A New Rule to Protect Radioactive Material (CRS)
A forthcoming Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule on the physical protection of radioactive “byproduct materials” — not including uranium or plutonium — is discussed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service.
“The rule will have broad impacts across the country and across most if not all aspects of industries that use radioactive material, including hospital and blood bank irradiators, industrial radiography equipment, massive facilities for irradiating certain foods and medical supplies, laboratory equipment for research into radiation and its effects, state regulators, and manufacturers, distributors, and transporters of radioactive sources. NRC anticipates that the rule will be published in the Federal Register in early 2013.”
See Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10 C.F.R. 37, A New Rule to Protect Radioactive Material: Background, Summary, Views from the Field, December 14, 2012.
Congress has directed CRS not to make its reports directly available to the public.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
FAS has partnered with ICLEI USA to launch the CRI Local Advisory Council.