UNITED STATES

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 REGION I

475 ALLENDALE ROAD

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415 

September 28, 2005

Roland Fletcher, Manager

Radiological Health Program

Air and Radiation Management Administration

Maryland Department of the Environment

1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 705

Baltimore, MD 21230-1724

Dear Mr. Fletcher :

A periodic meeting with Maryland was held on August 31, 2005. The purpose of this meeting

was to review and discuss the status of Maryland’s Agreement State program. Specific topics

and issues of importance discussed at the meeting included program strengths, staffing and

training, performance of licensing and inspection activities, incidents and allegations and the

updating of regulations for compatibility. 

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary, including an action item

identified during the meeting. 

If you feel that my conclusions do not accurately summarize the meeting discussion, or have 

any additional remarks about the meeting in general, please contact me at 610-337-5358 or

email to sam9@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

Thank you and your staff for the exchange of information.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Sheri Minnick

Regional State Agreements Officer

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety

Enclosure:

1. Agreement State Meeting Summary for Maryland
R. Fletcher 2

Radiological Health Program

DISTRIBUTION

SPO1

F. Costello, RI

B. McDermott, RI

R. Bores, RI

S. Salomon, STP

J. Tobin, STP

J. Zabko, STP

A. McCraw, STP

SISP Review Complete: ADW 9/28/05

After declaring this document “An Official Agency Record it WILL be released to the Public

DOCUMENT NAME: E:\Filenet\ML052710353.wpd

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OFFICE DNMS/RI N DNMS/RI DNMS/RI

NAME SMinnick ADW

DATE 9/28/05

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR MARYLAND 

DATE OF MEETING: August 31, 2005 

ATTENDEES: 

NRC 

Sheri Minnick, RSAO, Region I

Steve Salomon, STP

Jennifer Tobin, STP 

STATE 

Angelo Bianca, Deputy Director, Air and Radiation Management Administration 

Roland Fletcher, Program Director

Ray Manley, Radioactive Materials Licensing & Compliance Division 

Alan Jacobson, Supervisor, Inspection Section 

Barbara Park, Supervisor, Licensing Section

BACKGROUND:

A meeting was held with the Maryland representatives on August 31, 2005, in Baltimore, 

Maryland. The topics listed in NRC letter dated June 8, 2005 (ML 051590077), to Mr. Fletcher

were discussed. Details for each area are discussed below. 

The previous IMPEP review was conducted during the period of July 21-25, 2003, during which

three recommendations were made by the team. The Management Review Board met on

November 10, 2003, concurred on the team’s findings, and found the Maryland program (the

program) adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission’s program. The program’s progress on the 2003 IMPEP

recommendations was discussed and is summarized below.

SUMMARY OF ACTION ON 2003 IMPEP RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Recommendation: 

The review team recommends that the State fill the current vacancies in the program as

soon as possible. 

Status: 

The program currently has two unfilled vacancies. One inspection position has been

approved by the Maryland legislature. Candidates have been interviewed and the

selection is expected by the end of September 2005. One licensing position is currently

under the approval process in the legislature and is expected to be approved by October

2005. (See DISCUSSION Section for details)

This recommendation remains open.
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2. The review team recommends that the program implement an action plan to ensure that

core inspections, including initial inspections, are performed in accordance with NRC

inspection priorities.

Status:

The program has been successful in implementing actions to ensure that no core

inspections, including initial inspections, are overdue. The program’s inspection

priorities are generally the same as those listed in NRC Manual Chapter (MC) 2800, with

some being more restrictive. (See DISCUSSION Section for details)

It is recommended that this item be closed at the next IMPEP review.

3. The review team recommends that the program conduct an appropriate evaluation of all

licensing actions involving name changes and possible change in ownership/control.

Status:

The program has been successful in implementing actions to ensure that all licensing

actions involving name changes and possible changes in ownership/control are

reviewed. The program developed and implemented new licensing guidance which

includes a flowchart, written instructions, and licensing tracking forms. (See

DISCUSSION Section for details)

It is recommended that this item be closed at the next IMPEP review.

DISCUSSION: 

The Radiological Health Program consists of two Divisions, the Radioactive Materials Licensing

& Compliance Division (the Division) and the Radiation Machines Division. The Division

implements the radioactive materials program, and consists of the Inspection Section and the

Licensing Section. The Division currently has 609 specific licenses. The Licensing Section is

responsible for processing license applications for the use of radioactive material and for

performing sealed source and device (SS&D) evaluations. The Licensing Section and the

Inspection Section each have authorization for one supervisor and three staff members. At the

time of the last IMPEP, there were two vacancies in the Division; the Division Chief and one

inspector. The program filled the Division Chief position with the Licensing Supervisor, and

backfilled the Licensing Supervisor position with a license reviewer, thus shifting the two

vacancies to one inspector and one license reviewer. 

The statewide hiring freeze has had a negative impact on maintaining staffing levels in the

program, requiring each position to be granted an exemption by the legislature. One inspection

position has been approved by the legislature. Candidates have been interviewed and the

selection is expected by the end of September 2005. One licensing position is currently under

the approval process in the legislature and is expected to be approved by October 2005. These

additional staff members will fill current vacancies in the program. The program is also seeking

approval for two additional positions in 2007 to accommodate the increased workload due to

enhanced security measures and increase in number of licensees.
3

Despite the two vacancies, the Program Director reported that the program has no overdue

core inspections greater than 25% of the inspection frequency, no overdue initial inspections,

and licensing continues to be completed in a timely manner. In addition, the program has

completed required security inspections under the 274i Agreement, after training two staff

members through attendance at the NRC Security course in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Although the program anticipates that routine activities will continue to be done in a timely

manner, the Program Director expressed concern that the program would be challenged to

maintain current activities if they do not obtain additional staff. 

The program requested an allowance for increasing the inspection interval for initial inspections. 

The program believes that resources could be better utilized if performance of initial inspections

occurred within 18 months of the date of license issuance, instead of 12 months as listed in MC

2800. Reasons given for this request include, but are not limited to: 1) all licensees receive a

pre-licensing visit; 2) every new license granted includes a license condition that requires

notification upon first receipt of radioactive material; 3) limited implementation of program

activities results in limited inspection of the program. 

Actions were implemented to ensure that all licensing actions involving name changes and

possible changes in ownership/control are reviewed. The program developed and implemented

new licensing guidance which includes a flowchart, written instructions, and licensing tracking

forms. Copies of the guidance were reviewed. Licensing actions are discussed as a team on a

routine basis.

The program discussed the current status of inspection and licensing of Neutron Products, Inc.

(NPI). This licensee continues to have an impact on resources of the program.

The program’s funding structure has changed in that it no longer receives any money from the

state’s general fund. The program is now supported completely from the Radiation Control

Fund, which is 100 percent license fee funded. The program last updated fees to licensees in

August 2004 requiring a 47 percent increase, new fees for SS&D applications, and general

licensee fees.

The mechanism for reporting events, what events to report, the timeliness of reporting,

completeness of the reports, and closing out reports was discussed. Upon review of the NMED

system, and the NRC Operating Events, the reports show that events are being appropriately

reported and documented to NRC and the NMED system. The program appears to take an

appropriate level of response in responding to events.

Allegations are appropriately processed on a case-by-case basis, and follow-up inspections are

conducted as needed. There have been two allegations referred to the state since the last

review. In both cases, the alleger received a follow-up call from the state and the allegations

settled appropriately. The program has been responsive to Regional requests when replies or

actions were needed to close out allegations or deal with other requests for information.

STP’s procedures for reviewing proposed state regulations, the regulation 

amendments needed for adequacy and compatibility, and the availability of the regulations on 
4

the NRC bulletin board were briefly discussed. The program is receiving NRC regulation

changes as published and distributed. The Regulation Assessment Tracking System (RATS)

data sheet for Maryland was reviewed, as updated July 2005, and showed that four regulations

were overdue for adoption. Those amendments encompassed in RATS 2000-2 (New

Dosimetry Technology), 2001-1 (Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial

Devices Containing Byproduct Material), and 2002-1 (Revision of the Skin Dose Limit) are

overdue for adoption. The regulations are currently in final form and are being made effective

via the state’s legislative process. The date of issuance is expected to be the end of October

2005. Maryland regulations corresponding to “Medical Use of Byproduct Material-Parts 20, 32,

35" (RATS 2002-2) is currently being discussed and amended in the state’s regulation

committee. Submission to the NRC is expected in the next year. The three amendments for

future adoption are on the agenda for regulation committee review. 

The program reported that their strengths include: an increase in congressionally allocated

funds for new, state-of-the-art equipment; efficient, well-trained, experienced staff; good

relationships with both the licensees and the NRC; successful completion of 274i Agreement

including adoption of new safeguards considerations; an e-mail system for reciprocity

agreements; and an increase in the number of administrative and support staff.

The program reported that their weaknesses include: shortage of technical staff; the large

amount of time spent on NPI litigation; and the difficulty in participation in OAS/CRCPD

activities (e.g., collaborative working groups) due to the small number of staff.

The next Maryland IMPEP review is currently scheduled for the 2007 fiscal year. 

CONCLUSION: 

All of the IMPEP Indicators were discussed and no performance issues were identified. 

The Maryland program has effective management and well-trained technical staff. The

program continues to have staffing challenges, although two vacancies (one inspector and one

license reviewer) are expected to be filled by the end of the calendar year. The program has

been successful in implementing actions to address two recommendations from the 2003

IMPEP. Specifically, they have ensured that inspections are being completed in accordance

with the priorities listed in MC 2800 and that all licensing actions involving name changes and

possible change in ownership/control are properly evaluated. The program does not currently

have any inspection or licensing backlogs. 

ACTION ITEM: 

The program requested an allowance for increasing the inspection interval for initial inspections. 

The program believes that resources could be better utilized if performance of initial inspections

occurred within 18 months of the date of license issuance, instead of 12 months as listed in MC

2800. Reasons given for this request include, but are not limited to: 1) all licensees receive a

pre-licensing visit; 2) every new license granted includes a license condition that requires

notification upon first receipt of radioactive material; 3) limited implementation of program

activities results in limited inspection of the program. 

The program will be prepared to discuss the issue before the Management Review Board.