(I) demonstrates that further reductions in residual
radioactivity necessary to comply with the 100 mrem/y (1 mSv/y) value
of clause (i) of this subparagraph are not technically achievable,
would be prohibitively expensive, or would result in net public or
environmental harm;
(II) makes provisions for durable institutional controls;
and
(III) provides sufficient financial assurance to enable
a responsible government entity or independent third party, including
a governmental custodian of a site, both to carry out periodic rechecks
of the site no less frequently than every 5 years to assure that the
institutional controls remain in place as necessary to meet the criteria
of paragraph (2) of this subsection and to assume and carry out responsibilities
for any necessary control and maintenance of those controls. Acceptable
financial assurance mechanisms are those in subparagraph (C) of this
paragraph.
(4) Alternate requirements for license termination.
(A) The agency may terminate a license using alternate
requirements greater than the dose requirements specified in paragraph
(2) of this subsection if the licensee does the following:
(i) provides assurance that public health and safety
would continue to be protected, and that it is unlikely that the dose
from all man-made sources combined, other than medical, would be more
than the 1 mSv per year (100 mrem per year) limit specified in subsection
(o) of this section, by submitting an analysis of possible sources
of exposure;
(ii) reduces doses to ALARA levels, taking into consideration
any detriments such as traffic accidents expected to potentially result
from decontamination and waste disposal;
(iii) has submitted a decommissioning plan to the agency
indicating the licensee's intent to decommission in accordance with
the requirements in §289.252(y) of this title, and specifying
that the licensee proposes to decommission by use of alternate requirements.
The licensee shall document in the decommissioning plan how the advice
of individuals and institutions in the community who may be affected
by the decommissioning has been sought and addressed, as appropriate,
following analysis of that advice. In seeking such advice, the licensee
shall provide for the following:
(I) participation by representatives of a broad cross
section of community interests who may be affected by the decommissioning;
(II) an opportunity for a comprehensive, collective
discussion on the issues by the participants represented; and
(III) a publicly available summary of the results of
all such discussions, including a description of the individual viewpoints
of the participants on the issues and the extent of agreement and
disagreement among the participants on the issues; and
(iv) has provided sufficient financial assurance in
the form of a trust fund to enable an independent third party, including
a governmental custodian of a site, to assume and carry out responsibilities
for any necessary control and maintenance of the site.
(B) The use of alternate requirements to terminate
a license requires the approval of the agency after consideration
of the agency's recommendations that will address any comments provided
by the EPA and any public comments submitted in accordance with paragraph
(5) of this subsection.
(5) Public notification and public participation. Upon
receipt of a decommissioning plan from the licensee, or a proposal
from the licensee for release of a site pursuant to paragraphs (3)
and (4) of this subsection, or whenever the agency deems such notice
to be in the public interest, the agency will do the following:
(A) notify and solicit comments from the following:
(i) local and state governments in the vicinity of
the site and any Indian Nation or other indigenous people that have
treaty or statutory rights that could be affected by the decommissioning;
and
(ii) the EPA for cases where the licensee proposes
to release a site in accordance with paragraph (4) of this subsection;
and
(B) publish a notice in the Texas
Register and a forum, such as local newspapers, letters to
state or local organizations, or other appropriate forum, that is
readily accessible to individuals in the vicinity of the site, and
solicit comments from affected parties.
(6) Minimization of contamination.
(A) Applicants for licenses, other than renewals, after
October 1, 2000, shall describe in the application how facility design
and procedures for operation will minimize, to the extent practical,
contamination of the facility and the environment, facilitate eventual
decommissioning, and minimize, to the extent practical, the generation
of LLRW.
(B) Licensees shall, to the extent practical, conduct
operations to minimize the introduction of residual radioactivity
into the site, including the subsurface, in accordance with the existing
radiation protection requirements and radiological criteria for license
termination in this subsection.
(eee) Limits for contamination of soil, surfaces of
facilities and equipment, and vegetation.
(1) No licensee shall possess, receive, use, or transfer
radioactive material in such a manner as to cause contamination of
surfaces of facilities or equipment in unrestricted areas to the extent
that the contamination exceeds the limits specified in subsection
(ggg)(6) of this section.
(2) No licensee shall possess, receive, use, or transfer
radioactive material in such a manner as to cause contamination of
soil in unrestricted areas, to the extent that the contamination exceeds,
on a dry weight basis, the concentration limits specified in:
(A) subsection (ddd) of this section; or
(B) the effluent concentrations in Table II, Column
2 of subsection (ggg)(2)(F) of this section, with the units changed
from microcuries per milliliter to microcuries per gram, for radionuclides
not specified in paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(3) Where combinations of radionuclides are involved,
the sum of the ratios between the concentrations present and the limits
specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall not exceed one.
(4) Notwithstanding the limits specified in paragraph
(2) of this subsection, no licensee shall cause the concentration
of radium-226 or radium-228 in soil in unrestricted areas, averaged
over any 100 square meters (m2 ), to exceed
the background level by more than:
(A) 5 picocuries per gram (pCi/g) (0.185 becquerel
per gram (Bq/g)), averaged over the first 15 cm of soil below the
surface; and
(B) 15 pCi/g (0.555 Bq/g), averaged over 15 cm thick
layers of soil more than 15 cm below the surface.
(5) No licensee shall possess, receive, use, or transfer
radioactive material in such a manner as to cause contamination of
vegetation in unrestricted areas to exceed 5 pCi/g (0.185 Bq/g), based
on dry weight, for radium-226 or radium-228.
(6) Notwithstanding the limits specified in paragraph
(2) of this subsection, no licensee shall cause the concentration
of natural uranium with no daughters present, based on dry weight
and averaged over any 100 m2 of area,
to exceed the following limits:
(A) 30 pCi/g (1.11 Bq/g), averaged over the top 15
cm of soil below the surface; and
(B) 150 pCi/g (5.55 Bq/g), average concentration at
depths greater than 15 centimeters below the surface so that no individual
member of the public will receive an effective dose equivalent in
excess of 100 mrem (1 mSv) per year.
(fff) Exemption of specific wastes.
(1) A licensee may discard the following licensed material
without regard to its radioactivity:
(A) 0.05 microcurie (µCi) (1.85 kilobecquerels
(kBq)), or less, of hydrogen-3, carbon-14, or iodine-125 per gram
of medium used for liquid scintillation counting or in vitro clinical
or in vitro laboratory testing; and
(B) 0.05 µCi (1.85 kBq), or less, of hydrogen-3,
carbon-14, or iodine-125, per gram of animal tissue, averaged over
the weight of the entire animal.
(2) A licensee shall not discard tissue in accordance
with paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection in a manner that would permit
its use either as food for humans or as animal feed.
(3) The licensee shall maintain records in accordance
with subsection (tt) of this section.
(4) Any licensee may, upon agency approval of procedures
required in paragraph (6) of this subsection, discard licensed material
included in subsection (ggg)(7) of this section, provided that it
does not exceed the concentration and total curie limits contained
therein, in a Type I municipal solid waste site as defined in the
Municipal Solid Waste Regulations of the authorized regulatory agency
(Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 330), unless such licensed
material also contains hazardous waste, as defined in §361.003(12)
of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, Health and Cont'd... |