[Federal Register: November 26, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 228)]
[Notices]
[Page 66503-66504]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26no03-143]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Availability and Solicitation of Public Comments on Interagency
Steering Committee on Radiation Standards' Reports on Radioactivity in
Sewage Sludge and Ash
AGENCIES: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
ACTION: Announce the issuance of three reports concerning radioactivity
in sewage sludge and ash, and request public comments.
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SUMMARY: This Federal Register notice announces the availability of
three reports, prepared by the Sewage Sludge Subcommittee of the
Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS),
addressing radioactivity in sewage sludge and ash. The first report,
``ISCORS Assessment of
[[Page 66504]]
Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Radiological Survey Results and
Analysis,'' summarizes the information on radioactivity found in
samples of sewage sludge and ash from 313 publicly owned treatment
works (POTWs). This report is being issued as a final document, since
it only presents data that has already been collected. The second
report, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Modeling
to Assess Radiation Doses,'' assesses the potential levels of radiation
doses to people by modeling the transport of radioactivity from sludge
into the local environment. The report also provides a complete
description and justification of the dose assessment methodology. The
third report, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge:
Recommendations on Management of Radioactive Materials in Sewage Sludge
and Ash at Publicly Owned Treatment Works,'' recommends further actions
that may be taken by a POTW operator when elevated levels of
radionuclides are detected.
The purpose of ISCORS is to foster early resolution and
coordination of regulatory issues associated with radiation standards.
Agencies represented on ISCORS include the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S.
Department of Transportation, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. The Office of Science and Technology
Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, and State representatives
may be observers at meetings. The objectives of ISCORS are to: (1)
Facilitate a consensus on allowable levels of radiation risk to the
public and workers; (2) promote consistent and scientifically sound
risk assessment and risk management approaches in setting and
implementing standards for occupational and public protection from
ionizing radiation; (3) promote completeness and coherence of Federal
standards for radiation protection; and (4) identify interagency
radiation protection issues and coordinate their resolution.
There have been a number of well-publicized cases of radionuclides
discovered in sewage sludge and ash, and some of these have led to
expensive cleanup projects. These incidents made clear the need for a
comprehensive determination of the prevalence of radionuclides at
publicly owned treatment works sewage sludge and ash around the
country, and the level of potential threat posed to human health and
the environment by various levels of such materials.
In response to this need, ISCORS formed a Sewage Sludge
Subcommittee (SSS) to coordinate, evaluate, and resolve issues
regarding radioactive materials in sewage sludge and ash. To estimate
the amounts of radionuclides that actually occur in sewage sludge and
ash, ISCORS' SSS performed a survey of radioactivity in sludge and ash
across the United States. The final report is entitled, ``ISCORS
Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Radiological Survey
Results and Analysis,'' and is available on the ISCORS Web site at
http://www.iscors.org.
Concurrently, the Dose Modeling Workgroup of the SSS undertook a
dose assessment to help assess the potential threat that these
materials may pose to human health. The draft report that we are making
available for public comment today, ``ISCORS Assessment of
Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Modeling to Assess Radiation Doses,''
describes the methodology and results of the dose modeling effort. The
general approach used in the report is a standard one that consists
essentially of two steps. First, seven general, fairly generic
scenarios (and some sub-scenarios) are constructed to represent typical
situations in which members of the public of POTW workers are likely to
be exposed to sludge. The selection of radionuclides for consideration
was based on the results of the ISCORS survey of sewage sludge and ash
at various POTWs, and includes manmade and naturally-occurring
isotopes. Second, assuming a unit specific activity of a radionuclide
in dry sludge, a widely accepted multi-pathway environmental transport
model (the RESRAD family of codes) is employed to obtain sludge
concentration-to-dose conversion factors.
A third and final document, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in
Sewage Sludge: Recommendations on Management of Radioactive Materials
in Sewage Sludge and Ash at Publicly Owned Treatment Works,'' is also
being issued for public comment today. This document is for use by POTW
operators in evaluating whether the presence of radioactive materials
in sewage sludge could pose a threat to the health and safety of POTW
workers or the general public. ISCORS concludes that the levels of
radioactive materials detected in sewage sludge and ash in the ISCORS
survey indicate that, at most POTWs, radiation exposure to workers or
to the general public is not likely to be a concern.
Comments on either, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage
Sludge: Modeling to Assess Radiation Doses,'' or ``ISCORS Assessment of
Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Recommendations on Management of
Radioactive Materials in Sewage Sludge and Ash at Publicly Owned
Treatment Works,'' should be sent to the EPA contact listed below by
February 6, 2004.
Robert Bastian, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--4204M, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-564-0653, e-mail: bastian.robert@epa.gov.
Hard copies can also be obtained by calling or writing to Carol
Walls, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NMSS/DWM/EPAB, M.S. T-7J8, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 301-415-8028, or caw@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kennedy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, NMSS/DWM, M.S. T-7J8, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 301-415-6668, fax 301-415-5397, e-mail jek1@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of November, 2003.
For The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John T. Greeves,
Director, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-29559 Filed 11-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P