| (7) The possession, storage, use, transportation, and commercial distribution of natural gas and natural gas products and of crude oil and crude oil products containing NORM are exempt from the requirements of this section. The processing of natural gas and crude oil and the manufacture of natural gas products and crude oil products containing NORM are subject to the general license requirements in subsections (f)-(h) of this section. (8) Possession of produced waters from crude oil and natural gas production is exempt from the requirements of this section if the produced waters are reinjected in a well approved by the agency having jurisdiction to regulate such reinjection or if the produced waters are discharged under the authority of the agency having jurisdiction to regulate such discharge. (e) Radiation survey instruments. (1) Radiation survey instruments used to determine exemptions in accordance with subsection (d)(2) and (3) of this section and radiation survey instruments used to make surveys in accordance with subsection (f) of this section shall be able to measure from 1 µR/hr through at least 500 µR/hr. (2) Radiation survey instruments used to make surveys required by this section and §289.202(p)(1) of this title shall be calibrated, appropriate, and operable. (3) Each radiation survey instrument shall be calibrated: (A) by a person licensed or registered by the agency, another agreement state or licensing state, or the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to perform such service; (B) at energies appropriate for the licensee's use; (C) at intervals not to exceed 12 months, and after each instrument servicing other than battery replacement; and (D) to demonstrate an accuracy within plus or minus 20% using a reference source provided by a person authorized in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. (4) Records of these calibrations shall be maintained for agency inspection for five years after the calibration date. (f) General license. (1) A general license is hereby issued to mine, extract, receive, possess, own, use, process, transport, store, and transfer for disposal NORM or to recycle NORM-contaminated materials not exempted in subsection (d) of this section without regard to quantity. This general license does not authorize the manufacture or commercial distribution of products containing NORM in concentrations greater than those specified in subsection (d)(1)(B) of this section, or of NORM in any food, beverage, cosmetic, drug, or other commodity designed for ingestion or inhalation by, or application to, a human being. The melting of scrap metal is authorized by the general license if the dilution of the NORM in the end-products or melt byproducts is sufficient to reduce any expected average concentration of NORM to levels not to exceed the concentration specified in subsection (d)(1)(B) of this section. (2) Equipment, buildings, and structures contaminated with NORM in excess of the levels set forth in subsection (w) of this section and equipment not otherwise exempted under the provisions of subsection (d)(2) and (3) of this section shall not be released for unrestricted use. The decontamination of equipment, buildings, and structures as described in subsection (i)(2) of this section shall be performed only by persons specifically licensed by the agency or another licensing state to conduct such work, including contractors of a general licensee, except that a general licensee or a contractor under the control and supervision of a general licensee can perform routine maintenance on equipment, buildings, and structures owned or controlled by the general licensee. (Maintenance that provides a different pathway for exposure than is found in daily operations and that increases the potential for additional exposure is not considered routine.) Persons conducting activities specified in subsection (i)(2) of this section and working as a contractor under the control and supervision of a general licensee must possess a specific license issued by the agency in accordance with subsection (k) of this section. (3) The handling or processing by a general licensee of NORM-contaminated materials not otherwise exempted from the requirements of this section for the purpose of recycling is authorized by the agency if the radiation level 18 inches from the NORM-contaminated material does not exceed 2 millirem per hour (mrem/hr). (4) The transfer of NORM not exempt from the requirements of this section from one general licensee to another general licensee is authorized by the agency if the: (A) equipment, buildings, and structures contaminated with NORM are to be used by the recipient for the same purpose or at the same site; (B) materials being transferred are ores or raw materials for processing or refinement; or (C) materials being transferred are in the recycling process. (g) Protection of workers and the general population. Each person subject to the general license in subsection (f) of this section shall conduct operations in compliance with the standards for radiation protection established in §289.202(f)-(o), (ww)-(zz) of this title, and §289.203 of this title, except for transfer for disposal, which shall be governed by subsection (h) of this section. (h) Transfer of waste for disposal. (1) Each person subject to the general license in subsection (f) of this section shall manage and dispose of wastes containing NORM: (A) in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) applicable requirements for disposal of such wastes; (B) by transfer of the wastes for disposal to a person specifically licensed to receive waste containing NORM; or (C) in accordance with alternate methods authorized by the agency having jurisdiction to regulate disposal of such waste. (2) Records of transfers for disposal shall be maintained for inspection by the agency. (i) Specific license. (1) Unless otherwise exempted under the provisions of subsection (d) of this section or licensed under the provisions of §289.252 of this title, the manufacture and commercial distribution of any material or product containing NORM shall be specifically licensed in accordance with this section or in accordance with the equivalent requirements of another licensing state. (2) Persons conducting deliberate operations to decontaminate the following shall be specifically licensed in accordance with the requirements of this section: (A) buildings and structures owned, possessed, or controlled by other persons and contaminated with NORM in excess of the levels set forth in subsection (w) of this section; or (B) equipment or land owned, possessed, or controlled by other persons and not otherwise exempted under the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. (3) Unless otherwise exempted in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, persons receiving NORM waste from other persons for storage or processing or persons who process NORM for other persons at temporary job sites shall be specifically licensed in accordance with the requirements of this section. (4) Spinning pipe gauge licensees performing reclamation activities shall obtain specific authorization to perform NORM decontamination on pipe. Alternatively, spinning pipe gauge licensees may survey tubing before reclamation activities are performed. If the exposure rate on the outside of a pipe, measured at any accessible point, is greater than 50 µR/hr, then the spinning pipe gauge licensee shall obtain a NORM decontamination license. If the exposure rate of the pipe measures less than 50 µR/hr, a spinning pipe gauge licensee may perform the scale removal activity without additional authorization on their license. (j) Filing application for specific licenses. (1) Applications for specific licenses shall be filed in duplicate on a form prescribed by the agency. (2) The agency may at any time after the filing of the original application, and before the expiration of the license, require further information in order to determine whether the application should be granted or denied, or whether a license should be modified or revoked. (3) Each application shall be signed by the applicant or licensee, or a person duly authorized to act for and on the licensee's behalf. (4) A license application may include a request for a license authorizing one or more activities. (5) Applications and documents submitted to the agency may be made available for public inspection. The agency may, however, withhold any document or part thereof from public inspection in accordance with §289.201(n) of this title. (6) Each application for a specific license shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in §289.204 of this title. (k) Requirements for the issuance of specific licenses. Cont'd... |
