10 CFR 30 - RULES OF GENERAL APPLICABILITY TO DOMESTIC LICENSING OF BYPRODUCT MATERIAL

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG) DG-4014, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations.” This guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous administrative changes, including updating the street address for its Region IV office and correcting an authority citation and typographical and spelling errors, and other edits and conforming changes. This document is necessary to inform the public of these changes to the NRC's regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to issue a RIS that clarifies those discrete sources of radium-226 under military control that are subject to NRC regulation pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), as interpreted in the policy statement issued by the NRC in the final rule, “Requirements for Expanded Definition of Byproduct Material” (72 FR 55864; October 1, 2007), (hereinafter referred to as the NARM Rule). The clarification defines with greater specificity the term “military operations” as it is used to delineate that naturally-occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material (NARM) subject to NRC jurisdiction. The RIS also describes acceptable regulatory approaches to adequately implement NRC's regulatory requirements for contamination and items and equipment containing NARM, and outlines a general plan of implementation for use with the military services. The NRC is seeking comment from interested parties on the clarity and utility of the proposed RIS.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for comment a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking, dated April 18, 2011, which was filed with the NRC by Annette User on behalf of GE Osmonics, Inc (the petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC on April 20, 2011, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-30-65. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations regarding the commercial distribution of byproduct material to allow recipients of exempt quantities of polymer (polycarbonate or polyester) track etch (PCTE) membranes that have been irradiated with mixed fission products (MFP) to commercially redistribute the material without a license.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to improve decommissioning planning and thereby reduce the likelihood that any current operating facility will become a legacy site. The amended regulations require licensees to conduct their operations to minimize the introduction of residual radioactivity into the site, which includes the site's subsurface soil and groundwater. Licensees also may be required to perform site surveys to determine whether residual radioactivity is present in subsurface areas and to keep records of these surveys with records important for decommissioning. The amended regulations require licensees to report additional details in their decommissioning cost estimate (DCE), eliminate the escrow account and line of credit as approved financial assurance mechanisms, and modify other financial assurance requirements. The amended regulations require decommissioning power reactor licensees to report additional information on the costs of decommissioning and spent fuel management.