Federal regulators on Wednesday announced tightened rules surrounding radioactive materials used by manufacturers.Specifically, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will now require a license for more manufactures and importers of products that contain small amounts of unenriched uranium and thorium, such as welding rods, decorative glassware and gas lantern mantles. Additionally, the rules introduce new requirements for labeling, reporting and record keeping.The agency will also be less generous with licensing exemptions for small amounts of these source materials in dispersible forms, such as liquids and powders. Their use or transfer without a license will be restricted to 3.3 pounds at a time, compared to 15 pounds previously. Annual limits will drop from 150 pounds to 15.4 pounds. Limits on solid, non-dispersible forms of the materials, as well as certain laboratory and water treatment applications, are unchanged. At the same time, the NRC expanded a licensing exemption for manufacturers of high-tech lens coatings.The rule changes, which underwent a public comment process in 2010, will take effect Aug. 27, according to an NRC release.
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The NRC is misguided on the need to restrict use of Thorium with its harmless amounts of uranium for manufacturing and in Fuel Mixes. A lot has happened since 2010 and many experiments are in progress burning Thorium MOX and other actinides along with Thorium and any restrictions on mining monazite for rare earth mineral - a critical requirement to get out from under Chinese control, and allow the bi-product Thorium to be used without restrictions since it is essential to provide a steady supply to the new Fission Reactors as well as current LWR planning to use Thorium for their Fuel Mix. Regulations in the U.S.could kill the U.S.'s competitiveness in future development of Nuclear Reactor as we watch China and India going forward with monazite mining to achieve new TMSRs and Mox Fuel for existing reactors. The U.S. is already at a disadvantage in many new reactor developments that all need Thorium - so why not exclude Thorium from the limitations proposed?
(keep this one over my "anon." comments, as I am *signed in* now!)
Hi Anonymous,
The West's Thorium / Molten-salt community agrees with you >>100%.
Entrenched Interests & bureaucratic agencies in America have become so damning that I, along with many fellow chemical & allied scientists firmly feel that "Ms. Science" – that which enables Th (& even U) to shine far brighter that any other energy tech, should she ever become more developed by the West – will be initiated by Norway e/o Canadá !!
-Kim
Exactly! I happen to own a plot of land with high uranium deposits... Now they're going to require me to get a license just to clear the dust from my porch. The NRC is corrupt!
