NRC Adds Additional Security Measures

NRC 03-19 RAMQC 10CFR37 final rule.pdf

On March 19, 2013 (78 FR 16922), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)  published a final rule amending 10 CFR to establish security requirements for the use and transport of category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material, previously known as “RAMQC.” The NRC considers these quantities to be risk significant and, therefore, to warrant additional protection. Category 1 and category 2 thresholds are based on the quantities established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, which the NRC endorses. The objective of this final rule is to provide reasonable assurance of preventing the theft or diversion of category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material. The regulations also include security requirements for the transportation of irradiated reactor fuel that weighs 100 grams or less in net weight of irradiated fuel. The final rule affects any licensee that possesses an aggregated category 1 or category 2 quantity of radioactive material, any licensee that transports these materials using ground transportation, and any licensee that transports small quantities of irradiated reactor fuel. The rule also considers a petition for rulemaking (PRM–71–13) submitted by the State of Washington that requested that the NRC adopt the use of global positioning satellite tracking as a national requirement for vehicles transporting highly radioactive mobile or portable radioactive devices. RAMQC orders previously received by licensees will remain in place for these NRC licensees until the final rule is implemented, then the NRC will rescind the orders that were issued to its licensees. For Agreement State licensees that received an NRC order, the order will remain in place until the effective date of compatible requirements issued by the Agreement States. Each Agreement State will follow its own process for issuing these requirements. Once the State has issued its requirements and they become effective, the NRC will rescind the order. This final rule is effective on May 20, 2013. Compliance with this final rule is required on March 19, 2014.