Policy and Guidance Directive FC 83-23, "Termination of Byproduct, Source and Special Nuclear Material Licenses"
HPPOS-266 PDR-9306070308
Title: Policy and Guidance Directive FC 83-23,
"Termination of Byproduct, Source and Special Nuclear
Material Licenses"
See the memorandum from R. E. Cunningham to J. E. Glenn
(and others) dated November 4, 1983. This directive
provides guidance for Regions and Headquarters staff on
findings that need to be made before terminating any
byproduct, source, or special materials license.
The enclosed final rule (Enclosure 1) specifies licensee
responsibility and requirements for terminating a license
issued under 10 CFR Part 30, 10 CFR Part 40 and 10 CFR Part
70. Among other things, a licensee is required to submit
on or before the expiration date a radiation survey report
confirming the absence of radioactive materials or
specifying existing levels of residual radioactive
contamination present from past operations. A survey
report is not required if a licensee can show the absence
of radioactive contamination in some other manner, such as
the use of only sealed sources that never showed evidence
of leakage. If detectable levels of residual radioactive
contamination attributable to licensed operations are
found, the license continues in force until the Commission
notifies the licensee in writing that the license is
terminated.
Review Procedure: Before terminating a license where
residual radioactive material contamination is present from
past licensed operations, NRC should determine whether:
1. A reasonable effort was made to eliminate residual
contamination, and
2. Residual radioactive contamination is acceptably
low to permit unrestricted release of the affected
facilities.
If the levels of residual radioactive contamination on
surfaces and in soil are a small fraction of those normally
acceptable for unrestricted release, it is not necessary
for the licensee to describe the efforts made to reduce
contamination levels.
Policy and Guidance Directive FC 83-3, "Standard Review
Plan (SRP) for Termination of Special Nuclear Material
Licenses for Fuel Cycle Facilities", contains information
that is useful for terminating any byproduct, source, or
special nuclear material license.
In most cases involving short half-live radionuclides or
operations involving only sealed sources, an independent
confirmatory survey by NRC will not be necessary.
Confirmatory surveys should always be made if the
licensee's survey report appears suspect or past licensee
operations involved the chemical processing of hundreds of
milligrams of plutonium, tens of kilograms of enriched
uranium-235, or hundreds of kilograms of source material.
For materials licensees that used and processed hundreds of
millicuries of long half-life radionuclides (>1 year),
confirmatory surveys should be made in all cases. If it is
determined that a confirmatory survey will be made, a
notice should be sent to the licensee informing them that
the equipment and facilities should be held for NRC
inspection. Discretion may be exercised whether a
confirmatory survey is necessary if information, such as
inspections reports, is available that provides a basis for
acceptance of the licensee's survey.
Contamination Levels Generally Acceptable for Unrestricted
Areas: If the levels of contamination exceed the levels
discussed below and a judgment is made that further efforts
to reduce the contamination are not necessary for
termination of the license, an environmental impact
assessment should be made to support the termination. Such
cases should be reported to the Director of the Division of
Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS, before termination of
the license.
1. Surface contamination: See Enclosure 2 to memo.
2. Soil contamination: See Enclosure 3 to memo
3. Water contamination: If surface or ground water
contamination is below EPA's National Interim Primary Water
Regulations (EPA 570-9-76-003), the contamination is
acceptable for unrestricted areas.
Regulatory references: 10 CFR 30.36, 10 CFR 40.42, 10 CFR
70.38
Subject codes: 5.8, 11.4
Applicability: Byproduct, Source, and Special Nuclear
Materials