§192.32. Standards. — Inbound Citations

Except as otherwise noted in § 192.41(e), the provisions of subpart D of this part, including §§ 192.31, 192.32, and 192.33, shall apply to thorium byproduct material and:

(d) Operations covered under § 192.32(a) shall be conducted in such a manner as to provide reasonable assurance that the annual dose equivalent does not exceed 25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and 25 millirems to any other organ of any member of the public as a result of exposures to the planned discharge of radioactive materials, radon-220 and its daughters excepted, to the general environment.

(1) Radon-222 emissions to the ambient air from an existing conventional impoundment shall not exceed 20 pCi/(m 2-sec) (1.9 pCi/(ft 2-sec)) of radon-222 and all owners or operators shall comply with the provisions of 40 CFR 192.32(a)(1) in the operation of the impoundment notwithstanding the exemption for existing impoundments in 40 CFR 192.32(a)(1).

(a) The owner or operator of any uranium recovery facility must maintain records that confirm that the conventional impoundment(s), non-conventional impoundment(s) and heap leach pile(s) subject to this subpart at the facility meet the requirements in 40 CFR 192.32(a)(1). These records shall include, but not be limited to, the results of liner compatibility tests.

If the ground water standards established under provisions of § 192.32(a)(2) are exceeded at any licensed site, a corrective action program as specified in § 264.100 of this chapter shall be put into operation as soon as is practicable, and in no event later than eighteen (18) months after a finding of exceedance.

(v) The functions and responsibilities designated in Part 264 of this chapter as those of the “Regional Administrator” with respect to “facility permits” shall be carried out by the regulatory agency, except that exemptions of hazardous constituents under § 264.93 (b) and (c) of this chapter and alternate concentration limits established under § 264.94 (b) and (c) of this chapter (except as otherwise provided in § 192.32(a)(2)(iv)) shall not be effective until EPA has concurred therein.

(i) Upon emplacement of the permanent radon barrier pursuant to 40 CFR 192.32(a)(3), the licensee shall conduct appropriate monitoring and analysis of the radon-222 releases to demonstrate that the design of the permanent radon barrier is effective in limiting releases of radon-222 to a level not exceeding 20 pCi/m 2−s as required by 40 CFR 192.32(b)(1)(ii). This monitoring shall be conducted using the procedures described in 40 CFR part 61, Appendix B, Method 115, or any other measurement method proposed by a licensee that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Agreement State approves as being at least as effective as EPA Method 115 in demonstrating the effectiveness of the permanent radon barrier in achieving compliance with the 20 pCi/m 2−s flux standard.

(v) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Agreement State may, in response to a request from a licensee, authorize by license or license amendment a portion of a pile or impoundment to remain accessible after emplacement of a permanent radon barrier to accept uranium byproduct material as defined in section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2014(e)(2), if compliance with the 20 pCi/m 2−s flux standard of § 192.32(b)(1)(ii) is demonstrated by the licensee's monitoring conducted in a manner consistent with § 192.32(a)(4)(i). Such authorization may be provided only if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Agreement State makes a finding, constituting final agency action and after providing an opportunity for public participation, that the site will continue to achieve the 20 pCi/m2−s flux standard when averaged over the entire impoundment.

(f) Disposal area means the region within the perimeter of an impoundment or pile containing uranium by product materials to which the post-closure requirements of § 192.32(b)(1) of this subpart apply.

(2) The requirements of § 192.32(b)(1) shall not apply to any portion of a licensed and/or disposal site which contains a concentration of radium-226 in land, averaged over areas of 100 square meters, which, as a result of uranium byproduct material, does not exceed the background level by more than:

(i) 5 picocuries per gram (pCi/g), averaged over the first 15 centimeters (cm) below the surface, and

(ii) 15 pCi/g, averaged over 15 cm thick layers more than 15 cm below the surface.

(l) Permanent Radon Barrier means the final radon barrier constructed to achieve compliance with, including attainment of, the limit on releases of radon-222 in § 192.32(b)(1)(ii).

(v) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Agreement State may, in response to a request from a licensee, authorize by license or license amendment a portion of a pile or impoundment to remain accessible after emplacement of a permanent radon barrier to accept uranium byproduct material as defined in section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2014(e)(2), if compliance with the 20 pCi/m 2−s flux standard of § 192.32(b)(1)(ii) is demonstrated by the licensee's monitoring conducted in a manner consistent with § 192.32(a)(4)(i). Such authorization may be provided only if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Agreement State makes a finding, constituting final agency action and after providing an opportunity for public participation, that the site will continue to achieve the 20 pCi/m2−s flux standard when averaged over the entire impoundment.