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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 APPROVES OKLAHOMA AGREEMENT TO REGULATE USE OF CERTAIN RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an agreement with the State of Oklahoma that allows the State to assume part of NRC's regulatory authority over the use of certain radioactive materials. The agreement was published for public comment in the Federal Register once a week for four consecutive weeks beginning June 7, and will become effective September 29.

Under the agreement, NRC will transfer to Oklahoma the responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection and enforcement concerning (1) materials made radioactive in nuclear research reactors; (2) uranium and thorium source materials used as shielding in certain medical and industrial instruments; and (3) special nuclear material in quantities too small to support a nuclear reaction.

The agreement also allows the state to regulate the land disposal of low-level radioactive waste.

Approximately 220 current NRC licenses, most of them for medical and industrial uses, will be transferred to Oklahoma's jurisdiction. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality will administer the regulatory program.

The NRC will retain jurisdiction over regulation of nuclear reactors and other major nuclear facilities in Oklahoma. It will also continue to regulate Federal agencies that use certain nuclear materials in the State.

The NRC has determined that Oklahoma's radiation control program is adequate to protect public health and safety and is compatible with the agency's own program for regulating the radioactive materials covered in the agreement.

Oklahoma is the 32^nd State to sign such an agreement with the NRC. Other states that previously have assumed this authority are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

Following execution of the agreement, NRC staff will continue a program of active interaction with the new Agreement State that includes the exchange of regulatory information (incident reports, policy changes, rule and guidance development), and periodic onsite reviews of the Agreement State program.

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