Indiana will begin regulating radioactive materials used in medicine, industry and universities as federal rules governing radiation safety are in flux.
Gov. Mike Braun and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Ho K. Nieh formalized a transfer of authority to Indiana at a signing ceremony in Indianapolis Sept. 24. Indiana is the 41st state to sign such an agreement. Both said the move will cut red tape for businesses and organizations in Indiana that use radioactive materials.
"Agreement state status gives us better customer service, faster permit review times — which was always an issue — faster incident responses, and lower regulatory fees," Braun said.
The agreement gives Indiana authority over 213 licenses as the NRC proposes changes to radiation safety rules one critic says could increase exposure for workers and the public.
Under the Atomic Energy Act, the NRC holds the most authority to regulate radioactive materials but can transfer some oversight to states through agreements.
The NRC reviewed Indiana’s laws and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, which will administer the agreements through its Radioactive Materials Control Program. It found they met NRC’s standards.
"We have full confidence that the state of Indiana will be regulating the use of nuclear materials safely and securely,” Nieh said.
The move comes as executive orders from the Trump administration direct the NRC to overhaul safety and other standards aimed at accelerating the development of new nuclear energy technology.
Indiana will oversee licenses held by hospitals, oncology providers, imaging and testing facilities, manufacturers, mining and drilling companies, utilities and universities. The NRC administers about 10% of the more than 18,000 radioactive materials licenses across the country. Agreement states issue the rest.
Safety considerations
Accidents, mistakes or technical failures can lead to exposure or contamination incidents at organizations that use nuclear materials. These incidents can trigger reporting to the NRC and IDHS, possible hazmat response and treatment of workers for radiation exposure.
“Every day, pretty much, there are multiple reports of violations or events associated with radioactive materials,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group for scientists and researchers.
Lyman is concerned the NRC is “revising almost all of its regulations on a very rapid timetable to try to make it quicker and easier to license nuclear power,” because although there are benefits, the technology has “significant risks.”
Lyman said some rule revisions will affect agreement states like Indiana, including one that would remove a 50-year-old radiation safety standard known as “As Low As Reasonably Achievable,” or ALARA.
He said ALARA pushes companies that employ workers around radioactive materials to keep reducing exposure even if it is already below the legal limit. Without it, he said, companies would spend less time designing programs around that principle.
The NRC is also proposing to change exposure limits for workers so that they can exceed limits during a given year as long as the average over a five-year period meets the overall limit, Lyman said.
Combined, the standards changing could lead to more radiation exposure to workers — such as radiation techs in hospitals — or the public.
“The state, again, wouldn’t be able to regulate more stringently than that to protect the workers more,” Lyman said. “So it is a concern to every activity in Indiana or around the country that uses radioactive materials.”
At the signing, Nieh said the NRC is undergoing the most comprehensive period of regulatory reform in 50 years.
“When we talk about red tape, there are unnecessary reporting requirements, unnecessary administrative regulations. We’re taking all of those out of the system because they do not materially contribute to safety outcomes,” he said.
Braun said moving faster does not mean cutting corners.
“Otherwise, it would set you back anyway,” Braun said.
Indiana leaders have passed laws and want the state to become a leader in small modular reactors, a new nuclear technology that produces up to a third of the power of a traditional nuclear reactor. Braun said his administration is committed to that goal.
“Today’s agreement signing is necessary step for Indiana to meet our nuclear energy generation goals,” Braun said.
The agreement does not cover reactors, but Nieh said the NRC’s rule changes will make it easier to work with Indiana if the state or a company wants to develop nuclear energy.
Indiana’s framework
Indiana Secretary of Energy Suzanne Jaworowski said Indiana has been working on the agreement for four years.
In 2022, former Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act 381 into law, which created a framework for the state to enter a radioactive materials agreement with the NRC, designated the IDHS Radioactive Materials Control Program as the state agency responsible for administering the agreement. It also outlined licensing procedures.
IDHS set standards for protection against radiation and regulating the “use, storage, production, transportation, possession and disposal of radioactive materials in Indiana.” The final rule was published Nov. 26, 2025. This year, Braun sent a letter on Jan. 29 to the NRC requesting the agreement.
The NRC found IDHS has an adequate number of staff and experience and “is compatible with the Commission’s program and is adequate to protect the public health and safety with respect to the materials covered,” according to a draft of the agreement.
The agreement will take effect Sept. 30.
Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.
