Comment request letter, IAEA Draft Safety Guide DS468, Remediation process for areas affected by past activities and accidents

February XX, 2017

ALL AGREEMENT AND NON-AGREEMENT STATES

STATE LIAISON OFFICERS

OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) DRAFT SAFETY GUIDE DS468, “REMEDIATION PROCESS FOR AREAS AFFECTED BY PAST ACTIVITIES AND ACCIDENTS” (STC-16-XXX)

Purpose: To provide States with the opportunity to review and comment on the Draft Safety Guide DS468, “Remediation Process for Areas Affected by Past Activities and Accidents”_¹ by May 15, 2017, to the contact listed.

Background: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made available the Draft Safety Guide DS468, “Remediation Process for Areas Affected by Past Activities and Accidents” 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 DS468 is to provide guidance on planning and implementing the requirements for the remediation of areas contaminated by past activities and accidents or incidents. It is intended to be used by governments, national authorities, regulatory bodies, operators and other parties involved in remediation of areas and, in the case of an accident or incidents involving radioactive material, contributing to the recovery process

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 May 15, 2017. 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 DS468 and its review, including an “Explanatory Note” regarding this document; (2) Draft Safety Guide DS468, “Remediation Process for Areas Affected by Past Activities and Accidents;” 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

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 DS468

3. IAEA Comment Template

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 Information Services 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 (3150-0029 and 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.