UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

October 7, 2016 

ALL AGREEMENT AND NON-AGREEMENT STATES 

STATE LIAISON OFFICERS 

NOTIFICATION OF ACTIONS TO ADDRESS NON-MILITARY SITES WITH THE POTENTIAL 

HISTORIC RADIUM CONTAMINATION (STC-16-080) 

Purpose: To inform the States of non-military radium sites with potential historic radium 

contamination and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) actions to coordinate with 

States, obtain additional site information, conduct surveys, and evaluate future actions at the 

sites. 

Background: In 2013, the NRC staff initiated an effort to find non-military sites with the 

potential for radium contamination by identifying historic manufacturers of radium-containing 

consumer products, with a focus on sites in non-Agreement States. The goal of the effort was 

to identify sites in NRC’s jurisdiction where radium was used and to plan a comprehensive and 

consistent approach to determine if contamination exists today at these sites. 

Following identification of radium contamination at two non-military sites in 2013, NRC staff 

contracted with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to identify additional non-military sites 

with potential radium contamination. The scope of the ORNL effort included searching publicly 

available records to identify, describe, and prioritize sites where the manufacturing of products 

that contained radium has historically occurred. Since commercial use of radium came to an 

end in the 1970s, and the NRC did not assume regulatory authority over radium until 2005, 

these sites were never licensed or inspected by the NRC or its predecessor agency, the Atomic 

Energy Commission. 

Discussion: 

Non-Agreement States 

The ORNL search identified sites with either confirmed or suspected historic radium use. 

Confirmed sites are those where radium is known to have been present at the site based on 

either historic records of radium use or radiological surveys. Suspected sites are those where 

radium was not explicitly documented to have been present, but may have been, based on the 

historic use of the site. The amount and extent of radium contamination at sites identified by 

ORNL is unknown at this time because of the limitations in the publicly available information 

collected for these sites. Following the completion of ORNL’s effort, the NRC staff worked with 

the non-Agreement States to share information about the sites identified, and to obtain 

additional information about past site activities and any radiological cleanup activities that may 

have occurred. 

 
STC-16-080 2 

The NRC will continue to perform outreach, on an individual basis, to each non-Agreement 

State with identified sites. Based on information provided by the non-Agreement States during 

this outreach, the NRC will determine if follow-up actions are warranted. Follow-up actions may 

include conducting radiological surveys, establishing site access controls, and working with site 

owners on remediation, where applicable. Since many non-Agreement States have prior 

experience with radium contamination and clean-up, staff has collaborated with the States to 

share best practices. 

Agreement States 

As part of its site identification, ORNL collected information about potential sites of interest 

within Agreement States. NRC staff provided this site-specific information to the Agreement 

States in July 2016, so that the Agreement States can take any follow-up actions necessary. 

Additionally, the NRC staff hosted two webinars to share information regarding the NRC staff’s 

approach to non-military with both Agreement and non-Agreement States. Since many 

Agreement States have prior experience with radium contamination and clean-up, staff has 

collaborated with the States to share best practices. Following the issuance of this letter, the 

NRC staff will post information regarding its approach to non-military radium on the NRC public 

website at: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/radium.html. 

If you have any questions regarding this communication or could provide lessons learned with 

regard to radium remediation activities in your State, beyond the outreach that has already 

occurred, please contact me at (301) 415-3340 or the individual named below:

POINT OF CONTACT: Stephen Poy E-MAIL: Stephen.Poy@nrc.gov 

TELEPHONE: (301) 415-7135 

 /RA/ 

 

 Daniel S. Collins, Director 

 Division of Material Safety, State, Tribal 

 and Rulemaking Programs 

 Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

 
STC-16-080 2 

The NRC will continue to perform outreach, on an individual basis, to each non-Agreement 

State with identified sites. Based on information provided by the non-Agreement States during 

this outreach, the NRC will determine if follow-up actions are warranted. Follow-up actions may 

include conducting radiological surveys, establishing site access controls, and working with site 

owners on remediation, where applicable. Since many non-Agreement States have prior 

experience with radium contamination and clean-up, staff has collaborated with the States to 

share best practices. 

Agreement States 

As part of its site identification, ORNL collected information about potential sites of interest 

within Agreement States. NRC staff provided this site-specific information to the Agreement 

States in July 2016, so that the Agreement States can take any follow-up actions necessary. 

Additionally, the NRC staff hosted two webinars to share information regarding the NRC staff’s 

approach to non-military with both Agreement and non-Agreement States. Since many 

Agreement States have prior experience with radium contamination and clean-up, staff has 

collaborated with the States to share best practices. Following the issuance of this letter, the 

NRC staff will post information regarding its approach to non-military radium on the NRC public 

website at: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/radium.html. 

If you have any questions regarding this communication or could provide lessons learned with 

regard to radium remediation activities in your State, beyond the outreach that has already 

occurred, please contact me at (301) 415-3340 or the individual named below:

POINT OF CONTACT: Stephen Poy E-MAIL: Stephen.Poy@nrc.gov 

TELEPHONE: (301) 415-7135 

 /RA/ 

 

 Daniel S. Collins, Director 

 Division of Material Safety, State, Tribal 

 and Rulemaking Programs 

 Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

DISTRIBUTION: 

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NAME SPoy MMeyer ADWhite PMichalak AKock JTappert DCollins 

DATE 09/29/16 09/29/16 09/06/16 09/10/16 09/29/16 10/4/16 10/7/16 

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