UNITED STATES 

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 REGION I 

 475 ALLENDALE ROAD 

 KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415

February 7, 2012 

David J. Allard, CHP, Director 

Bureau of Radiation Protection 

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 

Rachel Carson State Office Building 

P.O. Box 8469 

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 

Dear Mr. Allard: 

A periodic meeting was held with you and your staff on December 19, 2011. The purpose of the 

meeting was to review and discuss the status of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation 

Protection’s Agreement State Program. The NRC was represented by Michelle Beardsley and 

me. 

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

will be taken as a result of this meeting. If you feel that our conclusions do not accurately 

summarize the meeting discussion, or have any additional remarks about the meeting in 

general, please contact me at (610) 337-5371, or email to Donna.Janda@nrc.gov to discuss 

your comments. 

Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

Donna M. Janda 

Regional State Agreements Officer 

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

Enclosure: As stated 

 
February 7, 2012 

David J. Allard, CHP, Director 

Bureau of Radiation Protection 

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 

Rachel Carson State Office Building 

P.O. Box 8469 

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 

Dear Mr. Allard: 

A periodic meeting was held with you and your staff on December 19, 2011. The purpose of the 

meeting was to review and discuss the status of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation 

Protection’s Agreement State Program. The NRC was represented by Michelle Beardsley and 

me. 

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary, including 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 discussion, or have any additional remarks about the meeting in 

general, please contact me at (610) 337-5371, or email to Donna.Janda@nrc.gov to discuss 

your comments. 

Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

Donna M. Janda 

Regional State Agreements Officer 

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

Enclosure: As stated 

Distribution: 

M. Beardsley, FSME 

L. Dimmick, FSME 

K. Meyer, FSME 

R. Lorson, RI 

D. Collins, RI 

SUNSI Review Complete: DMJ (Reviewer=s Initials) ML120380567 

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OFFICE DNMS/RI E 

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DATE 02/07/12 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
PA Periodic Meeting Summary 

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR 

PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU OF RADIATION PROTECTION 

DATE OF MEETING: December 19, 2011 

NRC Attendees Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation Protection (BRP)

Attendees 

Donna Janda, Region I RSAO David J. Allard, CHP, Director, BRP 

Michelle Beardsley, FSME Joseph Melnic, Manager, Radiation Control Division 

 Robert Zaccano, Manager, South Central Regional 

Radiation Protection Division (RRPD) 

 Terry Derstine, Manager, Southeast RRPD 

 James Yusko, Manager, Southwest RRPD (via telephone) 

 John Chippo, Supervisor, Radioactive Materials Section 

 Bryan Werner, Supervisor, Decommissioning Section 

 Joseph Deman, Health Physicist, South Central RRPD 

 Benjamin Seiber, Program Analyst, BRP 

 Jennifer Kelly, Health Physicist, Radon Certification Section 

DISCUSSION: 

During the 2009 Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review of the 

Pennsylvania Agreement State Program (the Program), the review team found the 

Commonwealth’s performance satisfactory for all six performance indicators applicable to the 

Program. The review team made one recommendation regarding the Program. On 

January 26, 2010, the Management Review Board (MRB) met to consider the proposed final 

IMPEP report on the Pennsylvania Agreement State Program. The MRB found the Program 

adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC’s program. Based on the 

results of the IMPEP review, the review team recommended, and the MRB agreed, that the next 

full IMPEP review take place in November 2013 and that a periodic meeting be held in 

approximately two years from the date of the IMPEP. 

The status of the Commonwealth’s actions to address the open recommendation follows: 

1. The review team recommended that the Commonwealth strengthen its incident 

response program to ensure that incidents are appropriately investigated and are 

promptly reported to NRC, as appropriate. 

Status: Since the November 2009 IMPEP review, one staff member and a backup 

have been assigned to track incidents and ensure that reporting requirements are 

met and are timely. 

 
PA Periodic Meeting Summary 2 

OTHER TOPICS COVERED DURING THE MEETING INCLUDED:

Program Strengths

The Program has an experienced and well-trained staff with a good balance between the 

licensing and inspection programs. Both senior management and Program management 

support staff training. The Program has stable funding with six months of carryover funds. A 

full-time attorney is dedicated to the Program. The Program has a number of participants on 

NRC/Agreement State working groups and IMPEP review teams. 

Program Weaknesses

Salary cuts and loss of benefits for management positions has discouraged staff from seeking 

promotions to these positions. License renewals coming in 2012 and 2013 may be a challenge 

due to the recent loss of two technical staff members in the licensing program. The Program 

has funds available for equipment maintenance but has found this task to be resource and time 

intensive. The Program is experiencing a shortage of State-issued vehicles which must be used 

to conduct inspections. 

The Program Director is concerned about losing the expertise of the Program’s compliance 

specialists who are based in the Regional offices. These low pay grade positions have little 

opportunity for advancement, which discourages individuals from seeking open positions. 

Feedback on the NRC’s Program

The Program Director commented that both the overall relationship and communications with 

the NRC are good and expressed appreciation for the NRC funding of qualification training 

courses and attendance at the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) Meetings. The 

Program Director appreciates the opportunities this past year to interact with NRC 

Commissioner Ostendorff at a site tour of a Pennsylvania licensee’s facility and Commissioner 

Magwood in preparation for the OAS Meeting. 

Agreement State Program Staffing and Training

The Program staff currently consists of 47 individuals, including supervisors, with various 

degrees of involvement in the radioactive materials program. The Regional Offices devote 

approximately 24 full-time equivalents (FTE) to inspection, compliance, and emergency 

response activities. The Central office devotes approximately 3 FTE to radioactive materials 

licensing activities. The Program currently has three technical staff dedicated to 

decommissioning activities in the Commonwealth. Two of these individuals are in the 

qualification process. According to the Program Director, the number of FTE in the radioactive 

materials program is adequate when the Program is fully staffed. 

Since the 2009 IMPEP review, six individuals left the Program, including two supervisors, and 

eight individuals were hired, including two supervisors. The Program currently has two 

vacancies for technical positions in the materials licensing section. 

 
PA Periodic Meeting Summary 3 

Support for staff training exists in the Program. Seven technical staff members are progressing 

through the Program’s qualification process. Program staff has attended NRC and other 

training courses and the Program hosts training courses in the Commonwealth whenever 

feasible. Since the 2009 IMPEP review, the Program has revised the materials inspector 

qualification journal and procedures to more accurately reflect the Program’s qualification 

process. 

Organization

The Pennsylvania Agreement State Program is administered by the Bureau of Radiation 

Protection (the Bureau), which is part of the Department of Environmental Protection. Licensing 

activities are based in the Central Office located in Harrisburg, PA. Three Divisions within the 

Bureau have responsibilities for radioactive materials under the Agreement: the Radiation 

Control Division, the Decommissioning and Surveillance Division, and the Nuclear Safety 

Division. Within the Radiation Control Division, the Radioactive Materials Program Supervisor 

directly supervises radioactive materials licensing activities. Inspection activities are conducted 

out of three Regional Offices which are housed in the Deputate for Field Operations. Each 

Regional Office has a Radiation Protection Program Manager and Supervisor who directly 

supervise inspection and compliance activities in the Commonwealth. 

Program Budget/Funding

The Program Director stated that fees from radioactive materials licensees are placed into a 

dedicated fund which adequately funds the Program. Although funds are available, the 

Program is experiencing a problem with receiving approval for new vehicles for inspectors to 

use in the field. 

Inspection and Licensing Programs

The Program’s inspection frequencies are at least as frequent as NRC’s. No inspections are 

currently overdue or were performed overdue since the 2009 IMPEP review. Each Regional 

Office monitors inspection scheduling and tracking for their respective Region. There are 

currently five licensed facilities undergoing decommissioning activities and two new sites are 

being characterized. 

The Program currently has approximately 750 specific licenses. The Program currently 

processes the majority of licensing actions within three weeks of receiving the request. The 

Program expects to address an increasing number of license renewal requests within the next 

one to two years. The Program uses pre-licensing checklists and hand delivers all new 

licenses. 

Regulations and Legislative Changes

The Commonwealth adopts NRC regulations by reference and uses Orders or legally binding 

requirements such as license conditions as appropriate. Pennsylvania regulations “point” to 

NRC regulations so that if NRC modifies a regulation, the change is automatic for the 

Commonwealth’s regulations. If NRC develops a new regulation section, such as the upcoming 

10 CFR Part 37 security requirements rule, Pennsylvania must create a new section in their 

regulations which points to the NRC Part. The Pennsylvania regulatory process typically takes 

approximately two years to complete. There have been no legislative changes since the 2009 

IMPEP review which affect the Pennsylvania Agreement State program. 
PA Periodic Meeting Summary 4 

Event Reporting

The Program has reported 47 events to the NRC since the 2009 IMPEP review. Follow up and 

closure information for all events reported by the Program are included in the Commonwealth’s 

NMED entries. 

Response to Incidents and Allegations

The Program continues to be sensitive to notifications of incidents and allegations. Incidents 

are quickly reviewed for their effect on public health and safety. Staff is dispatched to perform 

onsite investigations when necessary. The Program is aware of the need to maintain an 

effective response to incidents and allegations. No allegations were referred from NRC to the 

Program since the 2009 IMPEP review. 

The Program Director noted that the Commonwealth has identified six medical events involving 

yttrium-90 microspheres which occurred in the Commonwealth in 2011. The Program queried 

NMED and determined that between 2000 to 2010, there was a total of 3 to5 related events 

across the country and in 2011 there was a total of 10 related events across the country. The 

Program Director informed the NRC and the other Agreement States about this issue during a 

monthly conference call. FSME will follow up on this matter. 

The Program issued two information notices to licensees in the Commonwealth. One was 

issued to fixed gauge licensees after noting several events involving stuck shutters on fixed 

gauges. The other IN was issued to portable gauge licensees after the Program identified 

multiple violations during inspections at several portable gauge licensee facilities. 

The Program is currently working with NRC, New Jersey, and California on a worker 

overexposure event which involved a Pennsylvania licensee, who also holds an NRC license, 

and a California licensee working under reciprocity in New Jersey. 

Current State Initiatives

The Program will be implementing a safety culture initiative which will incorporate other 

programs such as x-ray and radon programs. 

The Regional Offices will be providing tablet computers to their inspectors which will enable 

them to access and interact with the licensing and inspection information in the 

Commonwealth’s electronic database system while the inspectors are out of the office. 

Emerging Technologies

The Program has received a request from a licensee for authorization of radium-223 for 

monoclonal antibody use. 

Large, Complicated, or Unusual Authorizations for Use of Radioactive Material

The Program received a request from a large university licensee to conduct research using 

neptunium (spent fuel). The Program is working with cyclotron licensees to ensure financial 

assurance is established for decommissioning purposes. 

 
PA Periodic Meeting Summary 5 

State’s Mechanisms to Evaluate Performance

Supervisors and/or Program Managers accompany all inspectors on an annual basis. The 

Regional Offices hold quarterly meetings to discuss upcoming inspections. All Program staff 

members attend Program meetings twice per year at the Central Office. The Program holds 

monthly conference calls between the Central Office and the Regional Offices to discuss 

inspection and licensing activities. All licensing actions are peer reviewed and signed by 

management. All inspection reports are reviewed and signed by a supervisor. 

CONCLUSIONS: 

The Pennsylvania radioactive materials program continues to be an effective Agreement State 

program with an experienced and well-trained staff. Due to recent staff losses, the Radioactive 

Materials Section has two open positions in the radioactive materials licensing area but has not 

experienced a backlog in completing licensing actions. The Program Director is planning to fill 

these positions as soon as possible. 

NRC staff recommends that the next IMPEP review should be conducted as scheduled in 

FY 2014 (tentatively November 2013).