Re: Agreement State - NRC relationship

["Rad. Health Unit"<raldrich@emi.com>]

To all Radsafe:

When considering the future of the relationship between NRC and Agreement 
States, the following points should be borne in mind:

1.   The only tangible support (i.e. monetary) that NRC has ever provided 
Agreement States was funding for training of state personnel. NRC has already 
discontinued this funding as of  October 1, 1996. In all other respects the 
States have always fully funded their own regulatory programs from licensee fees 
and taxpayer monies. 

2.   The regulation of AEA materials makes up only 25% or less of Agreement 
State Rad Health Programs.  The States independently regulate NARM and machine 
sources of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, without NRC's assistance, and 
this makes up about75% of their programs. 

3.   Agreement States now regulate about 70% of all AEA materials licensees 
nationwide, and will soon regulate about 80%.

4.   NRC recently estimated in its re-baselining document that if it converted 
50% of its remaining "specific" licensees to "general" licensees (no license 
document issued, no expirations or renewals and no inspections), it would only 
cut 50 NRC-positions (out of a total of 3,000).  One wonders what that would do 
to fees for the remaining "specific" licensees. 

5.   The only logical objective for the Agreement States program is to effect 
the complete transfer of regulatory authority for AEA materials back to the 
States, from whence it came. (The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 usurped the States' 
traditionally held authority under the constitution to protect the health and 
safety of their citizens.) This is in keeping with the March 4, 1995 
Presidential Memorandum, "Regulatory Reinvention Initiative," which required 
federal regulators to address several specific questions.  One of these was
"whether the states or local governments could do the job, making federal 
regulation unnecessary."

6.   As NRC's licensee base becomes vanishingly small, its licensees' fees will 
become horrendously large; and/or it will try to make the Agreement States 
contribute to its support.  The latter would be so far at odds with the 
Regulatory Reinvention Initiative as to be ludicrous (i.e., having relinquished 
authority to States, NRC converts to regulating the States instead of licensees, 
and tries to make the States pay the cost).

We believe that it is time for a reality check on how best to regulate the use 
of radioactive materials in this country in a cost effective manner.



******All the usual disclaimers apply.  ***********

______________________________________________
Rita Aldrich			  	  voice: 518/457/1202    	
Principal Radiophysicist                  fax:     518/457-5545
NYS DOL/Radiological Health Unit 
"Rad Health Unit"<raldrich@emi.com>  
______________________________________________