This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

295

Vol. 61, No. 3

Thursday, January 4, 1996

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 30, 31, 32, 40 and 70

Public Workshop on the Regulation of

Radioactive Devices

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The NRC will hold a public

workshop in Rockville, Maryland to

review the regulatory program for

devices containing radioactive materials

licensed under 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, 32,

40 and 70. Interested members of the

public are welcome to attend the

meeting, however, for efficient conduct

of the workshop, participation will be in

the format of a round table discussion

among invited representatives of

potentially affected parties. The NRC

has prepared a workshop agenda. This

and related documents are available for

review prior to the workshop and

interested parties are encouraged to

review this information. The NRC will

accept and consider written comments

from interested parties on this

regulatory issue.

DATES: The workshop will be held on

January 18, 1996 from 9:00 am to 5:00

pm. The workshop will continue, if

necessary, on January 19, 1996 from

9:00 am to 12 noon. Comments on this

regulatory issue should be received no

later than January 31, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The public workshop will

be held in the NRC auditorium at Two

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Visitor

parking around the NRC building is

limited, however, the workshop site is

adjacent to the White Flint station on

the Metro Red Line. Written comments

can be provided at the workshop or by

January 31, 1996 to the Secretary, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, Attention:

Docketing and Service Branch. Copies of

the agenda and related documents can

be obtained from the NRC’s Public

Document Room, 2120 L Street NW,

Washington DC 20037; Phone: 202–634–

3273; Fax: 202–634–3343.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Francis X. Cameron, Mail Stop O–

15B18, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555;

Phone: 301–415–1642; Fax: 301–415–

3200; INTERNET:FXC@NRC.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Inadequate control of radioactive

devices by licensees has lead to

radioactive materials being included in

metal scrap intended for recycling (see

J. Lubenau & J. Yusko, ‘‘Radioactive

materials in Recycled Metals,’’ Health

Physics, 68:4, April, 1995). Radioactive

sources have been accidentally smelted

in metal mills resulting in radioactive

contamination of mills, metal products

and mill byproducts. In the U.S., costs

attributable to decontamination, waste

disposal and temporary mill closures

following a smelting of a radioactive

source have been as much as

$23,000,000 per event. There is a risk of

radiation exposure to unsuspecting

workers and members of the public. In

1990, the Commission determined that

the problem needed to be addressed and

directed a rulemaking to improve

oversight of generally licensed devices.

The proposed rule was published for

public comment in 1991 (56 FR 67011,

26 December 1991). In 1993, however,

finalization of the rule was deferred

because of resource constraints. Instead,

the Commission directed the staff to

pursue alternatives. In 1995, the

Commission approved formation of a

joint Agreement State—Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) Working

Group to review the regulation of all

devices containing licensed radioactive

materials to assess the current

regulatory program for these devices

and provide recommendations to the

Commission.

The Working Group held its initial

meeting October 24–25, 1995, and a

second meeting on December 19–20,

1995, in Rockville, Maryland. The

Working Group members are Robert

Free, Texas and Joel Lubenau, NRC, Cochairs; Robin Haden, North Carolina,

Martha Dibblee, Oregon; Rita Aldrich,

New York (alternate); Lloyd Bolling,

NRC and John Telford, NRC. James

Yusko, Pennsylvania, is serving as

liaison to the Working Group for the

Conference of Radiation Control

Program Directors. James Richardson,

NRC Nuclear Safety Attache in Vienna,

Austria is serving as liaison for the

International Atomic Energy Agency. At

its initial meeting, in addition to the

Working Group members, 28

representatives of the metal recycling

and steel manufacturing industries,

devices vendors and users, health

physics consultants and government

agencies attended. Minutes of the first

and second meetings of the Working

Group and other background

information are available for public

inspection and copying for a fee at the

NRC Public Document Room, under the

file, ‘‘Review Group—Radioactive

Devices.’’

The public workshop is intended to

provide an opportunity for stakeholders

to have an input into the Working

Group assessment of the need for

regulatory changes and development of

recommendations, as needed, for

regulatory options to improve controls

of licensed devices and assure their

proper disposal. A target date of May

1996 has been set for the Working

Group to develop and finalize its

recommendations.

For efficient conduct of the workshop,

the meeting format will be a round table

discussion among invited

representatives from affected interests,

e.g., the metal recycling industry and

recycled metal consumers, device

vendors and users, Federal and state

regulators and citizen groups. The

workshop will be open to the public,

and the public will be provided

opportunities throughout the workshop

to comment on the issues presented for

discussion.

If the Working Group recommends

changes in NRC regulations and the

Commission agrees, such changes

would be proposed through a

subsequent NRC public rulemaking

process.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day

of December 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Malcolm R. Knapp,

Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Materials

Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 96–108 Filed 1–3–96; 8:45 am]

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