NRC seeks input on DRP contamination guidance

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is soliciting public comment on the agency's guidance for addressing discrete radioactive particle (DRP) contamination resulting from the decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. According to the NRC, the draft guidance is intended to avoid any inconsistencies in how the agency approaches DRP contamination.

Such contamination can be found at power reactors as well as fuel cycle facilities during any phase of decommissioning, the NRC said.

The details: "Draft Interim Staff Guidance on Contamination Control, Radiological Survey, and Dose Modeling Considerations to Support License Termination at Sites with Environmental Discrete Radioactive Particle Contamination" (DUWP-ISG-03) covers contamination control, radiological surveys, and dose modeling of DRPs that are found in the environment because of an unplanned release or that potentially could be released to the environment during decommissioning activities.

Notice of the request of comments was published in the September 26 Federal Register with a deadline of October 28 for responses.

The need: According to the NRC, because current decommissioning guidance is focused on addressing residual radioactivity with respect to performing surveys and assessing potential public exposure after license termination and does not address DRP contamination or how to control it, agency staff have approached each past instance of DRP contamination on a case-by-case basis. This may have led to some perceived inconsistencies in the staff's approach to decommissioning, the NRC said.

"This draft guidance presents an acceptable approach for addressing discrete radioactive particle contamination throughout the decommissioning process," the agency added.