Press Release-IV-05-034, NRC to Hold Public Meeting in Houston on Proposed National Source Tracking System

Press Release-IV-05-034: NRC to Hold Public Meeting in Houston on Proposed National Source Tracking System

ML052550032
Person / Time
Issue date:	09/12/2005
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-IV-05-034
Download: ML052550032 (2)

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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005 No. IV-05-034 September 12, 2005

Contact:

Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: 817-860-8128 NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING IN HOUSTON ON PROPOSED NATIONAL SOURCE TRACKING SYSTEM The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting 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 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. NRC held a meeting on the same topic in Rockville, Md. Aug. 29.

The agenda includes 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 person 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, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudication Staff; sent by e-mail to SECY@nrc.gov or submitted via the NRCs rulemaking web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov .