Disposal of Exempt Quantities of Radioactive Material
HPPOS-043 PDR-9111210193
Title: Disposal of Exempt Quantities of Radioactive
Material
See the memorandum from J. M. Gutierrez to J. H. Joyner
dated April 13, 1983, and the incoming request from J. H.
Joyner dated March 22, 1983. It is an OELD opinion that
radioactive material held under license can only be
disposed of pursuant to 10 CFR Part 20, even when the
quantity disposed is less than that listed in 10 CFR 30.71,
Schedule B. The document clarifies the scope and purpose
behind 10 CFR Parts 20 and 30. The health physics position
was written in the context of 10 CFR 20.301, 20.303, and
20.306, but it also applies to the "new" 10 CFR Part 20,
Sections 20.2001, 20.2003, and 20.2005. HPPOS-190 contains
a related topic.
In an incident considered for enforcement action, a janitor
employed by a licensee removed a five gallon drum
containing one to two microcuries of tritium. The drum was
subsequently sent to a landfill before the licensee
discovered the loss. Neither 10 CFR Part 20 nor the terms
of the materials license in question would authorize
disposal of one to two microcuries of tritium in a
landfill. Specifically, although 10 CFR 20.303 and 20.306
[or 10 CFR 20.2003 and 20.2005] permit the disposal of
small quantities of tritium (hydrogen-3) by a means other
than to an authorized recipient, neither regulation section
is applicable to the facts of this situation.
The opinion of OELD was sought because the incident raised
the question of whether a licensee should be cited for an
act with so little public health and safety consequence.
In addition, it was suggested that certain regulations
appear to authorize disposal of licensed material in
individual quantities that do not exceed those listed in 10
CFR 30.71, Schedule B by transfer to any recipient,
including garbage collectors and sanitary landfills.
10 CFR Part 30, specifically Section 30.71, Schedule B,
establishes quantities of potentially licensable material
that are sufficiently small so as not to warrant licensing.
In contrast to the threshold determination of what
quantities should be licensed, 10 CFR Part 20 governs the
waste disposal process for material determined to be
licensable, regardless of the quantities being considered
for disposal.
As guidance, a general rule of statutory construction is
that when two regulations are in apparent contradiction,
the specific governs the general. Thus, although 10 CFR
30.18 (a) does authorize the receipt, possession, use,
transfer, ownership or acquisition of potentially
licensable material in quantities below that listed in
Schedule B of 10 CFR 30.71, the governing regulation for
purposes of waste disposal is 10 CFR 20.301 [or 10 CFR
20.2001]. Therefore, once a license is issued, the terms
of that license and Part 20 govern with respect to waste
disposal. Schedule B is irrelevant to that question, but
it rather goes to the issue of whether a quantity of a
particular substance in the first instance should be
licensed.
Therefore, when the licensee inadvertently disposed of one
to two microcuries of tritium, it was in violation of both
the terms of its license and the regulations of 10 CFR
20.301 (a) [or 10 CFR 20.2001 (a) (1)]. From an
enforcement perspective, the fact that the amount disposed
would not in itself be licensable is irrelevant.
Regulatory references: 10 CFR 20.301, 10 CFR 20.2001, 10
CFR 30.18, 10 CFR 30.71
Subject codes: 9.0, 9.7, 11.2, 12.7
Applicability: All