VETO: Senate Bill 1970: Radiation Safety Act of 2002; Author Senator Gloria Romero, et al

Senate Rules Committee SB 1970
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS: MUCH FUTURE WORK MUST BE DONE REGARDING RADIATION SAFETY by BOTH CALIFORNIA HOUSES and CA GOVERNOR DAVIS

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Governor Davis Makes Executive Order to Ban all Waste with Residual Radioactivity from being sent to all Facilities Designed for Household Waste, (Class III Landfills), 30 September, 2002. (Governor's Veto to SB 1970/Senator Romero and Executive Order Banning Radioactive Wastes).

Documents in Support of SB 2065 and SB 1970 Sent to Governor Davis

Bill No: SB 1970
Author: Romero (D), et al
Amended: 8/27/02
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT

ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-27, 8/29/02 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Radiation Safety Act of 2002
SOURCE : Author Senator Gloria Romero, et al
DIGEST : Assembly Amendments strike the Senate version of the bill. As it left the Senate, the bill related to recycling plastic packaging containers.
This bill now prohibits the disposal of radioactive waste at a hazardous waste disposal facility, except as specified, and would enact the Radiation Safety Act of
2002, as specified. It also requires the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and the State Department of Health Services (DHS) to adopt
regulations and oversee enforcement and certain reporting requirements.

Analysis: This bill: 1.Prohibits the disposal of radioactive waste at a hazardous waste disposal facility except for specific  2 materials and under specific conditions.

2.Authorizes the State Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), in consultation with the CIWMB, and DHS, to adopt regulations establishing the permit conditions implementing the disposal prohibition described above and specifies that, if DTSC adopts regulations governing restrictions or limits on technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM), DTSC must ensure that such materials are disposed at a facility licensed to accept radioactive waste.

3.Enacts the Radiation Safety Act of 2002 which does all of the following:

A. Prohibits the disposal, transport for disposal, or transfer for possession, recycling, or reuse of radioactive waste in the state except to a person or a facility licensed by DHS or the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to dispose of that particular type and amount of radioactive waste.
B. Exempts, from the above prohibitions, specified types of radioactive materials, including: short-lived radioactive materials commonly used in medicine, biotechnology, and academia that managed according to standards in the bill; liquid and gaseous radioactive effluents and releases to sanitary sewers in the types amounts and concentrations permitted by the NRC or DHS; scintillation liquids from research and animal tissues containing tritium and carbon 14 specified in federal regulation; specified radioactive materials used in radioisotope generators for medical purposes; radioactive materials intentionally inserted into products for their radioactive purpose and exempted from specified NRC regulation; the reuse or recycling of radioactive materials by persons licensed to do so provided it remains onsite and under the regulatory control of its onsite use; the reuse or recycling of a radioactive item by an unlicensed federal entity to the extent the item remains on the property of the entity and under its control; and the handling and disposal of TENORM provided it does not also contain radioactive waste and it is below any limits established by DTSC.

C. Defines terms used in the act, including "background," "best available technology," "naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM)," "MARSSIM,"
"radioactive waste," and "radioactive materials."

4.Prohibits the disposal of radioactive waste at a solid waste facility.

5.Prohibits a waste producer or generator from submitting TENORM generated by petroleum and natural gas production and refining, geothermal production, or mining for disposal to a class III waste management unit, to certain class II facilities that receive significant amounts of solid waste, or unclassified units that accept inert wastes.

6. Authorizes the CIWMB, in consultation with the DTSC, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and DHS, to adopt regulations governing the disposal of other wastes containing TENORM for disposal at specified waste facilities.

7.Authorizes any TENORM waste that is not hazardous waste to be disposed of at a class II waste management unit that meets certain conditions, authorizes the SWRCB to adopt regulations establishing requirements to implement this authorization, specifies criteria for those regulations, and specifies that any TENORM above limits set by the board must be disposed at a facility specifically licensed to accept that type and quantity of waste.
8.Authorizes local solid waste enforcement agencies (LEAs) to restrict disposal of waste containing TENORM and radioactive waste provided that any such restrictions must be at least as stringent as those adopted by the SWRCB.

9.Provides that nothing in the aforementioned provisions shall limit the authority of the state or regional water boards to impose conditions on the disposal of
TENORM at solid waste disposal facilities.

10.Prohibits an owner or operator of a solid waste facility from knowingly accepting or disposing of radioactive waste other than in accordance with statutes and regulations governing the licensure of radioactive waste disposal facilities, and specifies criteria for the "knowing" acceptance of such wastes, including specific actions an owner or operator may take to avoid knowingly accepting such wastes.

Comments
According to the author's office and the sponsors of the bill, this bill is intended to ensure that radioactive wastes are not improperly handled nor disposed at California solid waste landfills.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, moderate costs, in the range of $350,000 in FY 2002-03, to DTSC and SWRCB to adopt regulations and other restrictions regarding the disposal of TENORM waste and other radioactive waste. (General Fund and regulatory funds.)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bogh, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett, Cox, Diaz, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Frommer, Goldberg, Havice, Hertzberg, Horton, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Koretz, Leonard, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Matthews, Migden, Nakano, Nation, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Pavley, Reyes, Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wiggins, Wright, Wesson
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Bates, Briggs, Bill Campbell, John Campbell, Canciamilla, Daucher, Dickerson, Harman, Hollingsworth, Kelley, La Suer, Leach, Leslie, Maddox, Maldonado, Mountjoy, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti, Richman, Runner, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel

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