Historical Perspective of NRC-State Cooperation

The relationship of the Agreement States and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has varied by time and subject. The public probably benefits by this tension and we should continue to support this relationship. Three events will illustrate the scope of these variations. An example of working together is in 1984 when a cobalt-60 teletherapy unit was melted in Mexico with rebar and table legs coming into the U.S A. A stressful example was the development of new nuclear medicine regulations in the mid a980s through the early 2000s. The last example is the recent increased security requirements for large users of radioactive material.