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Jessica Umaña Project Manager, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation   The idea of transporting nuclear materials can make people nervous. It’s easy to imagine worst-case accidents on the highway or involving a train. But stringent safety requirements, as well as coordination among federal...

Neil Sheehan Public Affairs Officer, Region I   It’s easy to imagine the sense of distress that must have washed over a portable nuclear gauge user one recent morning when he realized the device he had stowed in the back of his truck was missing. The gauge had apparently tumbled from his vehicle as he...

Kim Lukes Health Physicist Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs   Occasionally the Department of Energy makes news when it picks up radioactive materials from users who no longer want them. DOE plays an important role when it secures these sources pending final...

Maureen Conley Public Affairs Officer   The government has made good progress in reducing risks from uranium contamination on Navajo land, five federal agencies told Congress in a report last week. EPA compiled the report with input from the NRC, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs...

Most people know that radioactive energy can be harnessed to provide electricity and even to diagnose and treat certain illnesses. But would it surprise you to learn that radioactive materials also perform an important safety function by lighting emergency EXIT signs? Look for the EXIT sign the next...

When the NRC issued a license today to International Isotopes Fluorine Products (IIFP) to build and operate a deconversion plant in New Mexico, it marked several “firsts” for the agency. Most importantly, it was the first time the NRC licensed a “deconversion” facility, which processes depleted uranium...

“Dirty bombs” – conventional explosives that include radioactive material – may have faded from the headlines, but government agencies remain vigilant to ensure the security of radioactive materials and guard against their misuse. The NRC and its Agreement State partners enforce multi-layered security...

Kodak is one of the nation’s iconic brands, forever associated with camera equipment, photographic film, and related materials and services. The idea of capturing a “Kodak moment” is a familiar one to many Americans, especially those of a certain age. Based in Rochester, N.Y., and known more formally...

While many may be fretting about rising gas prices, certain domestic industries are ramping up efforts to increase the supply of the nation’s domestic reserves. The oil and gas industry rely on many devices containing radioactive material in order to get the job done. The well-logging industry is at...

The NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board plays a very important part in the agency’s consideration of requests for licenses to build and operate new facilities. The Board’s administrative law judges conduct independent hearings to consider arguments over whether the applications and the NRC’s reviews...

When you think about countries where the NRC conducts international cooperation and assistance, Tanzania would probably not be the first one that comes to mind; however, that is where a group of five NRC employees recently held a workshop on regulatory practices related to uranium production. In recent...

While the NRC’s mission is to regulate nuclear materials in the U.S., we do, at times, have an opportunity to help other countries. Recently, I was one of two NRC inspectors who were invited to Ghana to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in training 25 students from 13 developing African countries...

Did you know the smoke detectors in your home contain radioactive material? A small piece of a radioisotope called americium-241 is what alerts you if your house catches fire – the americium ionizes the air, making it conductive, so that any smoke particles that enter the unit reduce the current and...

Federal law allows states to enter into agreements with the NRC which permit them to regulate the use of certain types of nuclear materials within their borders that would otherwise be overseen by the NRC. The NRC refers to these states as “Agreement States.” Thirty-seven states have chosen to go this...

The lens of the eye is one of the more sensitive tissues in the body to radiation, especially related to forming cataracts. The current NRC dose limit for the eye is 15 rem in a year, which is lower than the limits for other single organs. (The unit “rem” is used to measure the amount [...]

Federal laws and regulations on mining were established during the industrial boom of the late 1800s. Many decades later, when uranium became a prized commodity for fuel for nuclear power plants, NRC was given regulatory authority over the nuclear fuel cycle. But this was rather like fitting a square...

The Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) is an official advisory committee that comments on changes to NRC medical regulations and guidance. The committee also evaluates certain non-routine uses of radioactive material, provides technical assistance in licensing, inspection, and...

In the late 1930s, a smoker inadvertently made a discovery for detecting smoke. The Swiss physicist Walter Jaeger tried to invent a sensor for poison gas. His device failed: small concentrations of gas had no effect on the sensor’s conductivity. Frustrated, Jaeger lit a cigarette—and noticed that...