Radioactive Material: Am I Regulated?
Overview of radioactive materials and the agencies that regulate them in Texas.
If you use, handle, process, transport, transfer, receive, store, or dispose of radioactive material in Texas, you could be regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Texas Department of State Health Services
(DSHS), or Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).
The TCEQ regulates the following:
- processing and storage of certain radioactive waste;
- disposal of by-product material;
- disposal of low-level radioactive waste;
- disposal of of non-oil and gas naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) waste that is above certain exemption levels; and
- uranium recovery facilities.
If you possess, use, transport, or store radioactive material, you might be regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services/Radiation Control, who:
- regulates and licenses possessing, receiving, using, handling, transferring, transporting, and storing radioactive material, including low-level radioactive waste and NORM. This does not include radioactive material received by a licensed by-product material or low-level radioactive waste disposal facility.
- registers radiation-producing equipment.
Various oil and gas–related activities are regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas, including:
- uranium exploration.
- surface mining.
- disposing of oil and gas NORM.
Contact the Radioactive Materials Division if you have questions.