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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pledged to "work with the industry to find a solution" to make sure that existing stocks of blue topaz jewelry can be legally sold this holiday season and that future imports of the inexpensive blue gem can continue "if we can be assured that the public is adequately protected," says Scott Moore, NRC deputy director of the division of materials safety and state agreements.
But millions of carats of London and Swiss blue topaz, and all other neutron-irradiated blue topaz, are still in legal limbo and likely to remain there for the rest of the year. Why? Importing neutron-irradiated topaz for distribution requires a NRC license and no one has one, so it's likely that the vast majority of topaz on the market has not gone through proper channels.
Sky blue topaz and other electron-irradiated topaz will join the rest of irradiated blue topaz in that legal limbo in November, when this type of treated topaz also comes under NRC regulations requiring that importers of accelerator-irradiated topaz also be licensed.
The blue topaz controversy started in May when the NRC sent a letter to some large retailers to inform them of the widely disregarded and unenforced licensing requirement that has been in place since the early 1990s. In response to the uncertainty of the legal status of the gem, many retailers like Sterling and J.C. Penney and wholesalers like Stuller pulled blue topaz from their cases.
"Trade has been severely interrupted," Cecilia Gardner, general counsel of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, told the NRC. "Retailers have taken this product off the shelves and in some cases returned it to their suppliers seeking refunds. In some cases they are telling their customers who bought a necklace and want to buy the matching earrings that they're just not available."
Gardner made that comment at a public meeting the NRC called to discuss the issue with industry representatives on July 26. At that meeting, the NRC agreed to a path forward to resolve the issue. The path has two major steps.
The first requires that the industry come into compliance with NRC's requirements for exempt product distribution. This means that at least one company or institution must be licensed to test and distribute blue topaz after insuring that the gems meet NRC requirements. (And that all blue topaz entering the country then be tested and released by a licensee.) The second requirement, which is a prerequisite to allowing existing inventory to be sold, is to confirm that the blue topaz on the market does not present a health and safety issue.
"If we saw a path forward with regard to how the industry could get into compliance for the future then I think we would be open to what we could do with regard to the current inventory that's already at retailer's stores and also ordered; if we could have some assurance that we could independently verify as a regulator that it's safe for distribution," Moore says. "Those two are linked."
BLUE CHRISTMAS
How long will it take to accomplish these two steps? Will the issue be resolved before the holiday season? The first step is the hardest one. Requirements for the exempt distribution licenses required to legally import blue topaz and then distribute it to non-licensed manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers are complicated and expensive to obtain.
At press time, two companies have applied for licenses: Ideal Source and International Isotopes. Both companies have experience in treating and testing topaz at the University of Missouri, which in the past was a license holder and a primary supplier of neutron irradiated topaz to the U.S. market. The University of Missouri still treats large quantities of topaz for a single customer who exports it to be set into jewelry overseas. Because the University of Missouri does not distribute topaz in the U.S., it no longer has a license to do so.
At least one of the applicants, International Isotopes, has requested that the NRC alter its standards for exempt release of blue topaz to 74 Becquerels per gram, a higher level commonly used today by the four major international topaz treatment facilities. Since if the NRC were to consider that step, it is unlikely to do so quickly, at least one of the licenses will not be issued quickly. Even in a best-case scenario, license approvals require time: Documentation is extensive and site visits by NRC personnel are also required.
In addition, the NRC has expressed a preference for the licensing of a large impartial institution that could serve as a testing clearinghouse for the industry, rather than relying solely on license holders to test their own inventories. "We are looking for one or two entities," says NRC public affairs officer David McIntyre. "There might not be a need for a lot of license holders."
In fact, the lapse of the testing license of the Gemological Institute of America, along with the extension of NRC jurisdiction to electron-irradiated topaz, has been repeatedly cited by NRC representatives as the reason why they became concerned that the industry had fallen out of compliance.
GIA has not decided whether to invest again in becoming an exempt distribution license holder. GIA Laboratory offered the service at tremendous expense in the 1990s but found very little demand from the trade.
American Gemological Laboratories is also considering applying. "American Gemological Laboratories is pursuing the issues in the NRC licensing for testing gem materials," says Michael Haynes, CEO of Collectors Universe, AGL's parent corporation. "Not only is the license expensive but the equipment and personnel could require an investment of $500,000 or more. It is not clear whether or not there is a profitable commercial application, but as part of a public company in this marketplace, AGL has the resources to perform this testing function and a responsibility to serve the gem markets as best as possible."
ENSURING SAFETY
Although the first step towards compliance may require more time, progress is being made on the second step. NRC representatives visited blue topaz vendors in New York on August 2 and tested nine lots of blue topaz of about 500 carats each from three vendors. "Eight were background radiation and one was double background," says McIntyre. "There was nothing to be concerned about and nothing that raised any alarms."
To confirm this assessment that current blue topaz inventory on the market does not raise any heath and safety concerns, the NRC has requested testing data from GIA, American Gem Trade Association Gemological Testing Center, and other companies that have tested large quantities of blue topaz.
If the NRC finds nothing that indicates problems with safety, it is likely to grandfather existing inventory. But no matter what happens with existing inventory, future imports of blue topaz will have to meet NRC standards for exempt concentrations.
Is the most common standard in use today, 74 Bq/gram, adequate or are the lower levels required by the NRC required to protect the health and safety of dealers who have kilos of blue topaz? And what about consumers who wear topaz?
Topaz itself does not become radioactive when irradiated, even when exposed to neutrons. The radioactivity comes from trace elements inside the stone. Much of the radiation from those trace elements does not leave the topaz.
The current NRC standard requires individual assessment of the level of individual isotopes, not just a single overall level of emission. If these levels were combined, they would add up to about 0.4 nanoCuries per gram, the rough equivalent of 14.8 Bq/gram, according to Charles E. Ashbaugh III, in his landmark article, "Gemstone Irradiation and Radioactivity" in Gems & Gemology, winter 1988. It's difficult to compare NRC standards with the release standards that most treaters currently use because it's not just the amount that varies, but also the criteria for testing.
To determine whether blue topaz meets the NRC standard, a Geiger counter won't do. But it will tell you if caution is required. In fact, the NRC used a Geiger counter as well as a more sensitive detector during its testing of blue topaz samples in New York.
To insure their own health and safety, many importers of blue topaz have relied upon self-testing of their inventories with Geiger counter screening for any radioactivity above the background level from the earth and atmosphere. Was this adequate to insure public health and safety? John Miller, a certified health physicist and radiation safety officer for International Isotopes, says: "If testing with properly maintained and calibrated Geiger counters shows readings close to background then the material is safe to be worn."
But to ensure that blue topaz is in compliance with NRC standards, blue topaz must be tested with a semiconductor detector, such as a high resolution high purity Germanium detector, which can distinguish between the gamma energy peaks of different isotopes.
In his Gems & Gemology article, Ashbaugh says the low NRC exempt concentrations for topaz were developed based on "ingestion" or "inhalation," and not for wearing gemstones outside the body: "With respect to the small quantities of radioactivity found in gemstones and the resultant radiation doses people may receive, 2 nanoCuries of any radionuclide per gram of material can be judged to be harmless and safe, and a very small fraction of background radiation." The amount of 2 nanoCuries per gram is equivalent to 74 Bq/gm. Ashbaugh concluded by saying that "current U.S. regulations appear to be unrealistic."
TIME AND MONEY
The strictness of current U.S. standards compared to the standards currently used at the facilities where topaz is irradiated means that bringing all future blue topaz imports into compliance with NRC regulations is likely to require longer lead times and higher blue topaz prices.
"Typical deep blue topaz, which undergoes 80 hours of irradiation, takes a half year to reach safe levels for release under regulations of most other countries, 74 Bq/gram," says Miller. "It would require storage averaging over two and up to five years in order to meet the current NRC exempt concentration levels." The extra time is required for drastic reduction in certain isotopes that are particularly dangerous when ingested or inhaled, Miller says.
In addition, testing of blue topaz to ensure it meets NRC standards will almost certainly need to be performed on loose stones, not jewelry. Since individual gems cannot be tested, re-exported to be set, then re-imported without being tested again, it may become very difficult to import finished blue topaz jewelry in compliance with NRC regulations. And blue topaz imports will definitely need to be handled and documented differently, with tracking of individual stones and parcels, something that might be commonplace with valuable gems like diamonds but is not done with inexpensive blue topaz, which is sold by the kilo.
AGTA, in a white paper released to the industry on July 25, advised its members to document all purchases of irradiated gemstones and to temporarily suspend imports: "A paper trail of sources must be maintained, similar to the Kimberley Process. All members are strongly encouraged to identify their inventories by vendor and date of importation. While we cannot make decisions for individual firms, we reiterate that some large chains have halted the sale of pieces containing neutron-irradiated blue topaz. It seems only prudent that members would likewise temporarily suspend importation in such stones until their status and safety can be clarified. The NRC has stated that they do not intend to take enforcement actions against retailers. Therefore, there is no reason for blue topaz products to be returned to vendors."
In short, although the path forward is now clearer, blue topaz remains in limbo. — Michael Cowing and Cheryl Kremkow