[Federal Register: September 26, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 188)]
[Notices]
[Page 55880-55881]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26se08-93]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2008-0419]
Security and Continued Use of Cesium-137 Chloride Sources:
Granting Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of Granting of Request to Extend the Comment Period on
the Issues described in the Notice on the Security and Continued Use of
Cesium-137 Chloride Sources.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John P. Jankovich, Office of
Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs,
telephone (301) 415-7904, e-mail john.jankovich@nrc.gov, or Dr. Cynthia
Jones, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, telephone
(301) 415-0298, e-mail cynthia.jones@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On July 31, 2008, the NRC issued a notice in the Federal Register
which requested, in part, public comments on the issues presented in
the notice on the security and continued use of cesium-137 chloride
sources (73 FR 44780). The notice requested early public input on major
issues associated with the use of certain forms of cesium-137 chloride
currently used by NRC- and Agreement State-licensees. While the NRC has
not initiated rulemaking on this subject, NRC used the conventionally
established rulemaking comment channels for obtaining comments.
II. Further Information
The NRC staff requested receipt of comments on the notice by
September 30, 2008. By this action, the NRC staff is extending the
comment period until October 15, 2008. Comments received after October
15, 2008, will be considered if practical to do so, but the NRC is
unable to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in
connection with the use of cesium-137 chloride sources are encouraged
at any time.
In addition to inviting public comments on the issues presented in
section III of the July 31, 2008 notice, the NRC also solicited
specific comments related to: (1) Quantitative information on the costs
and benefits resulting from consideration of the factors described in
the Issues Paper; (2) operational data on radiation exposures
(increased or reduced) that might result from implementing any of the
options described in the Issues Paper; (3) whether the presented issues
are addressed comprehensively; and (4) whether other options should be
considered, including quantitative information on the costs and
benefits for these other options. The Commission believes that
stakeholder comments help to quantify the potential impact of these
proposed changes and will assist the NRC as potential regulatory
action(s) are developed.
III. Request To Extend the Comment Period
Basis for the Request
The NRC received the following extension request:
On behalf of industry, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
respectfully requests an extension of the comment period identified
in the subject Federal Register notice (FRN) entitled, ``Request for
Comments on the Security and Continued Use of Cesium-137 Chloride
Sources and Notice of Public Meeting'' dated July 31, 2008.
Specifically, the FRN states that stakeholder comments on the
Cesium-137 Chloride source issues raised therein should be submitted
to NRC no later than September 30, 2008. This date coincides with
the last day of the scheduled public meeting, which industry fully
supports. We believe that industry, the public and other stakeholder
comments on these complex matters would be greatly informed by the
deliberations that will inevitably occur during the two day meeting
which commences on September 29, 2008. Therefore, we request that
the comment period be extended, at a minimum, 30 days so as to close
no earlier than October 30, 2008.
The NRC received similar requests from the Conference of Radiation
Control Program Directors, Inc., (CRCPD), and from the International
[[Page 55881]]
Source Suppliers and Producers Association (ISSPA), both dated
September 19, 2008, for extension of the comment period from September
30 to October 30, 2008.
Response to Request
The request for an extension to the comment period is approved for
15 days.
The staff understands that NEI, CRCPD and ISSPA requested an
extension of 30 days. However, NRC can not grant the full extension
because the comments are needed by mid-October for development of
future NRC actions for Commission consideration by November 2008.
Therefore, the staff is approving a 15-day extension to the original
public comment period, with the public comment period to end on October
15, 2008. The staff recognizes that the public and other stakeholder
comments may be impacted by the discussions that will occur during the
two-day public meeting which concludes on September 30, 2008, and
therefore agrees to extend the comment period an additional 15 days.
Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit comments
electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Search on Docket ID:
[NRC-2008-0419] and follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Comments may also be sent by mail to Michael Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking,
Directives and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, Mail Stop T-
6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Requests for technical information may be directed to the NRC
contacts, Dr. John P. Jankovich, Office of Federal and State Materials
and Environmental Management Programs, telephone (301) 415-7904, e-mail
john.jankovich@nrc.gov, or Dr. Cynthia Jones, Office of Nuclear
Security and Incident Response, telephone (301) 415-0298, e-mail
cynthia.jones@nrc.gov.
You can also access publicly available documents related to the
July 31, 2008 notice using the following methods:
Regulations.gov: Documents related to this notice, including public
comments, are accessible at http://www.regulations.gov, by searching on
docket ID: NRC-2008-0419. Electronic copies of the July 31, 2008 notice
and the workshop agenda are also available through NRC's public Web
site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/licensing.html.
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have
copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Public
File Area O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland.
NRC's Agency wide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS):
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this
site, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, which provides text and
image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to
ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737
or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of September 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John P. Jankovich,
Team Leader, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental
Management Program.
[FR Doc. E8-22688 Filed 9-25-08; 8:45 am]
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