INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indiana has become the 41st state to assume responsibility for regulating certain radioactive materials under an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The agreement, effective Sept. 30, gives Indiana oversight of about 213 licenses involving radioactive materials used in hospitals, universities, research facilities and industrial operations.
The state will handle licensing, inspections and enforcement for those activities.
The transfer was approved under the Atomic Energy Act, which allows the NRC to shift some regulatory authority to states with programs that meet federal health and safety standards.
Indiana’s program underwent an NRC review before the agreement was approved. The NRC will continue to oversee the state program through periodic reviews to ensure federal requirements are maintained.
The NRC will also retain direct authority over certain federally regulated nuclear activities.
With Indiana joining the program, 41 states now regulate specified uses of radioactive materials through agreements with the NRC. The federal agency continues to directly regulate those materials in states that have not entered into such agreements.