NRC and Agreement State Management of Consignments of Contaminated Products

1. NRC and Agreement State Management of Consignments of Contaminated Products Angela R. McIntosh, Regional Coordinator Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs Jenny Tobin Wollenweber, Licensing Officer Office of International Programs Presentation to the Organization of Agreement States August 27, 2012

2. TOPICS • Background • Draft COC Status • Contaminated Product Notifications to NRC • NRC Notifications • National Response Framework • NRC and Agreement State Responsibility • Additional Considerations • Agreement State Impact

3. BACKGROUND • 2009: Meeting of IAEA Member States in Tarragona, Spain. • 2010: IAEA consultancy meeting in Vienna, Austria. • 2011: IAEA General Conference resolution to move forward on consideration of CoC • 2011: “Meeting of Experts to Develop a Non-Binding Instrument on the Trans-boundary Movement of Scrap Metal that May Inadvertently Contain Radioactive Material” Vienna, Austria.

4. BACKGROUND • 2012 January: Draft Code of Conduct distributed to IAEA Member States for comment. • 2012 February: Dept. of State began to coordinate Federal interagency discussions. • Subsequently, NRC requested Agreement States’ participation.

5. CODE OF CONDUCT • Non-legally binding • Countries make political commitments to support ideas in CoC • Familiarity with CoC on safety and security of radioactive sources- the U.S.’s strong support showed through incorporation into legally-binding regulations

6. DRAFT COC on MANAGING CONTAMINATED CONSIGNMENTS: STATUS • 2012 July: Cable and U.S. comments on draft CoC sent to IAEA. • Comments: • Remove the proactive industry provisions and • put into a “best practices” document. • Include “finished products” in the scope. • Revise the CoC’s definition of “radioactive • material.”

7. DRAFT COC: NEXT STEPS • NRC anticipates future IAEA meetings/discussions as a result of our comments • Ultimately, the CoC would have be approved by the IAEA Board of Governors • It is still unclear if other large, import/export countries are willing to make a political commitment to the CoC

8. CONTAMINATED PRODUCT NOTIFICATIONS • When made to NRC by Agreement States: • Are courtesy notifications – no Federal requirement. • States are encouraged to make notifications to the NRC Operations Center. • Will be captured as a logbook entry (no public report; no NMED record).

9. NRC NOTIFICATION • Courtesy notification made by NRC to certain Federal agencies: • EPA (primarily) • US Coast Guard, FDA, Consumer Product Safety Commission (as appropriate).

10. NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK • Describes NRC role in terms of response to events at NRC/Agreement State-licensed facilities. • Describes EPA role in terms of assistance in instances when no licensee is identified. • Roles continue to be discussed.

11. NRC and AGREEMENT STATE RESPONSIBLITY • With respect to contaminated consignments, NRC has no statutory authority to respond: • No statutory responsibility imposed by the Atomic Energy Act. • No implied responsibility granted by the • National Response Framework. • Agreement States determine appropriate • degree of follow-up.

12. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS • NRC does not approve import of RAM unless the recipient is authorized to receive and possess the material. • NRC specifies no exempt quantity for imports. • NRC has no clearance levels. • NRC does not approve the frivolous uses of RAM. • NRC public dose limits apply to members of the public when they are impacted by NRC licensed • operations.

13. AGREEMENT STATE IMPACT • NRC working to facilitate equity of burden regarding response: • Facilitate identification of appropriate • Federal partner to lead response. • Efficient notification and information • sharing. • Memorandum of Understanding between • Federal agencies.

14. QUESTIONS Angela McIntosh 301-415-5030 Angela.mcintosh@nrc.gov Jenny Tobin Wollenweber 301-415-2328 Jennifer.tobin@nrc.gov