US EPA FR re Radon Emissions Standards

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Radsafe'rs,

The following extract is from a VERY long document
published in yesterday's US Federal Register by the
US Environmental Protection Agency. An interesting
issue regarding radon emission standards for the
fertilizer industry...

----------
Federal Register: February 3, 1999 (Volume 64,
 Number 22).
...
 Page: 5573-5580

            ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

                  40 CFR Part 61
...
    National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air
 Pollutants; National Emission Standards for Radon
        Emissions From Phosphogypsum Stacks

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Final rule.
----------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
promulgating revisions to the National Emission
Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that
sets limits on radon emissions from phosphogypsum
stacks, codified as subpart R of 40 CFR part 61. The
Agency is taking today's action in response to a
petition for reconsideration from The Fertilizer
Institute (TFI), which critiqued the risk assessment
EPA performed in support of the version of subpart
R promulgated in 1992. Today's action raises the
limit on the quantity of phosphogypsum that may be
used for indoor research and development from 700 to
7,000 pounds, eliminates current sampling
requirements for phosphogypsum used in indoor
research and development, and clarifies sampling
procedures for phosphogypsum removed from stacks for
other purposes.

DATES: These regulations are effective April 5, 1999.
Petitions for judicial review of this final action
must be filed no later than April 5, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the two documents entitled "Risk
Assessment for Research and Development Uses of
Phosphogypsum" and "Statistical Procedures for
Certifying Phosphogypsum for Entry into Commerce" may
be obtained by writing to this address. A summary of
comments received on the proposed rule accompanied by
the Agency's responses may be obtained by requesting
the response to comment document entitled "Comments
and Response to Comments--NESHAPS; National Emission
Standards of for Radon Emissions from Phosphogypsum
Stacks on Amendments to Subpart R."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Tilson;
telephone number (202) 564-9762; address: Radiation
Protection Division, Mail Code 6602J, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
20460; email address: tilson.pat@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Docket

    Docket No. A-79-11 contains the public record
supporting the final rule revising 40 CFR Part 61,
Subpart R, which EPA issued in 1992 (57 FR 23305, June
3, 1992). It also contains the August 3, 1992, TFI
petition, and the EPA response partially granting and
partially denying the TFI petition (59 FR 14040, March
24, 1994). Docket No. A-94-57 contains certain
documents which led to the May 8, 1996, proposal and
this final rulemaking. These dockets are available for
public inspection between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, in room M1500 of
Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC
20460. A reasonable fee may be charged for copies of
documents.

Introduction

Purpose of Today's Action and Summary of Changes to
Subpart R

    The Agency is promulgating revisions to those
portions of Subpart R of 40 CFR part 61 which concern:
(1) the distribution and use of the substance,
phosphogypsum, for indoor research and development
purposes; (2) the sampling and measurement of
radium-226 in phosphogypsum; and (3) use of
phosphogypsum for outdoor agricultural purposes. The
Environmental Protection Agency is taking today's
action in response to issues raised in a petition for
reconsideration from The Fertilizer Institute which
questioned aspects of the risk assessment EPA
performed in support of the rulemaking that revised
Subpart R in 1992. The risk assessment was an
evaluation of the risk to persons who perform
research and development activities in a laboratory
using phosphogypsum. Phosphogypsum--a byproduct of
the wet-acid process of producing phosphoric acid
from phosphate rock--contains naturally occurring
radiation emitted by uranium-238 and its decay
products such as radium-226 and radon-222. Exposure
to the radiation emitted by these and other
radionuclides in phosphogypsum can increase an
individual's probability of developing cancer. If
present in quantities above certain limits, the
radionuclides in phosphogypsum could cause
unacceptable risks of incurring fatal cancer.

...[snip, much more follows in the document]


----------
Most US Federal Register documents can be readily
found using the GPO Web site at URL:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html


************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html