[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60149-60151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24392]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0209]


Notice of Public Meeting To Solicit Comments on the Draft Policy 
Statement on the Protection of Cesium-137 Chloride Sources

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting to solicit public comments.

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SUMMARY: The NRC is conducting a public meeting to solicit public input 
on the draft policy statement on the protection of cesium-137 chloride 
(CsCl) sources that was published in the Federal Register on June 29, 
2010 (75 FR 37483). During the public meeting, the NRC will request 
public comments on the issues discussed in this document. Additionally, 
the NRC is requesting names of individuals to participate at the public 
meeting in a round table discussion of the issues discussed in Section 
III of this document.
    The purpose of this document is to announce the date and location 
of the public meeting which were not finalized in the June 29, 2010, 
document, as well as to publish an Issues Paper which will serve as a 
framework for the discussion of the major issues in the draft policy 
statement in the public meeting.

DATES: 1. The public meeting will be held on November 8-9, 2010.
    2. Nominations for participation in the roundtable discussions of 
the public meeting should be submitted by October 8, 2010.
    3. Written comments on the draft policy statement, outside the 
scope of the public meeting, are also accepted and should be submitted 
by December 17, 2010. Comments received after this date will be 
considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to assure 
consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
    4. To ensure efficient and complete comment resolution, comments 
should include reference to the section and page numbers of the Draft 
Policy Statement (75 FR 37483) to which the comment applies. When 
commenting on the CsCl issues presented, please exercise caution with 
regard to site-specific security-related information. Comments will be 
made available to the public in their entirety; personal information, 
such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. will 
not be removed from your submission.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0209 in the subject line 
of your comments. For instructions on submitting comments and accessing 
documents related to this action, see Section I, ``Submitting Comments 
and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document. You may submit comments by any one of the following 
methods.
    Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0209. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone (301) 492-
3668; e-mail [email protected].
    Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and 
Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, MS: TWB-5 B1M, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by fax to 
RADB at (301) 492-3446.
    The public meeting will be held at The Universities at Shady Grove 
Conference Center, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850-5822. 
Nominations for participation in the roundtable discussions of the 
public meeting should be submitted by October 8, 2010. For expeditious 
handling of the nominations, the NRC established a dedicated e-mail 
address. The nominations should be sent to the following NRC e-mail 
address: [email protected].
    Other participants, who wish to attend the public meeting, may also 
pre-register at the dedicated e-mail address: 
[email protected]. The NRC will appreciate pre-registration in 
order to properly plan for the conference facilities; however, pre-
registration is not required and registration will be available on the 
opening day of the public meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John P. Jankovich, Office of 
Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, 
telephone (301) 415-7904, e-mail [email protected], or Dr. Cynthia 
G. Jones, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, telephone 
(301) 415-0298, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Submitting Comments and Accessing Information

    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site http://www.regulations.gov. To ensure efficient and complete comment 
resolution, comments should include reference to the section and page 
numbers of the Draft Policy Statement (75 FR 37483) and/or Issues Paper 
to which the comment applies. When commenting on the CsCl issues

[[Page 60150]]

presented, please exercise caution with regard to site-specific 
security-related information. Because your comments will not be edited 
to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you 
against including any information in your submission that you do not 
want to be publicly disclosed. The NRC requests that any party 
soliciting or aggregating comments received from other persons for 
submission to the NRC inform those persons that the NRC will not edit 
their comments to remove any identifying or contact information, and 
therefore, they should not include any information in their comments 
that they do not want publicly disclosed.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document, including the following documents, using the following 
methods:
    NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have 
copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Room 
O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland.
    NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain 
entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and supporting 
materials related to this document can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2010-0209.
    The NRC will also use a public Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/licensing.html#cc to make documents, relevant to the 
draft policy statement and to the public meeting, accessible. This 
public Web site will be continually updated as new information becomes 
available.

II. Background

    The NRC is seeking public input on the major issues associated with 
its proposed policy and expectations on the secure uses of CsCl 
sources. As a first step, the NRC has prepared a draft policy 
statement, published June 29, 2010 (75 FR 37483), to address issues 
related to the safety and security of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA) Category 1 and 2 CsCl sources.\1\ The intent of this 
document is to foster discussion about the draft policy issues in the 
public meeting and to solicit comments on the draft policy statement.
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    \1\ An IAEA Category 1 cesium-137 source contains a minimum of 
3,000 Ci (100 TBq) and a Category 2 source contains a minimum of 30 
Ci (1 TBq). See http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Code-2004_web.pdf.
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    Following the publication of the draft policy statement, additional 
information became available on security of radioactive sources. The 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L.109-58) named 12 Federal agencies and 
2 State organizations to the interagency Radiation Source Protection 
and Security Task Force (Task Force) and named the NRC Chairman (or a 
designee) as its chairperson. The Task Force was charged with 
evaluating and providing recommendations to the President and Congress 
relating to the security of radiation sources in the United States from 
potential terrorist threats, including acts of sabotage, theft, or use 
of a radiological source in a radiological dispersal device. The first 
Task Force report was submitted in August 2006 (see http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/congress-docs/correspondence/2006/president-08-15-2006.pdf). On August 11, 2010, the NRC transmitted to the 
President and Congress with the second report documenting the efforts 
of the interagency Task Force. The second report included 11 
recommendations to improve source security in the U.S. (see http://www.nrc.gov/security/byproduct/2010-task-force-report.pdf).

III. Issues Paper on the Draft Policy Statement on the Protection of 
Cesium-137 Chloride Sources

    The objective of the public meeting is to solicit stakeholder 
comments on the policy issues that are presented in the draft policy 
statement. The following format is used in the presentation of the 
issues. Each issue is assigned a number, a description of the policy 
issue, a list of panel presentations with subjects for volunteers to 
address in short overview-type presentations, and a list of questions 
for discussion by the general public. These issues, questions and 
factors are not meant to be a complete or final list, but are intended 
to initiate discussion. Interested stakeholders are welcome to 
recommend additions, deletions, or modifications to the key issues. The 
Commission will consider all public feedback when issuing the final 
policy statement. Meeting participants and commenters are encouraged to 
read the proceedings of the previous public meeting held in 2008 and 
the written comments that the NRC received. The documents are available 
at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/licensing.html#cesium.

Issues for Discussion

    Issue 1: The safety and security of risk significant sources is an 
essential part of the NRC's mission. Licensees have the primary 
responsibility to securely manage and to protect sources in their 
possession from misuse, theft, and radiological sabotage.
    Panel presentations:
     Outline of current security and control requirements.
     Overview of security inspection findings by the NRC 
Regional offices.
     Agreement State perspectives.
    Participant deliberations:
     What is the status and history of the current security 
requirements and programs to reduce the potential vulnerability of IAEA 
Category 1 and 2 sources?
     What issues have licensees experienced when implementing 
the requirements?
     What is the status of the NRC and Agreement State 
inspections designed to verify implementation of the requirements?
    Issue 2: Adequate protection of public health and safety is 
maintained if CsCl sources are managed in accordance with the security 
requirements of the NRC and the Agreement States. The NRC monitors the 
threat environment and maintains awareness of international and 
domestic security efforts. In the event that changes in the threat 
environment necessitate regulatory action, the NRC is ready to issue 
additional security requirements to apply appropriate limitations for 
the use of CsCl in its current form.
    Panel presentations:
     Status of proposed 10 CFR Part 37 rulemaking, Federal 
Register Notice, June 15, 2010. (75 FR 33902)
     Licensees perspective of security requirements for CsCl 
sources.
     An overview of NRC's threat assessment process.
     Overview of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 
outreach efforts.
    Participant deliberations:
     Is security of CsCl sources adequately addressed by the 
current requirements?
     Should CsCl sources receive special consideration?
     How would the proposed Part 37 change the licensees' 
current/existing security measures for CsCl?
     How do the FBI outreach efforts affect the protection 
measures in place for CsCl sources?
     If needed, what additional cooperative efforts could be 
undertaken

[[Page 60151]]

to enhance security or minimize the risk?
    Issue 3: Could hardware improvements be made that would further 
mitigate or minimize the radiological consequences?
    Panel presentations:
     Irradiator manufacturers' presentation on safety features.
     Overview of the Department of Energy (DOE)/National 
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) voluntary security enhancement 
program.
     Licensee perspective of design changes.
    Participant deliberations:
     What is the status of current CsCl designs regarding 
security enhancements?
     What are the benefits of the DOE/NNSA voluntary security 
enhancements and table-top exercises?
     Are other isotopes being considered for the future 
production of existing designs?
     Are new concepts being considered for new designs?
    Issue 4: The development and use of alternative forms of cesium-
137, while not required for adequate protection, is prudent and the NRC 
intends to monitor these developments closely.
    Panel presentations:
     Overview of feasible alternatives from the irradiator 
manufacturers' perspective and from the users' perspective.
     Source manufacturers' presentation on new initiatives.
     Dispersibility considerations.
    Participant deliberations:
     Are manufacturers currently considering the use of other 
forms of cesium (other than CsCl)? If yes, what alternatives are 
viable?
     What is the status of new developments?
     How can the effectiveness of new alternatives regarding 
solubility and dispersibility be measured?
     [cir] What are the physical/chemical parameters?
     [cir] How can risk reduction be quantified?
     How to formalize solubility and dispersibility parameters?
    Issue 5: CsCl enables three specific classes of applications that 
benefit society:
    (a) Blood irradiation;
    (b) Bio-medical and industrial research; and
    (c) Calibration of instrumentation and dosimetry.
    Panel presentations:
     Equipment needs of the blood irradiation industry.
     Conduct of bio-medical research in view of cesium-137 
irradiation.
     Issues in calibration technology in view of cesium-137 
sources.
     Status of alternative technologies.
    Participant deliberations:
     What impact does the Draft Policy Statement pose for each 
of these applications?
     What is the licensees' experience in complying with the 
current security requirements in view of the three fields of 
applications?
     What technological changes are anticipated in these 
applications regarding the use of cesium-137 sources?
    Issue 6: The NRC recognizes that currently there is no disposal 
capability for commercial CsCl sources. The NRC considers it imperative 
to develop a pathway for the long-term storage and disposal of these 
sources whether or not there are alternatives developed.
    Panel presentations:
     Update from DOE on development of Environmental Impact 
Statement for a disposal facility.
     Licensees' perspective on storage and disposal of CsCl 
sources.
     Disposal of CsCl sources through DOE's Off-Site Recovery 
Program or Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors.
    Participant deliberations:
     What are the major issues for licensees (users of CsCl 
sources) regarding disposal of their sources?
     What options are available?
     What are the (security and cost) impacts of the current 
regulatory environment on licensees?

IV. Solicitation for Stakeholder Input

    To solicit stakeholder input during the public meeting, NRC will 
conduct a roundtable panel discussion, with opportunity for audience 
participation, for each issue contained in Section III of this 
document. The NRC is seeking the names of individuals interested in 
participating on these panels. Nominations by interested individuals or 
organizations should include the name of the proposed panel member, the 
issues they are interested in discussing, viewpoint(s) on the issue(s), 
and affiliation (if any). Roundtable panel participants will be 
selected with the goal of providing balanced viewpoints on each of the 
various issues. Please see the ADDRESSES section of this document to 
submit nominations by October 8, 2010. Nominations received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so.
    We encourage previous participants who attended, either as panel 
members or attendees, the prior public workshop held on September 29-
30, 2008, to also participate in this meeting. Information on the 
previous public meeting is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/licensing.html#cesium.
    Based on the comments received in both written and electronic form, 
and at the public meeting, the Commission will then be in a better 
position to proceed with the issuance of a final policy statement. The 
final policy statement, when issued by the Commission, will be 
published in the Federal Register.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of September 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John P. Jankovich,
Team Leader, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-24392 Filed 9-28-10; 8:45 am]
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