UNITED STATES

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 REGION I

475 ALLENDALE ROAD

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415 

April 29, 2004

Robert W. Goff, Director

Mississippi Division of Radiological Health

State Department of Health

3150 Lawson Street 

PO Box 1700

Jackson, MS 39215-1700

SUBJECT: PERIODIC MANAGEMENT MEETING SUMMARY

Dear Mr. Goff:

A periodic meeting with the Mississippi Department of Health was held on March 30, 2004. 

The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss the status of the New York Agreement

State program. The NRC was represented by Shawn Smith from the NRC’s Office of State and

Tribal Programs and me. Specific topics and issues of importance discussed at the meeting

included the Department’s actions taken to staff vacant positions.

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary, included any specific actions that

will be taken as a result of the meeting.

If you feel that our conclusions do not accurately summarize the meeting discussions, or have

any additional remarks about the meeting in general, please contact me at (610) 337-5042 or

by e-mail at adw@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Original signed by Duncan White

Duncan White, CHP

Regional State Agreements Officer

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety

Enclosure: As stated

cc:

R. Bores, RI

R. Trojanowski, RII

S. Smith, STP
R. Goff 2

Mississippi Division of Radiological Health

DISTRIBUTION

RIDS SPO1

G. Pangburn, RI

F. Costello, RI

S. Minnick, RI

J. Piccone, STP

L. Rakovan, STP

O. Siurano, STP

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OFFICE DNMS/RI N DNMS/RI DNMS/RI

NAME DWhite/dw

DATE 4/29/04

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR 

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH

DATE OF MEETING: March 30, 2004

ATTENDEES:

Duncan White, RSAO

Shawn Smith, ASPO (by phone)

Bob Goff, Program Director

B.J. Smith, Radioactive Materials Supervisor

Jim Craig, Director for the Office of Health Protection

DISCUSSION:

During the previous meeting on November 19, 2002, the status of the two recommendations 

from the 2001 Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review of the

Agreement State Program were discussed and recommended for closure at the next review.

Since the last periodic meeting, two individuals left their radioactive materials positions and the

State implemented a hiring freeze due to budgetary constraints. In September 2003, the

Division of Radiological Health (the Division) was transferred from Environmental Regulation to

Emergency Planning and Response within the Office of Health Protection. Subsequently, the 

new Office Director had the Division report directly to his Office. The new Office Director has

been very supportive of the Division and has approved the hiring of personnel into the two

unfilled positions. At the time of this periodic meeting, one new individual has been with the

Radioactive Materials group for three months and the second position is expected to be filled by

June 2004.

In addition to the meeting with Program Director and the Radioactive Materials Supervisor, NRC

staff also met with the Director for the Office of Health Protection. NRC staff briefly discussed

the Agreement State Program and the IMPEP process. The Office Director expressed support

for the Agreement State Program and its importance to the Department’s mission. The Director

also indicated that the Division of Radiological Health is the only Division in the Department that

reports directly to an Office Director. 

The Program Director discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Program. The Division’s

staff is the Agreement State Program’s strength due to the experience of the Radioactive

Materials Supervisor and the varied backgrounds of the health physics staff. Another strength

cited was the fee support for the program. The lengthy periods it takes to fill unfilled positions

and lack of competitive State salaries compared to the private sector were cited as program

weaknesses. 

With regard to the NRC, the Program Director would like NRC to do more to help support the

States financially with the training of new staff, particularly with regards to the five-week health

physics course. Without NRC financial support for training, the Program Director indicated the

Division would be more selective on who gets to attend a particular training course based on

the individual’s background, train an individual in one area of expertise, and use more on-thejob training.
Mississippi Periodic Management Meeting Summary page 2

March 30, 2004

The Program Director did note that the STP was very supportive of the States and appreciated

the open door policy to bring and discuss any issues. The Division also found that the guidance

and variety of information on the STP web site very useful.

There have been no legislative changes affecting the Agreement State program. There have

been no changes in the Division’s responsibilities. The Division has all NRC amendments

adopted as final rule through the “New Dosimetry Technology” amendment due January 8,

2004. The only NRC amendment that the Division has yet to adopt is the “GL Rule”; however,

there are no manufacturers or distributors in the State.

The Division currently regulates approximately 315 specific materials licensees, 100 general

licensees and 80 non-medical x-ray devices.

The NRC staff discussed the recent developments regarding the nominations for the two vacant

Commission positions. Also discussed was the consolidation of the Region I and Region II

materials programs, the status of National Materials Program pilot projects, materials security

issues as they impacted the States, and the potential impact of NRC’s aging workforce (i.e.,

succession planning). Major activities at NRC headquarters of interest to the State included the

two fuel fabrication applications, early site permits, and the probable impact of the Yucca

Mountain application. NRC staff also highlighted the proposed changes to two documents that

directly affect the IMPEP process: Management Directive 5.6 and STP Procedure SA-116. The

changes to the inspection frequencies in Inspection Manual Chapter 2800 were also discussed. 

There were no allegations referred to the Division by the NRC since the last IMPEP.

The Program Director indicated that the State is not interesting in pursuing a 274i agreement

with the NRC at this time since the State’s only commercial irradiator was decommissioned in

early March 2004 and as previously indicated, there are no manufacturers or distributors

located in the State.

NRC staff discussed the changes to the NMED database and program. Prior to the meeting,

the RSAO generated a printout of events reported by the State that were available on the

national database through the web site. The list off the national database had a few differences

from the information maintained in the local database by the Division’s staff. The RSAO

reviewed the events with the Division’s staff and discussed possible reasons for the differences. 

The Division was committed to resolving the differences promptly.

The RSAO was introduced to the members of the Radioactive Materials Group and was given a

tour of the Division’s offices, laboratory and emergency response capabilities.

The NRC staff indicated that next IMPEP of the Mississippi Program is scheduled for FY 2005.

No issues were identified by NRC staff to change the scheduling of the next review. The

Program Director requested that the review take place in late April or May since the Division

has a nuclear power plant emergency response exercise scheduled for March 2005.