enforcement; personnel; special nuclear material; administration, and arrangements for discontinuing AEC jurisdiction. In addition to the criteria, the AEC has also sent to the governors a summary of AEC policies and procedures governing the regulation and licensing of byproduct, source and special nuclear materials, a copy of Public Law 86-373 and copies of pertinent AEC regulations governing licensing and regulation of these materials. To further aid the states in developing a program for radiation control, the Atomic Energy Commission is preparing a suggested set of state regulations and legislation which may be used as a guide wherever a state desires such assistance. Under the amendment, the Commission also will provide training for state personnel. This will include on-the-job training in licensing, inspection, compliance and enforcement of regulations; instruction for periods of 10 to 12 weeks at Commission facilities in health physics and formal training through a health physics program designed for special assistance to the states. This latter program, as is the case with the Commission's existing health physics fellowship program, will cover an academic year of study and practical experience in health physics at Commission facilities. The Commission's training programs are being coordinated with those of the U.S. While permitting states to assume control over the specified radioactive materials, the amendment specifically excludes from state control the construction and operation of nuclear reactors; the export or import of byproduct, source or special nuclear material or the export or import of nuclear reactors. It also excludes the states from control of ocean disposal of radioactive waste materials and the disposal of such other byproduct, source or special nuclear material as the Commission determines by regulation or order should not be disposed of without a Commission license. The law also reserves to the AEC authority to license the distribution of certain devices and types of equipment containing byproduct, source or special nuclear material. The General Manager of the Atomic Energy Commission has assigned to the agency's Office of Health and Safety the task of providing guidance to the states in making arrangements for agreements between the states and the Commission for control over radioactive materials. Attachment - 30 TABLE OF CONTENTS Attachment Proposed Criteria for Guidance of States and the AEC in the Dis- continuance of AEC Authority over Byproduct, Source, and Special Nuclear Materials in Less than a Critical Mass and the Assumption 21. Conditions Applicable to Special Nuclear Material 22. Special Nuclear Material Defined ADMINISTRATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR DISCONTINUING AEC JURISDICTION 24. State Agency Designation 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Existing AEC Licenses and Pending Applications Relations With Federal Government and Other States PROPOSED CRITERIA FOR GUIDANCE OF STATES AND THE AEC OVER BYPRODUCT, SOURCE, AND SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND THE ASSUMPTION THEREOF BY STATES Introduction These proposed criteria are being developed to implement a program, authorized by P.L. 86-373, which was enacted in the form of an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act and approved by the President on September 23, 1959. Under provision of this Amendment, when an agreement between a state and the AEC is effected, the Commission will discontinue its regulatory authority over byproduct material (radioisotopes) and source material (uranium and thorium) and also over special nuclear material (Uranium 233, Uranium 235 and plutonium) of less than a critical mass. An agreement may be effected between a state and AEC: (1) upon certification by the Governor that the state has a program for the control of radiation hazards adequate to protect the public health and safety with respect to the materials within the state covered by the proposed agreement and the state desires to assume regulatory responsibility for such materials; and (2) the AEC makes a finding that the state program is compatible with the Commission's program for the regulation of such materials, and is adequate to protect the public health and safety with respect to the materials covered by the proposed agreement. After discussions with various state officials and representatives of organizations of state officials, the Atomic Energy Commission drafted proposed criteria, as set forth below, to provide assistance to the states in developing a regulatory program which is compatible with that of the AEC. The criteria are being circulated among states, federal agencies and other interested groups for comment, prior to formal adoption by the Commission. |