Re: NRC Licensing of Am-241

[BLHamrick@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-10-25 23:05:29 EDT, Kent Lambert wrote:

<< Wes, This solves my waste disposal problems!  Now I can transfer my waste
in
 individual exempt quantity limits to my local garbage collector. :^)
 
 If you receive licensed material it is always licensed material, period.
 Refer to 30.41.>>

To which Wes Van Pelt replied:

<<  Kent, you are dead wrong here. It is perfectly clear that a licensee may
 transfer a portion of his/her licensed material to a person exempt from
 licensing. (And do it many times over, as long as it is not commercial
 distribution.)
 
 See 10 CFR 30.41 and then read 10 CFR 30.18. >>

You also can't do it for the purpose of disposal.  From HPPOS-043, the short
answer goes like this:

"10 CFR Part 20 governs the waste disposal process for material determined to
be licensable, regardless of the quantities being considered for
disposal...Therefore, once a license is issued, the terms of that license and
Part 20 govern with respect to waste disposal. "

The long answer follows:

Please refer to the Health Physics Position #43 (HPPOS-043):

"Title:  Disposal of Exempt Quantities of Radioactive Material

...

In an incident considered for enforcement action, a janitor employed by a
licensee removed a five gallon drum containing one to two microcuries of
tritium.  The drum was subsequently sent to a landfill before the licensee
discovered the loss.  Neither 10 CFR Part 20 nor the terms of the materials
licnese in question would authorize disposal of one to two microcuries of
tritium in a landfill...

The opinion of OELD was sought because the incident raised the question of
whether a licensee should be cited for an act with so little public health
and safety consequence.  In addition, it was suggested that certain
regulations appear to authorize disposal of licensed material in individual
quantities that do not exceed those listed in 10 CFR 30.71, Schedule B by
transfer to any recipient, including garbage collectors and sanitary
landfills.

10 CFR Part 30, specifically Section 30.71, Schedule B, establishes
quantities of potentially licensable material that are sufficiently small so
as not to warrant licensing.  In contrast to the threshold determination of
what quantities should be licensed, 10 CFR Part 20 governs the waste disposal
process for material determined to be licensable, regardless of the
quantities being considered for disposal.

...Therefore, once a license is issued, the terms of that license and Part 20
govern with respect to waste disposal.  Schedule B is irrelevant to that
question, but it rather goes to the issue of whether a quantity of a
particular substance in the first instance should be licensed.

Therefore, when the licensee inadventently disposed of one to two microcuries
of tritium, it was in violation of both the terms of its license and the
regulations of 10 CFR 20.2001(a)(1).  From an enforcement perspective, the
fact that the amount disposed would not in itself be licensable is
irrelevant.

Barbara L. Hamrick
Los Angeles County - Radiation Management
BLHamrick@aol.com