Nuclear Regulatory Commission January 25, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is closing a petition for rulemaking (PRM-31-5) submitted by the Organization of Agreement States, Inc. (OAS). The petition requested that the NRC amend its regulations to strengthen the regulation of radioactive materials by requiring a specific license for higher- activity devices that are currently available under a general license, and change the compatibility designation of applicable regulations from category B to category C. The petition also addresses a request filed by the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Radiation Control, to change the compatibility category of a certain part of the applicable regulation from category B to category C. In response to the petition, the NRC developed a proposed rule that would have changed the compatibility of the applicable regulations, and would have limited the quantity of byproduct material contained in a generally-licensed device to below one-tenth of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Category 3 thresholds. After further review, the NRC has decided to withdraw the proposed rule and to change the compatibility designation of the applicable regulations from category B to category C.