03-7031. Radiation Exposure Reports: Labeling Personal Information

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Proposed rule.

SUMMARY:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing an amendment to its filing requirements for written event reports submitted to the NRC concerning individuals occupationally overexposed to radiation and radioactive materials. Licensees will be required to clearly label any section of the event report containing personal information “Privacy Act Information: Not for Public Disclosure.” This action is necessary to ensure that personal information filed with the NRC is segregated from the event report and maintained in a separate, non-public document.

DATES:

Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before April 24, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.

Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.

Certain documents related to this rulemaking, as well as all public comments received on this rulemaking, may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. You may also provide comments via this Web site by uploading comments as files (any format) if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher [phone]; e-mail [e-mail].

Certain documents related to this rule, including comments received by the NRC, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, Room O-1F23, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. For more information, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to [e-mail].

The NRC maintains an Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Merri Horn, Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, [phone], e-mail [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

For additional information see the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this Federal Register.

Procedural Background

Because the NRC considers this action to be noncontroversial, we are publishing this proposed rule concurrently as a direct final rule. The direct final rule will become effective on June 9, 2003. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this proposed rule by April 24, 2003, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments received in response to the proposed revisions in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period for this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn.

A significant adverse comment is a comment where the commenter explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including challenges to the rule's underlying premise or approach, or would be ineffective or unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and significant if:

(1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For example, a substantive response is required when:

(a) The comment causes the NRC staff to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position or conduct additional analysis;

(b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or

(c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously addressed or considered by the NRC staff.

(2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of the change or addition.

(3) The comment causes the staff to make a change (other than editorial) to the rule.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 20

• Byproduct material
• Criminal penalties
• Licensed material
• Nuclear materials
• Nuclear power plants and reactors
• Occupational safety and health
• Packaging and containers
• Radiation protection
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Source material
• Special nuclear material
• Waste treatment and disposal

For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to adopt the following amendment to 10 CFR part 20.

PART 20—STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION

1. The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 53, 63, 65, 81, 103, 104, 161, 182, 186, 68 Stat. 930, 933, 935, 936, 937, 948, 953, 955, as amended, sec. 1701, 106 Stat. 2951, 2952, 2953 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093, 2095, 2111, 2133, 2134, 2201, 2232, 2236, 2297f), secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846).

2. In § 20.2203, paragraph (b)(2) is revised to read as follows:

§ 20.2203

Reports of exposures, radiation levels, and concentrations of radioactive material exceeding the constraints or limits.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(2) Each report filed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section must include for each occupationally overexposed ^[1] individual: the name, Social Security account number, and date of birth. The report must be prepared so that this information is stated in a separate and detachable part of the report and must be clearly labeled “Privacy Act Information: Not for Public Disclosure”.

* * * * *

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of March, 2003.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Travers,

Executive Director for Operations.

Footnotes

1.  With respect to the limit for the embryo/fetus (§ 20.1208), the identifiers should be those of the declared pregnant woman.