
On January 30, 1984 (49 FR 3667), the NRC publishec a petition for rulemaking submitted by Keith J.
Schlager, Ph.D., on behalf of the University of Utah (PRM-20-14).
The petitioner requested that NRC amend its regulations in 10 CFR Part 20 to provide for additional options for the disposal of very low concentrations of short-lived radionuclides.
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In a letter dated June 1, 1993, Dr. Schlager requested, on behalf of the University of Utah, that this petition be withdrawn because of changes in legislation and operational requirements since the date his original petition was published in January 1984.
Dr. Schlager also indicated that a revised petition for rulemaking, which will propose amendments to provisions for disposal of wastes containing low-level radionuclides in 10 CFR Part 20 that become mandatory for all licensees on January 1, 1994, would be filed in the near future.
On July 22, 1993 (58 FR 39173), the NRC published a. notice of withdrawal of the 3
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University of Utah's petition for rulemaking.
The NRC is soliciting public comment on the petition submitted by Keith J.
- Schiager, Ph.D.,
et al. that requests the changes as discussed below to the regulations in 1G CFR Part 20 that will become mandatory for all licensees on January 1, 1994.
The Petitioners The petitioners are a group of individuals responsible for radioactive waste management at various educational and medical institutions with extensive biomedical research activities.
The petitioners indicate they are submitting this petition for rulemaking only as individual citizens, not as author' ed representatives of the institutions that possess NRC licenses at which they are currently employed.
Adverse Effects on the Petitioners The petitioners have submitted this petition for rulemaking because they believe they have been adversely affected by the current regulations that restrict low-level radioactive waste disposal.
The petitioners' primary concern is that these restrictions will prevent them from pursuing certain types of research which they believe cannot be effectively performed without the use of radioactive materials.
The petitioners state that while the current regulations are appropriate in permitting disposal of liquid scintillation fluid that contains no more than 0.05 microcurie of H-3 or C-14 as if it were not radioactive, they indicate that other procedures also generate similar combustible liquid wastes.
The petitionerr 4
believe that these materials could be included under the disposal
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criteria for specific wastes that contain very low levels of-radionuclides.
The petitioners also assert that proposed disposal criteria would result in a cost-effective option that would not adversely affect public health or environmental quality.
The petitioners state that under the current industry practice, wastes containing low-level radionuclides are usually i
stored for 10 half-lives, then are monitored for levels of I
radioactivity.
If no residual radioactivity is discovered, the material can be treated as nonradioactive for disposal purposes.
The petitioners state that wastes stored for the prescribed timeframe will lose 99.9 percent of their radioactive content.
The petitioners note that under the current regulations most i
I NRC licensees are permitted to use this disposal method for materials that have half-lives of less than 65 days, but also assert that this disposal practice is appropriate for materials with half-lives of up to 1 year.
The petitioners also believe that an arbitrary number of half-lives is not equally protective in all situations.
As an example, the petitioners state that waste material containing one millicurie of radioactivity would decay to one microcurie in 10 half-lives, while waste containing one curie of radioactivity will still contain one millicurie after the same storage time.
The petitioners believe that, regardless of the initial radioactivity present in waste material, there is no significant 5
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risk that materials with a half-life of 1 year or less would leach from a landfill before they decay.
The petitioners state that the intent of the required storage time of low-level radioactive waste material before disposal is to make certain that all radioactivity has decayed to harmless levels.
The petitioners assert that radioactive decay associated with buried wastes containing low levels of radionuclides will have no more adverse effect on public health and the environment than if the wastes are stored in a licensee-controlled facility.
The petitioners also assert that the current regulatory limits on radioactivity in buried waste materials are intended to protect not only individuals who transport and handle the waste, but also to protect the general public if a transportation accident enroute to the burial site results in a release.
The petitioners believe that a regulatory limit on the exposure rate from the waste container or the transport vehicle would accomplish the same result.
The petitioners recommend that the identical requirement currently in place for specific licenses, which requires that the deep-dose equivalent exposure rate be indistinguishable from background levels as measured by low-level laboratory survey instruments, would also be adequate to protect public health and the environment from adverse radiological effects from buried low-level biological wastes.
The petitioners believe that such a provision would allow for immediate disposal of wastes containing l
low levels of radionuclides and would permit more cost-effective 6
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waste disposal practices for biological research activities.
The Petitioners' Proposals The petitioners request that 10 CFR Part 20'be amended to I
overcome the problems the petitioners have itemized and recommend the following revision to the regulations:
The petitioners propose that S20.2005 be amended by revising paragraph (a); redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (g);. and adding new paragraphs (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:-
Proposed Revision:
S20.2005 Disposal of specific wastes.
(a)
A licensee may dispose of the f ollowing licensec material as if it were not radioactive:
(1) 0.05 microcurie (1.85 kBq), or less, of hydrogen-3 or carbon-14 per gram of flammable or combustible liquid; and (2) 0.05 microcurie (1.85 kBq), or less, of hydrogen-3 or carbon-14 per gram of biological tissue, animal bedding material or animal excreta, averaged over the weight of the entire-tissue, bedding material or excreta.
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(c)
Any licensee may dispose of 0.05 microcurie (1.85 kBq), or less, of licensed material consisting of any mixture of hydrogen-3, carbon-14, and radionuclides with half-lives of less than 1 s
year, per gram of incinerator ash or nonsalvable trash, averaged
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over the weight of the ash or trash generated directly in the utilization of the radionuclides present, by burial in a landfill approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or 7
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appropriate State regulatory _ agency.
(d)
The deep-dose equivalent dose rate at the surface of containers and vehicles used for transporting wastes disposed of-under the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section shall be indistinguishable from background with typical low-level laboratory survey instruments.
(e)
All " radioactive materials" labels shall be removed or obliterated prior to disposal under the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, and the containers and the transport vehicles of these waste materials shall not be labeled as containing radioactive materials unless so required by the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
(f)
Wastes disposed of under the provisions of paragraph (c) of i
this section are not subject to the requirements of 520.2006.
The petitioners admit that proposed S20.2005(c) and (e) would result in a potential conflict between NRC requirements and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations that specify that any material with a specific gravity greater than 0.002 microcurie per gram must be treated as radioactive.
The petitioners indicate that if the petition for rulemaking before the NRC results in favorable action, they will submit a petition 1
for rulemaking to DOT to revise the relevant regulation (49 CFR 173.403(y)) to permit an identical method f or disposal of waste material that contains low levels of radionuclides.
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The petitioners also recognize that the types of waste specified in proposed S20.2005(c) are incinerator ash and nonsalvable trash, and that the incineration process is covered in S20.2004.
The petitioners emphasize that the regulatory intent is to exclude discarded laboratory apparatus, equipment, or furniture that could result in unintended or unauthorized retrieval of contaminated items.
The Petitioners' Conclusion The petitioners have concluded that the current restrictions on low-level radioactive waste disposal have hindered certain types of research that they believe cannot be effectively performed without the use of radioactive materials.
The petitioners have proposed revisions and additions to-the current regulations in 10 CFR oart 20 that they believe will permit more cost-effective disposal of wastes containing very low levels of radionuclides without advarsely affecting public health or the envirrument.
The petitioners request that the NRC consider its proposals to amend the rules in 10 CFR Part 20.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3c[
day of 7[
1993.
F r the Nd. ear Regulatory Commission.
(
Sbl C h$,
Secretary of the Commission.
(
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