Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 29, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has amended its regulations to include jurisdiction over certain radium sources, accelerator-produced radioactive materials, and certain naturally occurring radioactive material, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which was signed into law on August 8, 2005. The EPAct expanded the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 definition of byproduct material to include these radioactive materials. Subsequently, these radioactive materials were placed under NRC's regulatory authority. NRC is revising its regulations to provide a regulatory framework that includes these newly added radioactive materials. See SECY-07-0062, ``Final Rule: Requirements for Expanded Definition of Byproduct Material,'' dated April 3, 2007, for information on that rulemaking. Two licensing guidance documents in the NUREG-1556 series are being revised along with these new regulations to provide guidance related to the new requirements: (1) NUREG-1556, Volume 13, Revision 1, ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials LicensesProgram-Specific Guidance About Commercial Radiopharmacy Licenses,'' and (2) NUREG-1556, Volume 9, Revision 2, ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials LicensesProgram Specific Guidance About Medical Use Licenses.'' A new volume in the NUREG-1556 series is also being developed to address the production of radioactive material using an accelerator. This NUREG is entitled, ``NUREG-1556, Volume 21, ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials LicensesProgram-Specific Guidance About Possession Licenses for Production of Radioactive Material Using an Accelerator.'' This notice is announcing the availability of one of these three licensing guidance documents for public comment: NUREG-1556, Volume 21. NUREG-1556, Volume 13, Revision 1, and NUREG-1556, Volume 9, Revision 2, will be available for public comment in the near future by separate notices in the Federal Register.