SENATE BILL REPORT

SHB 1442

BYHouse Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Rust, Unsoeld, H. Sommers, Hine, Jacobsen and Brekke)

Transferring the state radiation control agency to the department of ecology.

House Committe on State Government

Senate Committee on Governmental Operations

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 26, 1988

Senate Staff:Barbara Howard (786-7410)

AS OF FEBRUARY 25, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Ecology (DOE) both have statutory responsibility to protect the public health and environment from the effects of exposure to harmful radiation.  In DSHS, these responsibilities lie with the Office of Radiation Protection, a division in the Office of Public Health.  The Office of Nuclear Waste Management and the Hanford Section of the Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division in DOE also perform radiation control activities.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES.  DSHS is designated as the state radiation control agency, charged with operating a regulatory and inspection program directed at sources, generators, and users of radioactive material in order to protect the public health and safety.  There are five sections in the Office of Radiation Protection (ORP) to carry out these responsibilities.

            oRadioactive Materials Section.  This section regulates and licenses the possession and use of radioactive materials in the state, and notifies local governments when licenses for use of such materials are applied for in their jurisdiction.

            oWaste Management Section.  This section has two components.  First, it licenses and inspects the site operator at the state's low level radioactive waste disposal facility at Hanford and inspects any waste coming into a permitted site.  Although permits for site users are now issued by the Office of Waste Management at DOE, the ORP can still suspend or reinstate these permits, which requires close cooperation between the two programs.  The second function of the Waste Management Section is to license, inspect, and regulate uranium mills.

            oX-Ray Section.  Under this section, the ORP registers, inspects, and completes safety reviews of radiation producing machines at medical, industrial, and research institutions.

            oEnvironmental Protection Section.  This section monitors the level of radiation in the environment, particularly on the Hanford reservation, and verifies the accuracy of monitoring programs conducted by the federal government and radioactive materials licensees.  This section works closely with DOE.

            oEmergency Response Section.  This section develops and maintains an emergency response capability for radiation accidents.  In the event of a radiation emergency, the state health officer is the principal decision maker in advising the public as to health risks.

The technical work of the ORP, such as monitoring radiation levels and testing for exposure to radiation, is performed through the radiation laboratory, a section of the public health laboratory of the Office of Public Health.

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY.  In DOE, the Office of Nuclear Waste Management operates two programs, and a section of the Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division also deals with radioactive materials.

            oLow Level Radioactive Waste Management Program.  This program serves as the landlord of the Hanford disposal facility, and includes collecting fees from site users to provide for future maintenance of the site, and implementing the federal laws regarding disposal of low level radioactive waste.  The program also issues site use permits for waste generators, in close cooperation with the Office of Radiation Protection of DSHS.

            oHigh Level Nuclear Waste Management Program. This program provides technical and administrative support for the Nuclear Waste Board in its oversight of federal efforts to site a high-level waste repository at Hanford.  The Nuclear Waste Board consists of six agency heads, eight members of the legislature, and the chair of the Nuclear Waste Advisory Council.  The Board's enabling statute is broad to infer other duties, but with the Congressional decision to site the repository in Nevada, the federal funding from the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) which supports this program and the Board will terminate in March, 1988.

            oHanford Section.  Located in DOE's Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division, this section does the actual regulation of site use and cleanup on the Hanford reservation, including issuance of facilities and equipment permits.

SUMMARY:

Waste Management and Environmental Protection.  The Waste Management and Environmental Protection activities of the state radiation control agency are transferred to the Department of Ecology.  This transfer includes the following duties and functions:  licensing, monitoring, and inspecting the site operator and waste deposited at the state low-level radioactive waste disposal at Hanford; developing, conducting, and verifying environmental radiation monitoring programs; and licensing, inspecting, and regulating uranium mills.

Radiation Laboratory.  All funds and credits used by the laboratory of the Office of Public Health which are associated with the functions transferred are transferred to the Department of Ecology.  However, laboratory employees, documents, and equipment remain under the Department of Social and Health Services.  The Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Ecology are to enter into interagency agreements so that necessary laboratory services are provided to the Department of Ecology.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      requested February 1, 1988

Effective Date:June 30, 1988