Press Release-05-112, NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on Proposed National Source Tracking System

Press Release-05-112: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on Proposed National Source Tracking System

ML052290403
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Issue date:	08/17/2005
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-05-112
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No.05-112 August 17, 2005 NRC TO HOLD TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS ON PROPOSED NATIONAL SOURCE TRACKING SYSTEM The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold public meetings Aug. 29 in Rockville, Md., and Sept. 20 in Houston, Texas, to discuss its proposed national tracking system for certain radioactive materials used for academic, medical and industrial purposes.

As announced in the Federal Register on July 28, the NRC is considering amending its regulations to require licensees to report information on the manufacture, transfer, receipt or disposal of certain radioactive materials and sources of interest to the automated tracking system. The sources are considered to be sealed sources because they are encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or escape of the material. The NRC worked extensively with other agencies and the international community to reach agreement on which radioactive sources should be tracked. They include, but are not limited to, certain amounts of Cobalt-60, Strontium-90, Cesium-137, Iridium-192 and Americium-241.

Licensees would have to report their initial inventory of these sources and annually verify and reconcile the information in the system with the licensees actual inventory. In addition, the proposed rule would require manufacturers to assign a unique serial number to each nationally tracked source.

The proposed rule is available on the NRCs rulemaking website at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov .

The Aug. 29 meeting will be held in the NRC auditorium, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Sept. 20 meeting will be at the offices of the Texas Department of State Health Services, Elias Ramirez State Office Building, 5425 Polk Street, Rooms 4B-4E, Houston, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The agenda for both meetings calls for a 30-minute welcome, introduction and NRC staff presentation on the rule requirements, with the remainder of the time available for public comments.

The time available per commenter may be limited to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak.

Those planning to attend are requested to notify Ikeda King, telephone 301-415-7278, e-mail ijk@nrc.gov to pre-register. On-site registration at the meetings will also be available.

Written comments on the proposed rule are also invited and should be submitted by Oct. 11.

They may be mailed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff; sent by e-mail to SECY@nrc.gov or submitted via the NRCs rulemaking web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov .