Last
Phase of Waiver Terminations of NRC Regulatory Authority for Certain Naturally
Occurring and Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Material (NARM)
The
Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 gave the NRC regulatory authority over NARM.
NRC’s final rule implementing this authority
was effective November 30, 2007 (72 FR 55863).
A
waiver was issued on August 31, 2005, to allow continued use and possession of
NARM while the NRC developed its regulatory framework. The NRC has been
terminating the waiver in phases. Phase
1 of terminations occurred on November 30, 2007, and Phase 2 on September 30,
2008. NRC is now preparing for Phase 3, last phase,
which will occur on August 7,
2009
(74 FR 5797).
This final phase will include Alaska,
Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey, and NRC
licensees with headquarters in Canada.
NARM
users in non-Agreement States and US territories
are required to:
(1)
apply for
license amendments for the new byproduct material within 6 months from the date
the waiver is terminated, if they hold an NRC specific byproduct materials
license, or
(2)
submit a
license application for the new byproduct material within 12 months from the
date the waiver is terminated.
For
existing NRC licensees, it should be noted that NRC
will not be amending licenses
to include authorization to produce radioactive material using an accelerator;
a separate license will be required for these activities. Therefore, existing licensees should submit a
new
license application to obtain authorization for
the production of radioactive materials using an
accelerator.
Also,
new
NRC license applicants that are seeking authorization
to produce radioactive materials using an accelerator should submit
a
license
application for
their
production
of
radioactive materials authorization
and submit
a
separate license application for
any other radioactive material authorizations
they
may be seeking (e.g., manufacturing of
radiopharmaceuticals,
medical use of byproduct material).
NARM
users in Phase 2 States should have submitted their
license amendments by March 30, 2009,
and must
submit new license applications by September 30, 2009.
More
information on NARM related activities can be found on the “NARM Toolbox” at
the
NRC’s Office of Federal and
State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME)
Web
site at http://nrc-stp.ornl.gov/narmtoolbox.html. One of the
more recent documents posted
on
the NARM Toolbox is a recently issued Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-13, “Status
and Plans for Implementation of NRC Authority for Certain Naturally Occurring
and Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Material,” issued on June 16, 2008
(Contacts:
Shirley Xu, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management
Programs,
(301) 415-7640; e-mail: Shirley.Xu@nrc.gov)