RADInfo National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Subpart Q: DOE Radon Emissions

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Description of Source:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) manages a number of facilities across the country which handle radioactive materials. At least six of these facilities have large stockpiles of radium-containing materials. Much of this material has a high radium content and could potentially emit large quantities of radon to the atmosphere around the facility. (Radon gas is created by the decay of radium.) However, DOE is taking action at these facilities to provide interim or long-term storage for radium-containing materials, thus decreasing the chance of radon emissions into the ambient air.

This Subpart applies to the following DOE facilities: the Feed Materials Production Center, Fernald, Ohio; the Niagara Falls Storage Site, Lewiston, New York; the Weldon Spring Site, Weldon Spring, Missouri; the Middlesex Sampling Plant, Middlesex, New Jersey; and the Monticello Uranium Mill Tailings Pile, Monticello, Utah. This Subpart does not apply to facilities covered by title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Control Act of 1978.

The Standard: 
No source at a Department of Energy facility shall emit more than 20 picocuries per square meter per second of Radon-222, as an average for the entire source, into the ambient air. This requirement will be part of any Federal Facilities Agreement reached between EPA and DOE.

Reporting Requirements: 
There are no specific reporting requirements associated with this Subpart.

More Information:
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFE): 40 CFR 61, Subpart Q
EPA Radiation Protection Division NESHAPs Home Page