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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

No. 99-225

Friday, October 22, 1999

NRC to Hold Meeting in Rockville, Maryland, on Control
of Solid Materials from Licensed Facilities

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a meeting November 1-2 in Rockville, Maryland, to obtain public comment on issues associated with controlling release of solid materials with very small amounts of residual radioactivity from licensed facilities.

The agency is considering whether to revise its regulations in Part 20 of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, to establish overall standards for control of these materials. The NRC currently evaluates license requests for release of solid materials on a case-by-case basis. NRC already has release limits in Part 20 for air and liquid emissions.

A document entitled "Issues Related to Release of Solid Materials from Licensed Facilities" was issued June 30 to encourage public discussion of the alternatives involved before deciding whether to start a formal rulemaking process. The issues paper is available on the internet, at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/cgi-bin/rulemake?source=SM_RFC

The NRC is also seeking comment on a draft report that provides a technical basis for any potential rulemaking involving material that would be released for unrestricted use. The document, entitled "Radiological Assessment for Clearance of Equipment and Material from Nuclear Facilities," (NUREG-1640), is available on the internet, at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/SR1640/V1&2/index.html

This document may also be obtained via e-mail, to Distribution@nrc.gov , by fax to: 301-415-2289, or by writing to the Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, OCIO, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001.

Interested persons are invited to attend the meeting or to submit written comments on the issues paper by December 22. The comment period was recently extended one month. Comments may be sent to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, or submitted electronically through the internet, at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/cgi-bin/rulemake .

The meeting will be held in the auditorium of the agency's Two White Flint North building at 11545 Rockville Pike, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. each day.

The meeting in Maryland is the third in a series of four meetings planned on this subject.

The first was held in San Francisco in September and the second was held this month in Atlanta. The fourth one will take place December 7-8 in Chicago.