ML20236T038

Final Rule 10CFR34 & 150, Licenses for Industrial Radiography & Radiation Safety Requirements for Industrial Radiographic Operations;Clarifying Amends & Corrections. Amending Regulations to Clarify Ambiguities

ML20236T038
Person / Time
Issue date:	06/24/1998
From:	Callan L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
FRN-59FR9429, RULE-PR-150, RULE-PR-34 NUDOCS 9807270386
Download: ML20236T038 (12)

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RIN 3150-AE07 r-l Licenses for Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements for industrial l

Radiographic Operations; Clarifying Amendments and Corrections j

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AGEN.CY: ' Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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l ACTION: Final rule: Clarifying and corrective amendments. l l~

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SUMMARY

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations to clarify several  !

l- ambiguities and to make corrections to the recently revised regulations governing licenses for

! i industrial radiography and radiation safety requirements for industrial radiographic operations l' This final rule is necessary to clarify the text to resolve these ambiguities and to make changes to ,

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correct some of the compliance dates specified in the revised rule. This rulemaking will clarify the Commission's intent regarding the implementation date for certain requirements. In g .

particular, the final rule specified several dates, intended to be cne year or two years af ter the

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. effective date of the rule. The date published in the May 28,1997 Federal Register inadvertently used the'May 28 publication date, rather than the June 27 effective date. Therefore, this final i rule specifies June 27,1998, or June 27; 1999, as the correct effective date for implementation

. of those specific provisions. lq(W 1

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i EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon publication.

Donald O. Nellis, Office of Nuclear Material Safety FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20 f

(301) 415-6257, (e-mail address don @nrc. gov).

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

i On May 28,1997 (62 FR '28948), the NRC published a final rule with June 27,1997 that revised 10 CFR Part 34, which applies to industrial radiograph related safety requirements. Major changes in this revision included:

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qt irement for two quahfied individuals to be present whenever radiogr j f performec

• J location other than a permanent radiographic installation. one of whom qualified radiographer and the other must be at least a qualified radiograp  !

l 2) A requirement for mandatory certification of radiographer; j

3) Specification of the quahfications and duties of the Radiation Safety l 4) Additional training requirements for radiographer' assistants; and

5) Clarification of the definition of a permanent radiographic installation.

After its pubhcation, the NRC was notified by numerous radiograph I i.

l. ambiguities and minor errors existed in the May 28,1997, final rule. Th L

l ifies the Supplementary Information and codified text of the May 28,1997, final rule several provisions of the regulation to remove ambiguities.

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1 in Supplementary Information, under Section ll, Response to Public Comments on the Proposed Rule and Final Rule Provisions, the last paragraph in S 34.41, Conductinq Industrial

. Radiographic Operations, discusses the addition of a requirement to have approved procedures before conducting specific types of radiographic operations and listed that requirement as S 34.41(d). This was an incorrect citation. The requirement was correctly added as 34.41(c) in the regulation so that no change'is needed and this discussion simply' clarifies any confusion

- generated by the incorrect citation.

. 2 In Supplementary information, under Section V, implementation (62 FR 28962), the third paragraph' states that licensees will have 1 year to comply with the new training requirements in S 34.43 (a) and (b). This citation is incorrect. Paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) refer to the requirements for radiographer certification, The new training requirements for radiographer are in 34.43(b) and the new training requirements for radiographer assistants are in S 34.43(c). Section 34.43(h) correctly identifies the additional training requirements. Tne purpose of this discussion is to alleviate any confusion that may have resulted from the incorrect citation 3 Section.34.27. Leak testing and replacement of sealed sources, included a new l

requirement for the leak testing of devices containing depleted uranium (DU) shielding Two ,

discrepancies have been noted. First, the condition for removing the exposure device from use fo.r an evaluation of S-tube was' incorrectly stated, and second, the implementation date for this requirement was not specified. This subject was adJressed in the Supplementary information i

under Section 11. Public Commerts, where it was pointed out that the purpose of the test was to detect wear in the guide tube that could cause control cable binding and inability to retract .tne i

' I source Because the comments also pointed out that annual testing for DU was required and 3

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that testing services were readily available, the NRC believed that one year from the effective l

date of the final rule would be an acceptable date for compliance with this requirement To remedy the text defining the condition for removing the exposure device from use, the third sentence of paragraph (e)is amended by using text similar to that in the first sentence of paragraph (d) to read:

Should this testing reveal the presence of 185 Bq (0.005 microcuries) or more of removable DU contamination, the exposure device must be removed from use until an evaluation of the wear of the S-tube has been made.

In addition, to clarify that the implementation date for DU testing was one year from the effective date of the rule June 27,1997 and not the publication date, May 28,1997. % 34.27(e)is amended by adding a new sentence at the end of this paragraph to read:

Licensees will have until June 27.1998, to comply with the DU leak testing requirements of this paragraph.

4. Section 34.41, Conducting industrial radiographic operations, specifies that at least two qualified individuals must be present whenever radiography is performed outside of a permanent radiographicinstallation Numerous inquines were received concerning the j~ _ implementation date for this requirement. The intent of the Commission was that licensees

' would have an implementation period of 1 year from the effective date of the rule to meet this requirement, (On May 28,1997 (62 FR 28948), the NRC published a final rule with an effective i

date of June 27,1997 that revised 10 CFR Part 34, which applies to industnal radiography and its

. related safety requirements.) This implementation period was selected to albw time to train new individuals as specified in @ 34.43(h). To avoid confusion as to what was intended in the onginal Federal Register notice, a new paragraph (d)is added to @ 34.41 to read' l

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(d) Licensees will have until June 27,1998, to meet the requirements for having two qualified individuals preseni.at locations other than a permanent radiographic installation as specified in paragraph (a) of this section.

5. .Under Subpart D-Radiation Safety Requirements; S 34.42, Radiation Safety Officer for industrial Radiography, paragraph (d) contains an incorrect date. The Supplementary Information Subsection V. Implementation; of the final rule, specifies that ali current RSOs will have two years to implement the additional RSO training requirements specified in 34.42(a) and to comply with the mandatory certification requirements in S 34.43(a)(2),62 FR 28962. All extended times for implementation were from the effective date of the rule. June 27.1997. and not from the publication date, May 28,1997. The paragraph is revised to read (d) Licensees will have until June 27,1999, to meet the requirements of paragraphs (a)

. or (b) of this section

6. Under Subpart D- Radiation Safety Requirements S 34.43(a)(2) contains an incorrect date, May 28,1999, two years from the publication date rather than the correct date, June 27, 1999, two years from the effective date. The paragraph is revised to read.

l (2) The licensee may, until June 27,1999, allow an individual who has not met the

requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, to act as a radiographer after the individual has received training in the subjects outlined in paragraph (g) of this section and demonstrated an understanding of these subjects by successful completion of a wntten examination that was i

. previously submit'ed to and approved by the Comrnission

7. Under Subpart D-Radiation Safety Requirements,9 34.43. Training. paragraph (h) contains an incorrect date. The Supplementary information Subsection V. Implementation of tne i

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final rule, specifies that licensees will have 1 year from the effective date of the rule to comply with the additional training requirements specified in S 34.43(a) and (b). 62 FR 28962. As stated in paragraph 2 above, the additional training requirements as set forth in 34.43(b) refer to the training requirements for radiographer while the additional training requirements as set forth in

@ 34.43(c) refer to the training requirements for radiographer assistants Also, as noted above, the effective date of the final rule was June 27,1997, not May 28,1997. The paragraph is revised to read:

(h) Licensees will have until June 27,1998, to comply with the additional training requirements specified in paragraphs (b)(1) and (c)(1) of this section

8. Under Subpart D-Radiation Safety Requirements, S 34.43 Training, does not specify a compliance date for radiographer certification in S 34.43(a)(1). The Supplementary information ,

Subsection V, Implementation, of the final rule, specifies that licensees will have 2 years from the effective date of the rule to affirm that all radiographer have met the certification requirements of S 34 43(a)(1). Records of radiographer certification maintained in accordance with 5 34.79(a) will provide adequate evidence of comphance with the need to affirm radiographer have met the certification requirements of S 34.43(a)(1). A new paragraph (i)is added to this section to read (i) Licensees will have until June 27,1999, to comply with the certification requirements specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Records of radiographer certification maintained in accordance with S 34.79(a) provide appropriate affirmation of certification requirements specified i

in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.  !

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Administrative Procedure Act:

Because these amendments make minor corrective and clarifying changes to an existing regulation, the NRC has determined that good cause exists to dispense with the notice and j l

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comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) f

!- . For the same reason, th'e NRC has determined that good cause exists to waive the 30-day L

! deferred effective date provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C 553(d)(3)) See l

also: 10 CFR 2.807.

L I Agreement State Compatibility i

Although 10 CFR Part 34 is subject to various degrees of compatibility with regard to the Agreement States, these amendments make only minor corrective or clanfying changes in an existing regulation and are not expected to affect the compatibility of the Agreement State l-program.

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l Environmental impact: Categorical Exclusion l

The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action described as a l

categorical exclusion in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(2). Therefore, neither an environmental statement nor l-an environmental assessment has been prepared for this final rule.

l Paperwork Reduction Act Statement l

This final rule does not contain a new or amended information collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U S.C. 3501 et seq-). Existing requirements

. were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0007.

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( Public Protection Notification If an information collection does not display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, the information

. collection.

l_ Regulatory Analysis I

j This final rule does not impose any new requirements or additional costs to licensees L

j because its purpose is solely administrative in that it simply corrects and clarifies the text of an i

existing regulation and does not result in any essential change. This constitutes the regulatory l analysis for this final rule.

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Backfit Analysis The NRC has determined that the backfit rule,10 CFR 50.109. does not apply to this final 7

rule, and therefore, that a backfit analysis is not required for this rulemaking since tnese l

l amendments do not involve any provision that would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1).

l-i 'Small Business Regulatory Enforcernent Fairness Act l l 1

!- 1 f i In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, tne l

NRC has determined that this action is 'not a major rute" and has venfied this determination witn the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Office of Management and Budget 8 l

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 34 Criminal penalties, Packaging and containers, Radiation protection, Radiography, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Scientific equipment, Security measures )

1 For reasons set out in the preamble a..d under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended: and U S.C. 552 and j 553, the NRC is adopting the following amendments to 10 CFR Part 34.

PART 34 - LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL R/sDIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS 1 The authonty citation for Part 34 continues to read as follows:

AUTHORITY: Secs. 81,161,182,183, 68 Stat. 935, 948, 953, 954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2111,2201,2232,2233); sec 201,88 Stat.1242, as amended (42 U S.C. 5841)

Section 34.45 also issued under sec. 206,88 Stat 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5846) l

2. Section 34.27, paragraph (e)is revised to read as follows:

6 34 27 Leak testina and replacement of sealed sources I 1

(e) Each exposure device using depleted uranium (DU) shielding and an "S" tube configuration must be tested for DU contamination at intervals not to exceed 12 months The analysis must be capable of detecting the presence of 185 Bq (0.005 microcuries) of radioactive  ;

matenal on the test sample and must be performed by a person specifically authorized by the 9 l o _ -

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I Commission or an Agreement State to perform the analysis. Should such testing reveal the presence of 185 Bq (0.005 microcunes) or more of removable DU contamination, the exposure device must be removed from use until an evaluation of the wear on the S-tube has been made.

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Should the evaluation reveal that the S-tube is worn through, the device may not be used again DU shielded devices do not have to be tested for DU contamination while in storage and not in  !

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l .' use. Before using or transferring such a device however, the device must be tested for DU contamination if the interval of storage exceeded 12 months. A record of the DU leak-test must be made in accordance with @ 34.67. Licensees will have until June 27,1998, to comply with the i

DU leak-testing requirements of this paragraph. l i

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l. 3. In @ 34.41, a new paragraph (d) is added to read as follows- )

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l 1.. i l 6 34 41 Conductina industrial radicaraphic operations. 1

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l '(d) Licensees will have until June 27,1998, to meet the requirements for having two qualified individuals present at locations other than a permanent radiographic installation as specified in paragraph (a) of this section l

4. In @ 34.42, parc; aph (d)is revised to read as follows.

E 34 42 Radiation Safet.y Officer for industnal radicaraphy I l

!. (d) Licensees will have until June 27,1999 to meet the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.

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!' 5. In 9 34.43, paragraphs (a)(2) and (h) are rev6 sed, and paragraph (i) is added to read j

as follows:

l l 634.43 Trainina l (a)*

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l (2) The licensee may, until June 27,1999, allow an individual who has not met the 1

requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, to act as a radiographer after the individual has I received training in the subjects outlined in paragraph (g) of this section and demonstrated an ,

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' understanding of these subjects by successful completion of a written examination that was

! previously submitted to and approved by the Commission.

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3 K 6- 'l-ldik 9an i i .,, ,,, ,7 (h) Licensees w;il have until June 27,1998, to comply with the additional training requirements specified in paragraphs (b)(1) and (c)(1) of this section.

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. _ -. . _ . - - q .i .q p (i) Licensees will have until June 27,1999 to comply with the certification requirements specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Records of radiographer certification maintained in accordance with 9 34.79(a) provide appropriate affirmation of certification requirements specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2'/ day of ,1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

e L. JosepfiC#lar, Executive Dir r for Operations.

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