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Summary of Analytical Results Environmental Monitoring for Radionuclides in the Environs of Honeywell Metropolis Works

IEMA-OHS maintains five environmental monitoring stations in the greater-Metropolis area and routinely exchanges air particulate filters (APFs), on a weekly basis, as a component of its environmental monitoring program. IEMA-OHS was collecting week-long air samples in the form of APFs at the time of the incident at the Honeywell Metropolis Works facility on June 12, 2023.

Summary of Analytical Result for Honeywell Metropolis June 20, 2023

Summary of Analytical Results Environmental Monitoring for Radionuclides in the Environs of Honeywell Metropolis Works

IEMA maintains five Environmental Monitoring Stations in Metropolis and typically exchanges air particulate filters (APFs) on a weekly basis as a component of its routine environmental monitoring program. IEMA was collecting week-long air samples in the form of APFs at the time of the incident at Honeywell on October 26, 2014.

2014 – 2015 CRCPD/SCATR Source Collection and Disposal Opportunity

The Conference Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) Program will begin its 2014-2015 disused and unwanted radioactive sealed source collection and disposal effort in October 2014. CRCPD/SCATR provides cost-shared support for the packaging, transport, and disposal of Class A, B, and C sources with access to a commercial disposal facility. Licensees in all 50 States and U.S. territories are potentially eligible for program participation.

Important Update for Medical Licensees

Please find the U.S. NRC's regulatory issue summary (RIS) "PERMANENT IMPLANT BRACHYTHERAPY MEDICAL EVENT REPORTING UNDER 10 CFR PART 35." This summary is intended to: (1) supply information to assist licensees in complying with the current NRC requirements related to permanent implant brachytherapy; and (2) announce that an Interim Enforcement Policy1(IEP), has been developed and published and explain the enforcement discretion NRC will use to provide regulatory relief to licensees until the implementation date of a revised final rule (10 CFR Part 35, Medical Use of Byproduct Material) associated with the Medical Event (ME) reporting requirements. IEMA's Bureau of Radiation Safety supports this policy for evaluating certain medical events. As indicated a rule change will likely result to reflect a new definition of medical event. If you require further clarification you may contact Daren Perrero of our staff at (217) 785-9929. No specific action or written response is required.

Important Update for Cost-effective Source Disposal

As an update to our message from last summer, Illinois has been notified that the Conference Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) Source Collection and Threat Reduction Program (SCATR) will be working with brokers and generators between April 15 and May 30 of this year to schedule a 50% cost-shared disused sealed source collection, processing, and disposal for certain sealed sources.

Environmental Analysis Report of Phase V Decommissioning of the Kerr-McGee West Chicago Rare Earths Facility

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) announces the availability of the Environmental Analysis Report for Phase V decommissioning activities at the Kerr-McGee Rare Earths Facility, 800 Weyrauch Street, West Chicago, Illinois.

Important Opportunity to Dispose of Class A Radioactive Sources

The Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) Program is reaching out to interested stakeholders to provide information detailing the one-year license variance allowing for the disposal of certain Class A sealed sources at the EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Clive, Utah. The SCATR Program is administered by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD).

The CRCPD is offering financial assistance equal to half the cost of disposal to generators who participate in the effort.

This program will only last for one year! You must register any sources you wish to have considered for this program with the Off-Site Source Recovery Project (OSRP) before it can be accepted for disposal.

Go to http://osrp.lanl.gov/PickUpSources.aspx for information about how to register sources. If you have already registered sources, you are encouraged to update their registration. Additional information regarding this program can be found here.

This is a very time sensitive matter. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency encourages all licensees who have eligible sources that will not be used in the foreseeable future to take advantage of this variance to properly dispose of these types of sealed sources in a cost effective manner.

Illinois Codifies Land Application and Disposal Regulations for Radium Treatment Residuals

On December 7, 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) finalized their drinking water standards for removal of radionuclides. The regulations became effective in December of 2003 and drinking water treatment facilities were mandated to meet the 5 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) limit for combined radium. As radium is removed from the raw water and manifests itself either in the drinking water treatment media or at a wastewater treatment facility; the management of these treatment residuals is the subject of regulations recently promulgated by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's (IEMA) Division of Nuclear Safety (DNS).

Specifically, persons producing or possessing residuals or sludge resulting from the treatment of water or sewage and containing naturally occurring radium from groundwater are exempt from licensure provided they contain a combined radium (Radium-226 and Radium-228) concentration less than or equal to 200 pCi/g (picocuries per gram, dry weight basis). Ultimately, the exemption came about in response to petitions for higher land application rates for radium, agency response efforts at landfills and scrap yards handling treatment residuals and equipment contaminated with radium, the need to create awareness and the agency's responsibility to protect the health and safety of municipal workers. Specific details on requirements for land application, field sampling, disposal, and annual reporting were codified in the resulting rule.

Additional Information pertaining to the regulation can be found using the below links.

2009 Nuclear Power Plants Environmental Monitoring Report

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Division of Nuclear Safety is charged with protecting the citizens of Illinois from the harmful effects of radioactive materials. To that end, the Division of Nuclear Safety monitors the environment around Illinois's seven nuclear power stations for the presence of radionuclides. Samples of water, sediment, fish, milk and vegetables are collected from 132 locations analyzed for man-made and natural radionuclides. In addition, the Agency maintains a network 415 environmental dosimeters to measure and document the ambient gamma radiation levels within a ten-mile radius of each station.

Click here to read the full 2009 report.

NRC proposing to amend its regulations in Parts 30, 40, 70, 170, and 171 of 10 CFR, primarily to address source material

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations in Parts 30, 40, 70, 170, and 171 of 10 CFR, primarily to address source material. This rule would affect manufacturers and initial distributors of certain products and materials containing source material under general license and under exemptions from licensing. The proposed rule includes new requirements to obtain a specific license for the initial distribution of source material to certain general licensees and to persons exempt from licensing. In addition, the proposed rule would impact certain general licensees by revising the general license for small quantities of source material to lower possession limits for certain types of source material and to clarify disposal and decommissioning requirements. Finally, the proposed rule revises or removes certain exemptions for source material products.

Additional information on how to submit comments is listed in the proposed rulemaking. Comments must be submitted directly to the NRC. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO THE ILLINOIS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY. The Agency strongly recommends that Illinois licensees submit comments on this proposal. If licensees wait to comment on subsequently proposed Illinois regulations, the Agency may not have an option to modify the Illinois version of the regulations. Therefore, it is important for Illinois licensees to comment to NRC now.

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register (75 FR 43425) on July 26, 2010. The rule is posted at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2009-0084. The public comment period ends November 23, 2010.

Site History and Environmental Monitoring Report for Sheffield Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site

This 2009 Site History and Environmental Monitoring Report for the Sheffield Low-Level Radioactive Disposal Site was developed by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Bureau of Environmental Safety (BES) to provide information to anyone interested in this closed low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal site. This report provides historical background on the Sheffield LLRW site and its operation including the context of the time that it operated, design flaws, remedies, key regulatory issues, and the site's past and current performance.

USFDA Safety Investigation of CT Brain Perfusion Scans

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an initial notification of a safety investigation regarding CT brain perfusion scans. FDA has become aware of radiation overexposure during perfusion CT imaging which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of a stroke. This incident included 206 patients at one particular facility involving this one kind of study. While neither the facility nor the state is named in the report, we are concerned this may reflect more widespread problems with CT quality assurance programs.

We are bringing this notice to your attention so that you can help ensure that this important information is received by the appropriate members of your radiology staff to ensure the safety and efficacy of CT imaging at your facility.

The Bureau of Environmental Safety implements a new Preventive Radiological and Nuclear Detection (PRND) Program

The PRND program is a partnership between the Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF), the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) and the IEMA Division of Nuclear Safety designed to provide first responders with state of the art personal radiation detectors and a 24-hour technical reachback for adjudication of alarms. Bureau of Environmental Safety (BES) staffers have designed and are in the process of implementing a two tiered system for response to alarms that includes use of Illinois State Police and local fire/hazmat personnel as the first reachback resource.

BES recently completed distribution and training for personal radiation detectors (PRDs) and radioisotope identification devices (RIIDs) as part of a pilot study being conducted under the PRND program. BES currently has 321 PRDs and 57 RIIDs deployed. Lessons learned from the pilot study areas will serve to improve aspects of the program such as training content, support infrastructure functionality and test instrumentation sensitivity and alarm settings prior to the commencement of general radiation detector distributions. For additional information on the PRND program see the IEMA 2008 Year in Review.

Gamma Detection Monitoring System Upgrade

IEMA's Bureau of Nuclear Facility Safety is in the first stages of a multi-year effort to replace the existing Gamma Detection Monitoring System detectors located around each nuclear power plant facility with modern detectors, improved telecommunications for more reliable data transfer, supplemental meteorological packages, and solar power to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. This upgrade will enhance the Agency's detection and plume modeling capabilities. The first site to be replaced was Dresden, followed this calendar year by Clinton and possibly Braidwood. Future site upgrades will be determined later.

Radon Test Kits

The cost of radon test kits from various suppliers is now included on the website in a convenient format. Check the radon page for further information. The Agency encourages the testing of your home for radon.

Radon Poster Contest Winners

Please see the radon page for information about the Radon Poster Contest sponsored by the USEPA, as well as pictures of the recent Illinois contest winners.