NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 08-008 January 22, 2008 

NRC PROPOSES NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS 

FOR LICENSEES TO AVOID FUTURE LEGACY SITES 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeks public comment on a proposed rule 

designed to prevent future “legacy sites” with insufficient funds for decommissioning by 

requiring licensees to minimize the introduction of residual radioactivity at their sites 

during operations. 

 The proposed rule, published today in the Federal Register, would require 

licensees to keep survey records of residual radioactivity, including in the subsurface soil 

and groundwater, with records important for decommissioning. The proposed rule would 

also require certain licensees to report additional details in their decommissioning cost 

estimates and amend some financial assurance mechanisms for decommissioning 

planning. 

 Facilities that process large quantities of material, especially in liquid form, have 

the potential for significant environmental contamination due to the scale of their 

operations. Leaks from these facilities can lead to significant radioactive contamination 

of the subsurface soil and groundwater, even though the radiation doses from these 

releases are well below annual regulatory limits for public and occupational exposure. 

 In addition, the high costs of disposing radioactive material offsite may lead 

licensees to store more waste onsite, increasing the potential for subsurface radioactive 

contamination and significantly higher decommissioning costs. 

 Licensees are currently required to perform surveys to verify that radioactive 

effluent releases are below regulatory requirements and do not pose public health 

hazards. However, the NRC believes that existing regulations are not clear enough 

concerning subsurface contamination and require interpretation to apply to long-term 

environmental conditions. Surveys have rarely been performed to assess the radiological 
hazard of chronic releases and subsurface contamination because these are not considered 

effluent releases and they do not cause immediate exposure either to workers or the 

public approaching regulatory limits. 

 Proposed changes to financial assurance requirements would require more 

detailed reporting by licensees and would place tighter NRC control over certain financial 

instruments set aside to cover eventual decommissioning costs. 

 Comments on the proposed rule should be submitted by April 7. Comments may 

be mailed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 

20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. They may also be e-mailed to 

SECY@nrc.gov , or faxed to (301) 415-1101. Please note “RIN 3150-AH45” in the 

subject line. 

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