It appears the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) might be poised to (or already have decided to) abdicate part of its responsibility of regulating and securing radioactive materials – giving states the lead in overseeing Naturally Occurring and Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Material (NARM).
NARM includes elements like radium, which can have adverse effects on a person’s health. NARM is used in every state in the union - commonly in medical procedures and devices. Certain variations of radium could be used to build a “dirty bomb.”
In an Aug. 16 hearing at the NRC (pdf), a representative of the Organization of Agreement States, a states’-run body that works with the NRC, said, “we would willingly step forward and have the lead responsibility in the development of the NARM [regulations] on a national level…” The Commission seemed, in the transcript language, to be receptive to this idea.
The NRC commissioners, headed by Nils Diaz, adjourned to a closed session, where they were expected to decide the issue. POGO certainly hopes the Commission did not reduce its much needed federal oversight responsibility, especially when states are strapped for cash. Since they snuck behind closed doors, we may not know for some time.
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