Comment request to Agreement States on Draft Safety Guide DS459, Management of Radioactive Residues from Uranium Production

September XX, 2016

ALL AGREEMENT AND NON-AGREEMENT STATES

STATE LIAISON OFFICERS

OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) DRAFT SAFETY GUIDE DS459, “MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE RESIDUES FROM URANIUM PRODUCTION AND OTHER NORM ACTIVITIES” (FSME-16-XXX)

Purpose: To provide States with the opportunity to review and comment on the Draft Safety Guide DS459, “Management of Radioactive Residues from Uranium Production and Other NORM Activities”_¹ by November 10, 2016, to the contact listed.

Background: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made available the Draft Safety Guide DS459, “Management of Radioactive Residues from Uranium Production and Other NORM Activities” for Member State review and comment. Proposed changes from Member State review will be taken into account in the finalization of the safety standard. The objective of Draft Safety Guide DS459 is to provide recommendations and guidance to regulatory bodies, operators, technical support organizations and other interested parties on meeting the requirements in relation to safe management of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) residues arising from uranium production and other activities, in accordance with the relevant Safety Requirements for the protection of people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation both at present and in the future, and in such a way as to avoid imposing an undue burden on future generations.

Discussion: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is coordinating the U.S. review of this safety guide. Consolidated comments will be submitted to the IAEA by the NRC through established official channels. Please provide your comments to Boby Eid ([email protected]) by November 10, 2016. The attached IAEA comment template is provided for your use. Any comments provided should refer to the relevant paragraph number in the draft text being reviewed and should propose alternative text, as appropriate.

The review should focus on the following:

1) Are there any safety issues that may be inconsistent with States’ regulations or common practices?

2) Relevance and usefulness of this document — Are the stated objectives appropriate, and are they met by the draft text? Do you have any suggestions to include in the document?

3) Scope and completeness — Is the stated scope appropriate and is it adequately covered by the draft text?

4) Quality and clarity — Do the requirements and guidance in the document represent the current consensus among specialists in the field, and are they expressed clearly and coherently?

5) Are the requirements and guidance expressed clearly and coherently? If you have any questions regarding this correspondence?

Comments of an editorial nature will be considered; however, it should be noted that the draft text will be comprehensively edited by the IAEA Secretariat.

Enclosed is: (1) communication from the IAEA concerning Draft Safety Guide DS459 and its review, including an “Explanatory Note” regarding this document; (2) Draft Safety Guide DS459, “Management of Radioactive Residues from Uranium Production and Other NORM Activities;” and (3) blank template for comment preparation.

If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact the individual named below:

POINT OF CONTACT: Boby Abu-Eid INTERNET: [email protected]

TELEPHONE: 301-415-5811 FAX: 301-415-5369

Daniel S. Collins, Director

Division of Material Safety, State, Tribal

and Rulemaking Programs

Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards

Enclosures:

1. Explanatory Note from IAEA

2. Draft Safety Guide DS459

3. IAEA Comment Template

Discussion: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is coordinating the U.S. review of this safety guide. Consolidated comments will be submitted to the IAEA by the NRC through established official channels. Please provide your comments to Boby Eid ([email protected]) by November 10, 2016. The attached IAEA comment template is provided for your use. Any comments provided should refer to the relevant paragraph number in the draft text being reviewed and should propose alternative text, as appropriate.

The review should focus on the following:

1) Are there any safety issues that may be inconsistent with States’ regulations or common practices?

2) Relevance and usefulness of this document — Are the stated objectives appropriate, and are they met by the draft text? Do you have any suggestions to include in the document?

3) Scope and completeness — Is the stated scope appropriate and is it adequately covered by the draft text?

4) Quality and clarity — Do the requirements and guidance in the document represent the current consensus among specialists in the field, and are they expressed clearly and coherently?

5) Are the requirements and guidance expressed clearly and coherently? If you have any questions regarding this correspondence?

Comments of an editorial nature will be considered; however, it should be noted that the draft text will be comprehensively edited by the IAEA Secretariat.

Enclosed is: (1) communication from the IAEA concerning Draft Safety Guide DS459 and its review, including an “Explanatory Note” regarding this document; (2) Draft Safety Guide DS459, “Management of Radioactive Residues from Uranium Production and Other NORM Activities;” and (3) blank template for comment preparation.

If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact the individual named below:

POINT OF CONTACT: Boby Abu-Eid INTERNET: [email protected]

TELEPHONE: 301-415-5811 FAX: 301-415-5369

Daniel S. Collins, Director

Division of Material Safety, State, Tribal

and Rulemaking Programs

Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards

Enclosures:

1. Explanatory Note from IAEA

2. Draft Safety Guide DS459

3. IAEA Comment Template

DISTRIBUTION:

MSTR R/F

Sherrie Flaherty, OAS

ML16XXXAXXX

OFC	NMSS/MSTR	NMSS/MSTR	NMSS/MSTR	NMSS/MSTR
NAME	CFlannery	SPoy	PMichalak	DCollins
DATE	09/13/16	09/ /16	09/ /16	09/ /16

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

1 This information request has been approved by OMB under clearance numbers 3150-0029 and 3150-0200, expiration 1/31/2019 and 10/31/2018. The estimated burden per response to comply with this voluntary collection is approximately 8 hours. Send comments regarding the burden estimate to the FOIA, Privacy, and Information Collections Branch (T-5F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by e-mail to [email protected], and to the Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NEOB-10202 (3150-0200), Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. If a means used to impose an information collection does not display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, the information collection.