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Radioactive Material: Am I Regulated?

Overview of regulated radioactive materials and the agencies that regulate them in Texas.
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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 Exit the TCEQ (DSHS), or Railroad Commission of Texas Exit the TCEQ (RRC).

The TCEQ regulates the following:

  • receiving, processing, storing and disposing of by-product and low-level radioactive waste from radioactive waste brokersExit the TCEQ.
  • licensing uranium and thorium recovery facilities including those that dispose of uranium and thorium by-product wastes
  • decommissioning inactive uranium-recovery facilities and radioactive material disposal sites.

If you use, transport, process, treat, or store radioactive material, you might be regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services/Radiation Control Exit the TCEQ, who:

  • regulates and licenses possessing, receiving, using, handling, transferring, transporting, and storing radioactive material, including low-level radioactive materials and naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) Exit the TCEQ. This DOES NOT include radioactive material received by a licensed by-product or low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. (see examples of what the TCEQ regulates, above.)
  • registers radiation-producing equipment
  • operates an emergency response program

Various oil and gas–related activities are regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas Exit the TCEQ, including:

  • uranium exploration
  • surface mining
  • disposing of oil and gas NORM Exit the TCEQ

Contact us if you have questions.