Radiation Protection and Release Prevention

Radiation Protection & Release Prevention Program
Monthly Highlights
January 2007

If you would like a hard copy of the full monthly report, including appendices, please E-mail Betty Sigafoos.

A contract was issued in January to Exponent for Dr. Ronald M. Latanision's technical review of AmerGen's and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's basis that the concrete embedded portions of the Oyster Creek drywell shell would not corrode due to high PH levels. Background documents to assist his review were mailed on January 31, and a kick-off conference call is planned for early February, 2007. Exponent is a nationwide firm which provides technical support, expert witnesses and failure analysis for many technical specialties. Dr. Latanision is located in Exponent's Boston area office.

On January 16, 2007 the State of New Jersey filed a Petition for a Hearing to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the SMC Decommissioning Plan (DP). The Department has seventeen contentions on the DP and NUREG 1757, Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance. The full test of the filing can be viewed on the Radiation Protection Programs website at: http://www/nj/gov/dep/rpp/News.htm. Earlier, the Department filed a lawsuit in the third circuit court of appeals regarding NUREG 1757. On January 30, 2007 the NRC filed a motion to dismiss the suit because the State had not exhausted all of its administrative options. The State is preparing a response to this motion.

The National Safety Council, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sponsored the 2007 National Radon Poster Contest for children ages 9-14. To encourage a response from New Jersey students, we sent an e-mail to all New Jersey teachers. Students were asked to submit posters about radon in one of two categories: hand-drawn and computer-generated. With more than 200 participating students in New Jersey, first, second and third place winners were selected in each category for a total of six winning New Jersey students.

An award presentation is scheduled for two winners of the Radon Poster Contest at David Brearley Middle/High School's assembly on February 15, 2007. Another winner was recognized at the Buena Regional High School Board of Education meeting on January 23, 2007. All New Jersey radon poster winners will receive Visa gift cards in the amount of $50 for first-place winners and $25 for each second and third-place winners.

The Bureau has made significant progress in several database projects undertaken in fiscal year 2007. The Bureau completed the following projects: the Bureau's X-ray database has been updated with violation look-up tables that contain the same violation description language utilized by the Department's NJEMS database system. This initiative will permit the eventual uploading of the Bureau's violation information into NJEMS. The People Masterfile and Site Masterfile applications program interface (API) projects are nearing completion. In December, the API to upload radiologic and nuclear medicine technologist licenses and physicist certifications into the Department's People Masterfile database was completed. Over 22,000 records were successfully uploaded from the Bureau's X-ray database into People Masterfile. The API also uploads new licenses and certifications in People Masterfile as soon as the records are entered into X-ray. The Bureau is also finalizing testing on an API that will upload its X-ray machine facilities into Site Masterfile. When completed, this API will upload over 8,600 X-ray machine facilities initially and all new facilities that are entered into our X-ray database. These APIs will permit future enhancements including the ability to offer on-line license and X-ray machine registration renewals.