Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 05969442-49ea-4f4a-a9e2-de3a14628b5e
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Minimization of Contamination and Radioactive Waste Generation:  Life-Cycle Planning - HISTORY 07/2013 – Periodic Review of Revision 0 – No issues identified
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 4
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0805/ML080500187.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-4.21
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
r Minimization of Contamination One of the significant early lessons learned about minimizing the radiological impacts of decommissioning was the importance of early planning for decommissioning. Such planning should include consideration of decommissioning at the time of initial design and continue throughout facility operations. The strategy should also be applied to minimizing contamination of the facility and the environment. Thus, during initial facility design planning, an applicant should comprehensively consider design aspects, construction, and operation until termination of the license by the NRC. License termination includes consideration of decommissioning activities until satisfactory facility and site release is accomplished (i.e., meeting the radiological criteria in Subpart E, “Radiological Criteria for License Termination,” of 10 CFR Part 20, “Standards for Protection Against Radiation.” ). 2. Application of a Risk-Informed Approach This guide should be implemented in a risk-informed approach that considers the magnitude of the hazard involved. License applications submitted to the NRC cover more than 100 different kinds of activities. These activities do not all reflect the same potential for contamination of a facility and the environment, or for the generation of radioactive waste. Therefore, the applicant should use judgment to determine the extent to which this guide applies to any given facility or activity. Factors that may enter into this decision include the material’s form (e.g., dry solids, liquids, gases), the inventory, and the material’s environmental mobility. Figure 1 shows the decision paths an applicant might take in determining the applicability of this guide. In considering the flow paths in Figure 1, note that the regulations contain no exceptions with regard to the applicability of 10 CFR 20.1406 for license, design certification, and design approval applications submitted after August 20, 1997 other than the