ML20215E601

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Apologizes That No Official from NRC Could Attend Hearing to Answer Questions Re Disposal of Radium at Beatty,Nv Low Level Radwaste Disposal Site.Offers Assistance in Solving Technical Problems Re Radium Disposal
ML20215E601
Person / Time
Issue date: 05/13/1986
From: Starmer R
NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To: Solsky L
COLORADO, STATE OF
References
REF-WM-8 NUDOCS 8610150394
Download: ML20215E601 (2)


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WMLU r/f JBunting RBrowning MBell Mr. Leonard C. Slosky,-Executive Director JStarmer Rocky Mountain Low _ Level Radioactive Waste Board PJustus 1600 Stout St., Suite 1100 MKnapp Denver, Colorado 80202 JGreeves MTokar RFonner G

Dear Mr. Slosky:

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I am sorry that no official from the NRC could attend your hearing to answer questions concerning disposal of radium at the Beatty, Nevada low-level radioactive waste disposal site.

I am also sorry that we could not provide you answers to the three questions you posed in time for the hearing and hope that (m) our written response will be adequate to serve your purpose.

As we understand it, the contaminated soil in New Jersey contains naturally With respect to radioactive materials, the NRC occurring radioactive material.

has statutory authority only over source, byproduct, and special nuclear material as defined in Section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended.

The NRC has no authority to regulate accelerator produced or naturally occurring radioactive material other than uranium or thorium (after removal from its place of deposit in nature). Only radium in wastes or tailings produced by the processing of source material ore for its uranium or thorium values falls under NRC authority as a result of the Uranium Mill Tailings O

Radietion Control act emeadments to the atomic ener9r Act.

The answer to your first question is that since Section 2(9) of P. L.99-240 requires any definition of low-level radioactive waste by NRC be consistent with previous law, there was no expansion of the universe of wastes falling p

Naturally occurring and accelerator produced wastes are d

under NRC authority.

therefore not included in the statutory definition of low-level radioactive We can not answer your second and third question because waste at this time.

any expression of opinion on that subject could impact upon the case of State of New Jersey v. Nevada, et. al. S. Ct. No.104 original, in which the United States may wish to appear as amicus curiae.

Finally, I would like to point out that radium contaminated soils should be treated technically in a manner similar to the treatment of low-level waste as l

To that end, NRC included radium wastes in an update of the defined by law.

Impacts Methodology used to develop 10 CFR Part 61 (NUREG/CR-4370).

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. studies indicated no technical problems in dealing with radium as a relatively

, long lived radionuclide of intermediate mobility and relatively high radio-We could therefore, offer the Rocky Mountain Low-Level Radioactive toxicity.

Waste Board assistance in solving technical problems related to radium disposal, subject to resource constraints. This could help the Board answer any technical

] ' questions arising from the State of New Jersey's request.

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