Sept. 3 \-4prY) 

SHB: Subpart Wand the Circumstances of Facilities and Sites 

Licensed Under The US Atomic Energy Act* 

*Remarks of Steven H Brown, CHP, SENES Consultants, 4 September 2014; sbrown@senesusa.com; 

303 961 0951 

Historical Perspective- Origin of Need: 

Under current Subpart W requirements (and proposed revisions) EPA has assumed that 

to control public radiological risk, limits must be placed "at the source" i.e., at location of 

the tailings cells or ponds. These limits are believed necessary to control the radon 

emission ("source term" including numerical limits on radon emission I flux as in the 

current version) and/or limitations on the acreage of cells and/or surface areas 

uncovered at any time (variations in both current and revision as proposed). Historically 

(30 +years ago), such emission controls at the source were necessary and a direct 

outgrowth of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UNTRCA), 

particularly given the circumstances of the "UMTRA Title 1" sites. Many of these were 

"abandoned" and as a result, the public had direct and uncontrolled access to these 

tailings sites. It was reported at that time "children ride their bikes on them". 

Current Circumstances: 

However, at sites and facilities licensed under the US Atomic Energy Act (AEA- under 

either USNRC or Agreement State regulations), the monitoring and control of public 

radiation exposure, dose and related radiological risk must occur at the closest location 

of public assess to the licensed material, i.e., the boundary of restricted I unrestricted 

areas. Quantitative limits are articulated in 10 CFR 20 and its Appendix B (and 

equivalent sections of Agreement State regulations). Examples of specific requirements 

and limits are provided in the reference section. 

Premise: 

Accordingly, it is suggested that application of Subpart W to uranium mill tailings and 

other uranium recovery facilities licensed under the US Atomic Energy act is "dual and 

duplicative" Federal regulation that does not appear to provide any additional 

radiological risk reduction for the public. 

Argument 

The radiological doses and/or risks to the public at the site boundary from licensed 

radioactive material contained within the site are functions of several important 

parameters including meteorology, distance, time and conditions of exposure as well as 

the emission rate ("source term") itself. However, unlike "legacy abandoned" uranium 

tailings sites of the past (e.g. UMTRA Title I sites), the public has no access to the 

exposure conditions at the source within the restricted area boundary of a licensed site. 
The dose I risk only needs to be monitored and controlled at locations to which the 

public has access. The traditional parameters of concern in Subpart W regards to public 

radiological risk, i.e. radon emission rate (flux), maximum permitted acreage and total 

acreage exposed at any given time, is not directly related to the public exposure 

conditions at some distance away at controlled and monitored license boundary 

locations. 

Conclusion: 

Existing Federal regulations (both those of NRC and EPA) establish controls and limits 

for the "maximally exposed member of the public" (e.g., 10 CFR 20,1301 -see below). 

Accordingly, application of Subpart W to uranium recovery related sites and facilities 

licensed1 under the US AEA is redundant and not necessary. 

1 For source and/or byproduct material as defined in the AEA 

References -Applicable Federal Regulatory Requirements: 

Examples of existing applicable US NRC regulatory requirements2 to which licensees 

must comply include the following: 

2 Equivalency in the regulations of Agreement States of Utah, Texas, Colorado 

USNRC: 10 CFR 20, Standard for Protection Against Radiation. Para 20.1301 - Dose 

Limits for Individual Members of the Public: 

Limits annual exposure to the maximally exposed member of the public to a Total 

Effective Dose Equivalent of 1 00 millirem per year above natural background3 (includes 

radon). 

USNRC: 10 CRR 20, Appendix B, Table 2, Column 1: Concentrations in Air (at the 

boundary of the restricted /licensed area) applicable to the assessment and control of 

dose to the public. These concentration limits in units of microcuries per milliliter 

(uCi/ml) are radionuclide specific and represent the average annual concentrations at 

which, if an individual were exposed continuously to this concentration for a year, would 

receive a total effective dose equivalent of 50 millirem3. 

Additionally, existing EPA regulations already limit public dose I radiological risk from 

licensed facilities, including regulatory limits specific to uranium and/or thorium tailings 

impoundments, e.g.: 

40CFR 190, Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Nuclear Power 

Operations. 
Limits annual radiation doses received by members of the public as the result of 

operations of the nuclear fuel cycle (includes "operations of milling of uranium ores") to 

25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and 25 millirems to any other 

organ. (However, excludes radon) 3 

40CFR 192, Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium 

Mill Tailings; Subpart D: Standards for Management of Uranium Byproduct Materials. 

Limits radon emissions from uranium byproduct material4 at licensed sites to 20 

picocuries per square meter per second (pCi/m2 -sec.). Provides additional 

requirements for public protection during both tailings operations and closure phases. 

3 Note that average "background" in the US is about 300 millirem I yr. with an average of over 

400 millirem/ yr. in Colorado. Therefore, these Federal public exposure limits are typically less 

than the variability of background across the US. Accordingly, where one chooses to live has a 

greater impact on public radiological dose and risk than these limits. (US Environmental 

Protection Agency. Assessment of Variations in Radiation Exposure in the United States. 2006; 

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the 

Population of the United States. NCRP Report No. 160. 2009.) 

4 Byproduct material as defined by the AEA would include conventional tailings, solution ponds 

from ISRs, etc.)