NRC COMPLETES PENNSYLVANIA AGREEMENT TO
REGULATE CERTAIN RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed an agreement with the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assume part of the agency’s regulatory authority over certain radioactive materials in the state.

Pennsylvania becomes the 35th state to sign such an agreement with the NRC. The agreement is effective March 31, 2008.

Under the agreement, the NRC will transfer to Pennsylvania the responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection and enforcement activities for: (1) radioactive materials produced as a result of processes related to the production or utilization of special nuclear material (SNM); (2) uranium and thorium source materials; (3) SNM in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass; and accelerator-produced or other radioactive materials under NRC jurisdiction provided by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The NRC will transfer approximately 650 licenses, most for medical and industrial uses of radioactive material, to Pennsylvania’s jurisdiction. The NRC will retain jurisdiction over regulation of commercial nuclear power plants and other facilities, and federal agencies using certain nuclear material in the state. In addition, NRC will retain authority for the review, evaluation and approval of sealed sources and devices containing certain nuclear materials manufactured in Pennsylvania and distributed throughout the country.

Before approving the agreement, NRC reviewed Pennsylvania’s radiation control program to ensure it was adequate to protect public health and safety and was compatible with NRC’s program for regulating the radioactive materials covered in the agreement. An announcement of the proposed agreement was published four times in the Federal Register in June and July, inviting comments from the public. Two comment letters were received; however, they contained no new information to change the staff’s analysis of the Pennsylvania radiation control program.

The agreement will be announced shortly in the Federal Register. Copies of the agreement, the Governor of Pennsylvania’s request and supporting documents, as well as the NRC staff’s assessment will be available through the NRC’s ADAMS online document library. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room staff at (301) 415-4737 or 1 (800) 397-4209, or by e-mail at PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.

Thirty-four other states have previously signed such agreements with NRC. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008