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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
	Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON ISSUES; PLANS RULEMAKING FOR PACKAGING AND TRANSPORTING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on issues to be considered in revising its regulations on the packaging and transportation of radioactive material.

The NRC's current transportation regulations are based, in part, on those developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a worldwide standards-setting organization. The IAEA periodically revises its transportation standards to reflect scientific and technical advances. The NRC periodically updates its own regulations to be compatible with those of IAEA.

Some of the issues to be discussed during the rulemaking process are administrative, while others include technical issues such as: testing requirements for integrity of packages used to transport radioactive material, package design requirements for aircraft transport, thresholds at which materials must be transported under hazardous material requirements, and double-containment requirements for plutonium shipments. These issues will be described in greater detail in a Federal Register notice to be published shortly.

To obtain widespread input on these issues, the NRC has scheduled three public meetings to be held around the country. The dates and locations for the meetings are:

• August 10 in Rockville, Maryland, in the auditorium of the agency's Two White Flint North building, 11545 Rockville Pike, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m;
• September 20 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, 3300 Lenox Road Northeast, from 6:00 until 10:00 p.m;
• September 26 in Oakland, California, at the Oakland Federal Building, Edward R. Roybal Auditorium and Conference Center, at 1301 Clay Street, from 6:00 until 10:00 p.m.

Additionally, comments may be electronically submitted on the agency's web site, at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov or submitted by mail to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications staff.

Staff plans to incorporate public comments and submit a proposed rule to the Commission next March.

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