# 2026-16344: NRC's Guide: When to Send Radioactive Patients Home Safely

2026-16344, Draft Regulatory Guide: Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material, is a Federal Register notice from Nuclear Regulatory Commission published 2026-08-11, effective Comments must be submitted electronically using https:// www.regulations.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 10, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16344
- As of: 2026-08-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16344
- Title: Draft Regulatory Guide: Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Citation: 91 FR 51749
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Effective: Comments must be submitted electronically using https:// www.regulations.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 10, 2026.
- Comments close: 2026-09-10
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-08-18

## In one line

NRC's Guide: When to Send Radioactive Patients Home Safely

## Summary

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft Regulatory Guide (DG), DG-8070, "Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material." This DG is proposed Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 8.39 of the same name. The proposed revision provides methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for the release of individuals, referred to as patients in this revision, after a medical procedure involving the administration of unsealed byproduct material, such as radiopharmaceuticals, or implants that contain radioactive material.

## Effects PRIA read

- Updated rules for releasing treated patients: benefit, low. The NRC issued Draft Regulatory Guide DG-8070 (proposed Revision 2 to RG 8.39) that provides methods the NRC staff accepts for when patients may be released after medical procedures that give them unsealed radioactive material or radioactive implants. The guide aligns with proposed revisions to 10…
- Guidance on doses to caregivers: benefit, low. DG-8070 includes specific guidance and examples related to dose limits and how to apply new definitions for medical uses, including guidance related to radiation doses that caregivers may receive from patients. The draft guide is intended to help licensees assess caregiver exposure and determine wh…
- Uses NCRP methods to estimate public dose: benefit, low. DG-8070 incorporates up-to-date methodologies based on NCRP Report No. 155 for calculating the radiation dose members of the public may receive from a patient who contains byproduct material. The guide is intended to enable more accurate estimates of public doses from released patients and when rec…

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## Sources
- [2026-16344 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16344/draft-regulatory-guide-release-of-patients-administered-radioactive-material)
- [2026-16344 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16344.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-16343, Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16343)
- [Next: 2026-16345, Notice of Agreements Filed](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16345)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16344 (as of 2026-08-18).