[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66503-66504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29559]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Availability and Solicitation of Public Comments on Interagency 
Steering Committee on Radiation Standards' Reports on Radioactivity in 
Sewage Sludge and Ash

AGENCIES: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency.

ACTION: Announce the issuance of three reports concerning radioactivity 
in sewage sludge and ash, and request public comments.

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SUMMARY: This Federal Register notice announces the availability of 
three reports, prepared by the Sewage Sludge Subcommittee of the 
Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS), 
addressing radioactivity in sewage sludge and ash. The first report, 
``ISCORS Assessment of

[[Page 66504]]

Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Radiological Survey Results and 
Analysis,'' summarizes the information on radioactivity found in 
samples of sewage sludge and ash from 313 publicly owned treatment 
works (POTWs). This report is being issued as a final document, since 
it only presents data that has already been collected. The second 
report, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Modeling 
to Assess Radiation Doses,'' assesses the potential levels of radiation 
doses to people by modeling the transport of radioactivity from sludge 
into the local environment. The report also provides a complete 
description and justification of the dose assessment methodology. The 
third report, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: 
Recommendations on Management of Radioactive Materials in Sewage Sludge 
and Ash at Publicly Owned Treatment Works,'' recommends further actions 
that may be taken by a POTW operator when elevated levels of 
radionuclides are detected.
    The purpose of ISCORS is to foster early resolution and 
coordination of regulatory issues associated with radiation standards. 
Agencies represented on ISCORS include the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 
U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services. The Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, and State representatives 
may be observers at meetings. The objectives of ISCORS are to: (1) 
Facilitate a consensus on allowable levels of radiation risk to the 
public and workers; (2) promote consistent and scientifically sound 
risk assessment and risk management approaches in setting and 
implementing standards for occupational and public protection from 
ionizing radiation; (3) promote completeness and coherence of Federal 
standards for radiation protection; and (4) identify interagency 
radiation protection issues and coordinate their resolution.
    There have been a number of well-publicized cases of radionuclides 
discovered in sewage sludge and ash, and some of these have led to 
expensive cleanup projects. These incidents made clear the need for a 
comprehensive determination of the prevalence of radionuclides at 
publicly owned treatment works sewage sludge and ash around the 
country, and the level of potential threat posed to human health and 
the environment by various levels of such materials.
    In response to this need, ISCORS formed a Sewage Sludge 
Subcommittee (SSS) to coordinate, evaluate, and resolve issues 
regarding radioactive materials in sewage sludge and ash. To estimate 
the amounts of radionuclides that actually occur in sewage sludge and 
ash, ISCORS' SSS performed a survey of radioactivity in sludge and ash 
across the United States. The final report is entitled, ``ISCORS 
Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Radiological Survey 
Results and Analysis,'' and is available on the ISCORS Web site at 
http://www.iscors.org.
    Concurrently, the Dose Modeling Workgroup of the SSS undertook a 
dose assessment to help assess the potential threat that these 
materials may pose to human health. The draft report that we are making 
available for public comment today, ``ISCORS Assessment of 
Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Modeling to Assess Radiation Doses,'' 
describes the methodology and results of the dose modeling effort. The 
general approach used in the report is a standard one that consists 
essentially of two steps. First, seven general, fairly generic 
scenarios (and some sub-scenarios) are constructed to represent typical 
situations in which members of the public of POTW workers are likely to 
be exposed to sludge. The selection of radionuclides for consideration 
was based on the results of the ISCORS survey of sewage sludge and ash 
at various POTWs, and includes manmade and naturally-occurring 
isotopes. Second, assuming a unit specific activity of a radionuclide 
in dry sludge, a widely accepted multi-pathway environmental transport 
model (the RESRAD family of codes) is employed to obtain sludge 
concentration-to-dose conversion factors.
    A third and final document, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in 
Sewage Sludge: Recommendations on Management of Radioactive Materials 
in Sewage Sludge and Ash at Publicly Owned Treatment Works,'' is also 
being issued for public comment today. This document is for use by POTW 
operators in evaluating whether the presence of radioactive materials 
in sewage sludge could pose a threat to the health and safety of POTW 
workers or the general public. ISCORS concludes that the levels of 
radioactive materials detected in sewage sludge and ash in the ISCORS 
survey indicate that, at most POTWs, radiation exposure to workers or 
to the general public is not likely to be a concern.
    Comments on either, ``ISCORS Assessment of Radioactivity in Sewage 
Sludge: Modeling to Assess Radiation Doses,'' or ``ISCORS Assessment of 
Radioactivity in Sewage Sludge: Recommendations on Management of 
Radioactive Materials in Sewage Sludge and Ash at Publicly Owned 
Treatment Works,'' should be sent to the EPA contact listed below by 
February 6, 2004.
    Robert Bastian, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--4204M, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: 202-564-
0653, e-mail: [email protected].
    Hard copies can also be obtained by calling or writing to Carol 
Walls, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NMSS/DWM/EPAB, M.S. T-7J8, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, 301-415-8028, or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kennedy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, NMSS/DWM, M.S. T-7J8, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 301-
415-6668, fax 301-415-5397, e-mail [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of November, 2003.

    For The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John T. Greeves,
Director, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-29559 Filed 11-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P