April 2, 2004

Mr. Richard A. Ratliff, PE, LMP, Chief

Bureau of Radiation Control

Texas Department of Health

1100 West 49th Street

Austin TX 78756-3189

Dear Mr. Ratliff:

We have reviewed the proposed changes to the Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation,

25 Texas Administrative Code, §289.251, “Exemptions, General Licenses, and General License

Acknowledgments” and §289.252, “Licensing of Radioactive Material”, received by our office on 

March 3, 2004. Our review and comments are in response to the State’s request for Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) evaluation of the changes to the Texas radiation control rules

that incorporated the amendment identified on the States Regulation Status Data Sheet (SRS). 

These regulations were reviewed by comparison to the equivalent NRC rules in 10 CFR Parts

30 and 31 and the requirements of the one amendment identified in the enclosed SRS. We

discussed our review of the regulations with Ms. Cindy Cardwell, of your staff, on April 2, 2004.

As a result of our review, we have one comment. Under our current procedure, a finding that a

State regulation meets the compatibility and health and safety categories of the equivalent NRC

regulation may only be made based on a review of the final State regulation. Please provide a

final amended version of your rules, showing the location of any changes made, in response to

our comments. If there are any comments which the State believes are in error, the State

should identify the section of their regulations that meet the designated compatibility category. 

Please note that we have limited our review to regulations required for compatibility and/or

health and safety, but have determined that if these regulations are adopted, incorporating our

comments and without significant change, they would meet the compatibility, health and safety

categories established in the Office of State and Tribal Programs (STP) Procedure SA-200.

The SRS Data Sheet summarizes our knowledge of the status of other Texas regulations. 

Please let us know if you note any inaccuracies or have any comments on the information

contained in the SRS Data Sheet. This letter, including the SRS Data Sheet is posted on the

STP website: Http://www.hrsd.ornl.gov/nrc/rulemaking.htm.

If you have any questions regarding the comments, the compatibility and health categories, or

any of the NRC regulations used in the review, please contact me or Vivian Campbell of the

Region IV staff at 817-860-8143 or VHC@NRC.GOV.

Sincerely,

\By KN Schneider For\ 

Josephine M. Piccone, Deputy Director

Office of State and Tribal Programs

Enclosure(s):

As stated
April 2, 2004

Mr. Richard A. Ratliff, PE, LMP, Chief

Bureau of Radiation Control

Texas Department of Health

1100 West 49th Street

Austin TX 78756-3189

Dear Mr. Ratliff:

We have reviewed the proposed changes to the Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation,

25 Texas Administrative Code, §289.251, “Exemptions, General Licenses, and General License

Acknowledgments” and §289.252, “Licensing of Radioactive Material”, received by our office on 

March 3, 2004. Our review and comments are in response to the State’s request for Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) evaluation of the changes to the Texas radiation control rules

that incorporated the amendment identified on the States Regulation Status Data Sheet (SRS). 

These regulations were reviewed by comparison to the equivalent NRC rules in 10 CFR Parts

30 and 31 and the requirements of the one amendment identified in the enclosed SRS. We

discussed our review of the regulations with Ms. Cindy Cardwell, of your staff, on April 2, 2004.

As a result of our review, we have one comment. Under our current procedure, a finding that a

State regulation meets the compatibility and health and safety categories of the equivalent NRC

regulation may only be made based on a review of the final State regulation. Please provide a

final amended version of your rules showing the location of any changes made in response to

our comments. If there are any comments which the State believes are in error, the State

should identify the section of their regulations that meet the designated compatibility category. 

Please note that we have limited our review to regulations required for compatibility and/or

health and safety, but have determined that if these regulations are adopted, incorporating our

comments and without significant change, they would meet the compatibility and health, safety

categories established in the Office of State and Tribal Programs (STP) Procedure SA-200.

The SRS Data Sheet summarizes our knowledge of the status of other Texas regulations. 

Please let us know if you note any inaccuracies or have any comments on the information

contained in the SRS Data Sheet. This letter, including the SRS Data Sheet is posted on the

STP website: Http://www.hrsd.ornl.gov/nrc/rulemaking.htm.

If you have any questions regarding the comments, the compatibility and health categories, or

any of the NRC regulations used in the review, please contact me or Vivian Campbell of the

Region IV staff at 817-860-8143 or VHC@NRC.GOV.

Sincerely,

\By KN Schneider For\ 

Josephine M. Piccone, Deputy Director

Office of State and Tribal Programs

 Distribution:

DIR RF (4-57) DCD (SP08) PDR (YES_) VCampbell, RSAO

Busilton PLarkins, ASPO Texas File Response to Incoming Document: ML040640989

DOCUMENT NAME: C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML040930285.wpd

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: “C” = Copy w/o attach/encl “E” = Copy w/ attach/encl “N” = No copy

OFFICE STP STP OGC STP:DD

NAME VCampbell JZabko STreby KNSchneider for

JMPiccone

DATE 3/22/04* 3/22/04* 4/01/04* 4/02/04* 

ML040930285 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
COMMENTS ON PROPOSED TEXAS REGULATIONS

AGAINST COMPATIBILITY AND HEALTH AND SAFETY CATEGORIES

State

Regulation

NRC

Regulation

RATS

ID

Category Subject and Comments

289.251(g)(2) 31.5(c)(13)(iv) 2001-1 B Certain detecting, measuring,

gauging, or controlling devices

and certain devices for

producing light or an ionized

atmosphere

Texas regulation 289.251(g)(2)

provides that persons generally

licensed by Texas are not subject to

the requirement to file for a general

license acknowledgment if the

material is used in Texas

jurisdiction for a period of less than

30 days in a calendar year. The

regulation does not authorize

reciprocity for NRC or other

Agreement State general licensees. 

10 CFR 31.5(c)(13)(iv) authorizes

reciprocity for Agreement State

general licensees for a period less

than 180 days in a calendar year. 

As a result, the State regulations do

not meet the compatibility category

with respect to the requirements for

recognizing NRC and other

Agreement State general licensees.

Texas regulation 289.251(g)(2)

should be amended to essentially

identical to that of NRC’s rules in 10

CFR 31.5(c)(13)(iv).
STATE REGULATION STATUS

State: Texas[One amendment reviewed is identified by a  at Tracking Ticket 

the beginning of each equivalent NRC regulation.] Date: April 2, 20

NRC Chronology Identification FR Notice

(State Due Date)

RATS ID Proposed (P) 

Final (F)1

Rule / ML #5

NRC Review / Y, N2 / Date /

ML #5

Safety Requirements for Radiographic Equipment-Part 34 55 FR 843; (1/10/94) 1991-1 P Y 1/12/99ASNT Certification of Radiographers-Part 34 56 FR 11504; (none) 1991-2 Standards for Protection Against Radiation-Part 20 56 FR 23360; 56 FR 61352;

57 FR 38588; 57 FR 57877;58 FR 67657; 59 FR 41641;60 FR 20183; (1/1/94)

1991-3 F N

11/6/97

Notification of Incidents-Parts 20, 30, 31, 34, 39, 40, 70 56 FR 64980; (10/15/94) 1991-4 P N

11/21/97

Quality Management Program and Misadministrations-Part 35 56 FR 34104; (1/27/95) 1992-1Eliminating the Recordkeeping Requirements for Departures fromManufacturer’s Instructions-Parts 30, 35

57 FR 45566; (none) 1992-2 

Decommissioning Recordkeeping and License Termination: Documentation Additions [Restricted areas and spill sites]-Parts 30, 40 

58 FR 39628; (10/25/96) 1993-1 P N

11/21/97

Licensing and Radiation Safety Requirements for Irradiators-Part 36 58 FR 7715; (7/1/96) 1993-2 P Y

3/13/96

Definition of Land Disposal and Waste Site QA Program-Part 61 58 FR 33886; (7/22/96) 1993-3 Self-Guarantee as an Additional Financial Mechanism-Parts 30, 40, 70 58 FR 68726; 59 FR 1618

(none)

1994-1 P N

11/21/97

Uranium Mill Tailings Regulations: Conforming NRC Requirements to EPAStandards-Part 40

59 FR 28220; (7/1/97) 1994-2 P N

11/21/97

Timeliness in Decommissioning Material Facilities-Parts 30, 40, 70 59 FR 36026; (8/15/97) 1994-3 P N

11/21/97

Preparation, Transfer for Commercial Distribution, and Use of ByproductMaterial for Medical Use-Parts 30, 32, 35

59 FR 61767; 59 FR 6524360 FR 322; (1/1/98)

1995-1 F N

3/17/99

Frequency of Medical Examinations for Use of Respiratory ProtectionEquipment-Part 20 

60 FR 7900; (3/13/98) 1995-2

Low-Level Waste Shipment Manifest Information and Reporting-Parts 20,61

60 FR 15649; 60 FR 25983(3/1/98)

1995-3 P N

11/8/96
NRC Chronology Identification FR Notice

(State Due Date)

RATS ID Proposed (P) 

Final (F)1

Rule / ML #5

NRC Review / Y, N2 / Date /

ML #5

Performance Requirements for Radiography Equipment-Part 34 60 FR 28323; (6/30/98) 1995-4 P Y 1/22/99Radiation Protection Requirements: Amended Definitions and CriteriaParts 19, 20 60 FR 36038; (8/14/98) 1995-5 F N3/17/99

Clarification of Decommissioning Funding Requirements-Parts 30, 40, 70 60 FR 38235; (11/24/98) 1995-6 P N 11/21/97Medical Administration of Radiation and Radioactive Materials-Parts 20, 35 60 FR 48623; (10/20/98) 1995-710 CFR Part 71: Compatibility with the International Atomic EnergyAgency-Part 71

60 FR 50248; 61 FR 28724(4/1/99)

1996-1 P Y 11/21/97

One Time Extension of Certain Byproduct, Source and Special NuclearMaterials Licenses-Parts 30, 40, 70

61 FR 1109; (none) 1996-2 

Termination or Transfer of Licensed Activities: RecordkeepingRequirements-Parts 20, 30, 40, 61, 70

61 FR 24669; (6/17/99) 1996-3 P (Part 30) N 11/8/96 

Resolution of Dual Regulation of Airborne Effluents of RadioactiveMaterials; Clean Air Act-Part 20

61 FR 65120; (1/9/00) 1997-1 F N 7/7/00 

Recognition of Agreement State Licenses in Areas Under ExclusiveFederal Jurisdiction Within an Agreement State-Part 150

62 FR 1662; (2/27/00) 1997-2

Criteria for the Release of Individuals Administered Radioactive MaterialParts 20, 35 62 FR 4120; (5/29/00) 1997-3 F N 7/7/00 Fissile Material Shipments and Exemptions-Part 71 62 FR 5907; (none) 1997-4 Licenses for Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements forIndustrial Radiography Operations-Parts 30, 34, 71, 150

62 FR 28947; (6/27/00) 1997-5 F N 7/7/00 

Radiological Criteria for License Termination-Parts 20, 30, 40, 70 62 FR 39057; (8/20/00) 1997-6 F N 7/7/00 Exempt Distribution of a Radioactive Drug Containing One Microcurie ofCarbon-14 Urea-Part 30 

62 FR 63634; (1/02/01) 1997-7

Deliberate Misconduct by Unlicensed Persons-Parts 30, 40, 61, 70, 71,150

63 FR 1890; 63 FR 13773(2/12/01)

1998-1

Self-Guarantee of Decommissioning Funding by Nonprofit and Non-BondIssuing Licensees- Parts 30, 40, 70 63 FR 29535; (none) 1998-2 License Term for Medical Use Licenses-Part 35 63 FR 31604; (none) 1998-3 Licenses for Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements forIndustrial Radiographic Operations-Part 34

63 FR 37059; (7/9/01) 1998-4 P Y 1/12/99
NRC Chronology Identification FR Notice

(State Due Date)

RATS ID Proposed (P) 

Final (F)1

Rule / ML #5

NRC Review / Y, N2 / Date /

ML #5

1. Or other generic Legally Binding Requirements.2. (Y/N) Y means “Yes,” there are comments in the review letter that the State needs to address. 

N means “No,” there are no comments in the review letter.

3. Not required means these regulations are not required for purposes of compatibility.4. A State need not adopt a specific regulation if the State has no licensees that would be subject to that regulation. See: “Final Policy Statem

Compatibility of Agreement State Programs,” III.1. Time Frame for Adoption of Compatible State Regulations, p. 6, SECY-95-112, May 3, 

5. ADAMS ML Number

Minor Corrections, Clarifying Changes, and a Minor PolicyChange-Parts 20, 35, 36

63 FR 39477; 63 FR 45393(10/26/01)

1998-5 F N 7/7/00 

Transfer for Disposal and Manifests: Minor Technical ConformingAmendment-Part 20

63 FR 50127; (11/20/01) 1998-6 F N 7/7/00 

Radiological Criteria for License Termination of Uranium RecoveryFacilities-Part 40

64 FR 17506; (6/11/02) 1999-1

Requirements for Those Who Possess Certain Industrial DevicesContaining Byproduct Material to Provide Requested InformationPart 31

64 FR 42269; (none) 1999-2 

Respiratory Protection and Controls to Restrict Internal Exposure-Part 20 64 FR 54543; 64 FR 55524

(2/2/03)

1999-3

Energy Compensation Sources for Well Logging and Other RegulatoryClarifications-Part 39

65 FR 20337; (5/17/03) 2000-1

PML023040140

Y 1/9/03ML030210400

New Dosimetry Technology-Parts 34, 36, 39 65 FR 63750; (1/8/04) 2000-2 P 

ML023040140

N 1/9/03ML030210400

Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial DevicesContaining Byproduct Material - Parts 30, 31, 32

65 FR 79162; (2/16/04) 2001-1 P

ML040640989

Y 4/02/04ML040930285

Revision of the Skin Dose Limit -Part 20 67 FR 16298; (4/5/05) 2002-1Medical Use of Byproduct Material-Parts 20, 32, and 35 67 FR 20249; (4/24/05) 2002-2Financial Assurance for Materials Licensees 

– Parts 30, 40, 70 68 FR 57327 12/3/06 2003-1