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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering revisions to its regulations in part 30 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material,” and 10 CFR part 32, Specific Domestic Licenses to Manufacture or Transfer Certain Items Containing Byproduct Material.”  The regulations in part 30 contain the basic requirements for licensing of byproduct material.  Part 30 includes a number of provisions that exempt the end user from licensing requirements, called exemptions.”  Part 32, subpart A, sets out requirements for the manufacture or initial transfer (distribution) of items containing byproduct material to persons exempt from licensing. 

The contemplated action would be to add a new exemption from licensing requirements to part 30 and associated distribution requirements to part 32.  The new exemption would cover items contaminated unavoidably during their production, using dose criteria as the primary means of protecting health and safety.  It would allow for the commercial distribution and redistribution of polymer track etch membranes that have been irradiated with mixed fission products, as requested by a petition for rulemaking from GE Osmonics Inc.  These membranes have many proven uses in a wide variety of applications.  The rule would potentially allow the use under exemption of future products that are contaminated unavoidably during their production.