Regulatory Update: NRC Approves New Procedures
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved new procedures for permitting visitors to patients who receive nuclear medicine or brachytherapy for radiation doses above current regulatory limits, if warranted by the patient's needs.
Under NRC regulations, the permissible annual radiation dose to any member of the public, including hospital visitors, is 0.1 rem (100 millirem). Visitors to patients who cannot be discharged under NRC regulations are permitted to receive a dose of up to 0.5 rem (500 millirem) under certain circumstances.
Currently, licensees may request emergency, case-specific exemptions from NRC regulations for these situations, asking the NRC staff to determine an allowable dose above the regulatory limit. New procedures approved by the Commission would allow the licensee to determine a dose limit based on the conditions of a particular case and establish standard procedures for requesting and granting an expedited license exemption. Caregivers would be given instruction on limiting their exposure. NRC Regional offices will have authority to grant expedited exemptions for limits up to 5 rem, provided the licensee submits sufficient justification. Requests for limits above 5 rem will require special justification by the licensee and additional review by the agency's Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
The NRC staff expects to issue a Regulatory Issues Summary on the new procedures, including guidance on their implementation, by mid-2006. Until then, the current procedures for requesting an exemption from the regulatory requirement remain in effect.
Senate Votes for Increased NIH Funding
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $29.42 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006. The bill provides a 3.7% increase over the 2005 funding level, and $909 million more than the measure passed in the House.
Under the Senate proposal, the National Cancer Institute would receive $4.96 billion; the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) would receive $309 million.