Nuclear Regulatory Commission February 20, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft NUREG-2154 ``Acceptability of Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities.'' The draft NUREG provides guidance to the NRC staff on how to determine whether a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) submitted by the licensee of a fuel cycle facility is acceptable.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to conduct a public workshop to discuss possible revisions to NUREG/BR-0204, Rev. 2 ``Instructions for Completing NRC's Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest.'' Information will be gathered from subject matter experts and other interested members of the public regarding NUREG/BR- 0204 and how it can best be revised. Specifically, the NRC staff is interested in gaining a better understanding of the issues associated with reporting certain difficult-to-measure (DTM) radionuclides on shipping waste manifests as required by Appendix G of part 20 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). In particular based on their experience some involved members of the public would like the NRC to update NUREG/BR-0204 to address the manifesting of Technecium-99 (Tc-99), Carbon-14 (C-14), Tritium (H-3), and Iodine-129 (I-129) to minimize over-estimation of activity. These isotopes are key contributors to groundwater dose and can lead to premature closure of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities if over-estimated. Additionally, the NRC staff received comments from involved members of the public recommending that the NRC staff consider Chlorine-36 (Cl-36) during this effort so staff will also address the reporting of Cl-36 in the update to NUREG/BR-0204.