nrc and agreement state management of consignments of contaminated products

NRC and Agreement State Management of Consignments of

Contaminated ProductsAngela R. McIntosh, Regional Coordinator

Office of Federal and State Materialsand Environmental Management Programs

Jenny Tobin Wollenweber, Licensing OfficerOffice of International Programs

Presentation to the Organization of Agreement States August 27, 2012

TOPICS• Background• Draft COC Status• Contaminated Product Notifications to NRC• NRC Notifications• National Response Framework• NRC and Agreement State Responsibility• Additional Considerations• Agreement State Impact

BACKGROUND• 2009: Meeting of IAEA Member States in

Tarragona, Spain. • 2010: IAEA consultancy meeting in Vienna,

Austria.• 2011: IAEA General Conference resolution to

move forward on consideration of CoC• 2011: “Meeting of Experts to Develop a Non-

Binding Instrument on the Trans-boundary Movement of Scrap Metal that May Inadvertently Contain Radioactive Material” Vienna, Austria.

BACKGROUND• 2012 January: Draft Code of Conduct distributed

to IAEA Member States for comment.

• 2012 February: Dept. of State began to coordinate Federal interagency discussions.

• Subsequently, NRC requested Agreement States’ participation.

CODE OF CONDUCT

• Non-legally binding • Countries make political commitments to support

ideas in CoC• Familiarity with CoC on safety and security of

radioactive sources- the U.S.’s strong support showed through incorporation into legally-binding regulations

DRAFT COC on MANAGING CONTAMINATED CONSIGNMENTS: STATUS

• 2012 July: Cable and U.S. comments on draft CoC sent to IAEA.

• Comments:Remove the proactive industry provisions and put into a “best practices” document.Include “finished products” in the scope.Revise the CoC’s definition of “radioactive material.”

DRAFT COC: NEXT STEPS• NRC anticipates future IAEA meetings/discussions as

a result of our comments• Ultimately, the CoC would have be approved by the

IAEA Board of Governors• It is still unclear if other large, import/export

countries are willing to make a political commitment to the CoC

• When made to NRC by Agreement States:

Are courtesy notifications – no Federal requirement.

States are encouraged to make notifications to the NRC Operations Center.

Will be captured as a logbook entry (no public report; no NMED record).

CONTAMINATED PRODUCT NOTIFICATIONS

• Courtesy notification made by NRC to certain Federal agencies:

EPA (primarily)US Coast Guard, FDA, Consumer Product

Safety Commission (as appropriate).

NRC NOTIFICATION

• Describes NRC role in terms of response to events at NRC/Agreement State-licensed facilities.

• Describes EPA role in terms of assistance in instances when no licensee is identified.

• Roles continue to be discussed.

NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK

• With respect to contaminated consignments, NRC has no statutory authority to respond:No statutory responsibility imposed by the

Atomic Energy Act.No implied responsibility granted by the National Response Framework.

• Agreement States determine appropriate degree of follow-up.

NRC and AGREEMENTSTATE RESPONSIBLITY

• NRC does not approve import of RAM unless the recipient is authorized to receive and possess the material.

• NRC specifies no exempt quantity for imports.• NRC has no clearance levels.• NRC does not approve the frivolous uses of RAM.• NRC public dose limits apply to members of the

public when they are impacted by NRC licensed operations.

ADDITIONALCONSIDERATIONS

AGREEMENT STATE IMPACT

• NRC working to facilitate equity of burden regarding response: Facilitate identification of appropriate Federal partner to lead response. Efficient notification and information sharing.

• Memorandum of Understanding between Federal agencies.

QUESTIONS

Angela McIntosh 301-415-5030 Angela.mcintosh@nrc.gov

Jenny Tobin Wollenweber 301-415-2328 Jennifer.tobin@nrc.gov