PERMANENT RULES
Purpose: To bring radiation protection regulations into conformance with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for calculating radiation exposure to very small areas of skin.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-220-010 and 246-221-010.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 70.98.050.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 04-19-159 on September 22, 2004.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: November 16, 2004.
M. C. Selecky
Secretary
OTS-7471.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 01-05-110, filed 2/21/01,
effective 3/24/01)
WAC 246-221-010
Occupational dose limits for adults.
(1) The licensee or registrant shall control the occupational
dose to individual adults, except for planned special
exposures pursuant to WAC 246-221-030, to the following dose
limits:
(a) An annual limit, which is the more limiting of:
(i) The total effective dose equivalent being equal to 0.05 Sv (5 rem); or
(ii) The sum of the deep dose equivalent and the committed dose equivalent to any individual organ or tissue other than the lens of the eye being equal to 0.50 Sv (50 rem).
(b) The annual limits to the lens of the eye, to the skin of the whole body, and to the skin of the extremities which are:
(i) A lens dose equivalent of 0.15 Sv (15 rem); and
(ii) A shallow dose equivalent of 0.50 Sv (50 rem) to the skin of the whole body or to the skin of any extremity.
(2) Doses received in excess of the annual limits, including doses received during accidents, emergencies, and planned special exposures, must be subtracted from the limits specified in WAC 246-221-030 for planned special exposures that the individual may receive during the current year and during the individual's lifetime.
(3) The assigned deep dose equivalent ((and shallow dose
equivalent)) shall be for the portion of the body receiving
the highest exposure. The assigned shallow dose equivalent
shall be the dose averaged over the contiguous ten square
centimeters of skin receiving the highest exposure. The deep
dose equivalent, lens dose equivalent and shallow dose
equivalent may be assessed from surveys or other radiation
measurements for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with
the occupational dose limits, if the individual monitoring
device was not in the region of highest potential exposure, or
the results of individual monitoring are unavailable.
(4) Derived air concentration (DAC) and annual limit on intake (ALI) values are specified in WAC 246-221-290 and may be used to determine the individual's dose and to demonstrate compliance with the occupational dose limits.
(5) Notwithstanding the annual dose limits, the licensee shall limit the soluble uranium intake by an individual to 10 milligrams in a week in consideration of chemical toxicity.
(6) The licensee or registrant shall reduce the dose that an individual may be allowed to receive in the current year by the amount of occupational dose received while employed by any other person during the current year as determined in accordance with WAC 246-221-020.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 01-05-110, § 246-221-010, filed 2/21/01, effective 3/24/01; 94-01-073, § 246-221-010, filed 12/9/93, effective 1/9/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 91-15-112 (Order 184), § 246-221-010, filed 7/24/91, effective 8/24/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121), recodified as § 246-221-010, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.080. 87-01-031 (Order 2450), § 402-24-020, filed 12/11/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 81-01-011 (Order 1570), § 402-24-020, filed 12/8/80; Order 1095, § 402-24-020, filed 2/6/76; Order 1, § 402-24-020, filed 1/8/69; Rules (part), filed 10/26/66.]
OTS-7472.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 01-05-110, filed 2/21/01,
effective 3/24/01)
WAC 246-220-010
Definitions.
As used in these
regulations, these terms have the definitions set forth below.
Additional definitions used only in a certain part will be
found in that part.
(1) "Absorbed dose" means the energy imparted by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material. The units of absorbed dose are the gray (Gy) and the rad.
(2) "Accelerator produced material" means any material made radioactive by exposing it in a particle accelerator.
(3) "Act" means Nuclear energy and radiation, chapter 70.98 RCW.
(4) "Activity" means the rate of disintegration or transformation or decay of radioactive material. The units of activity are the becquerel (Bq) and the curie (Ci).
(5) "Adult" means an individual eighteen or more years of age.
(6) "Agreement state" means any state with which the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has entered into an effective agreement under section 274 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (73 Stat. 689).
(7) "Airborne radioactive material" means any radioactive material dispersed in the air in the form of particulates, dusts, fumes, mists, vapors, or gases.
(8) "Airborne radioactivity area" means a room, enclosure, or operating area in which airborne radioactive material exists in concentrations (a) in excess of the derived air concentration (DAC) specified in WAC 246-221-290, Appendix A, or (b) to such a degree that an individual present in the area without respiratory protective equipment could exceed, during the hours an individual is present in a week, an intake of 0.6 percent of the annual limit on intake (ALI) or twelve DAC-hours.
(9) "Air purifying respirator" means a respirator with an air-purifying filter, cartridge, or canister that removes specific air contaminants by passing ambient air through the air-purifying element.
(10) "Alert" means events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred that could lead to a release of radioactive material but that the release is not expected to require a response by offsite response organizations to protect persons offsite.
(11) "Annual limit on intake" (ALI) means the derived limit for the amount of radioactive material taken into the body of an adult worker by inhalation or ingestion in a year. ALI is the smaller value of intake of a given radionuclide in a year by the reference man that would result in a committed effective dose equivalent of 0.05 Sv (5 rem) or a committed dose equivalent of 0.5 Sv (50 rem) to any individual organ or tissue. ALI values for intake by ingestion and by inhalation of selected radionuclides are given in WAC 246-221-290.
(12) "Assigned protection factor" (APF) means the expected workplace level of respiratory protection that would be provided by a properly functioning respirator or a class of respirators to properly fitted and trained users. Operationally, the inhaled concentration can be estimated by dividing the ambient airborne concentration by the APF.
(13) "Atmosphere-supplying respirator" means a respirator that supplies the respirator user with breathing air from a source independent of the ambient atmosphere, and includes supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units.
(14) "Background radiation" means radiation from cosmic sources; naturally occurring radioactive materials, including radon, except as a decay product of source or special nuclear material, and including global fallout as it exists in the environment from the testing of nuclear explosive devices or from past nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl that contribute to background radiation and are not under the control of the licensee. "Background radiation" does not include sources of radiation from radioactive materials regulated by the department.
(15) "Becquerel" (Bq) means the SI unit of activity. One becquerel is equal to 1 disintegration or transformation per second (s-1).
(16) "Bioassay" means the determination of kinds, quantities or concentrations, and, in some cases, the locations of radioactive material in the human body, whether by direct measurement, in vivo counting, or by analysis and evaluation of materials excreted or removed from the human body. For purposes of these regulations, "radiobioassay" is an equivalent term.
(17) "Byproduct material" means: (a) Any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear material, and (b) the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content, including discrete surface wastes resulting from uranium or thorium solution extraction processes. Underground ore bodies depleted by these solution extraction operations do not constitute "byproduct material" within this definition.
(18) "Calendar quarter" means not less than twelve consecutive weeks nor more than fourteen consecutive weeks. The first calendar quarter of each year shall begin in January and subsequent calendar quarters shall be so arranged such that no day is included in more than one calendar quarter and no day in any one year is omitted from inclusion within a calendar quarter. No licensee or registrant shall change the method of determining calendar quarters for purposes of these regulations except at the beginning of a calendar year.
(19) "Calibration" means the determination of (a) the response or reading of an instrument relative to a series of known radiation values over the range of the instrument, or (b) the strength of a source of radiation relative to a standard.
(20) "CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations.
(21) "Class" means a classification scheme for inhaled material according to its rate of clearance from the pulmonary region of the lung. Materials are classified as D, W, or Y, which applies to a range of clearance half-times: For Class D, Days, of less than ten days, for Class W, Weeks, from ten to one hundred days, and for Class Y, Years, of greater than one hundred days. For purposes of these regulations, "lung class" and "inhalation class" are equivalent terms. For "class of waste" see WAC 246-249-040.
(22) "Collective dose" means the sum of the individual doses received in a given period of time by a specified population from exposure to a specified source of radiation.
(23) "Committed dose equivalent" (HT,50) means the dose equivalent to organs or tissues of reference (T) that will be received from an intake of radioactive material by an individual during the fifty-year period following the intake.
(24) "Committed effective dose equivalent" (HE,50) is the sum of the products of the weighting factors applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated and the committed dose equivalent to each of these organs or tissues (HE,50 = &Sgr; wT,HT,50).
(25) "Constraint" or dose constraint means a value above which specified licensee actions are required.
(26) "Controlled area." See "Restricted area."
(27) "Curie" means a unit of quantity of radioactivity. One curie (Ci) is that quantity of radioactive material which decays at the rate of 3.7 x 1010 transformations per second (tps).
(28) "Declared pregnant woman" means a woman who has voluntarily informed the licensee or registrant, in writing, of her pregnancy, and the estimated date of conception. The declaration remains in effect until the declared pregnant woman withdraws the declaration in writing or is no longer pregnant.
(29) "Deep dose equivalent" (Hd), which applies to external whole body exposure, means the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 centimeter (1000 mg/cm2).
(30) "Demand respirator" means an atmosphere-supplying respirator that admits breathing air to the facepiece only when a negative pressure is created inside the facepiece by inhalation.
(31) "Department" means the department of health, division of radiation protection, which has been designated as the state radiation control agency.
(32) "Depleted uranium" means the source material uranium in which the isotope Uranium-235 is less than 0.711 percent by weight of the total uranium present. Depleted uranium does not include special nuclear material.
(33) "Derived air concentration" (DAC) means the concentration of a given radionuclide in air which, if breathed by the reference man for a working year of two thousand hours under conditions of light work, results in an intake of one ALI. For purposes of these regulations, the condition of light work is an inhalation rate of 1.2 cubic meters of air per hour for two thousand hours in a year. DAC values are given in WAC 246-221-290.
(34) "Derived air concentration-hour" (DAC-hour) means the product of the concentration of radioactive material in air, expressed as a fraction or multiple of the derived air concentration for each radionuclide, and the time of exposure to that radionuclide, in hours. A licensee or registrant may take two thousand DAC-hours to represent one ALI, equivalent to a committed effective dose equivalent of 0.05 Sv (5 rem).
(35) "Disposable respirator" means a respirator for which maintenance is not intended and that is designed to be discarded after excessive breathing resistance, sorbent exhaustion, physical damage, or end-of-service-life renders it unsuitable for use. Examples of this type of respirator are a disposable half-mask respirator or a disposable escape-only self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
(36) "Dose" is a generic term that means absorbed dose, dose equivalent, effective dose equivalent, committed dose equivalent, committed effective dose equivalent, total organ dose equivalent, or total effective dose equivalent. For purposes of these regulations, "radiation dose" is an equivalent term.
(37) "Dose commitment" means the total radiation dose to a part of the body that will result from retention in the body of radioactive material. For purposes of estimating the dose commitment, it is assumed that from the time of intake the period of exposure to retained material will not exceed fifty years.
(38) "Dose equivalent" (HT) means the product of the absorbed dose in tissue, quality factor, and all other necessary modifying factors at the location of interest. The units of dose equivalent are the sievert (Sv) and rem.
(39) "Dose limits" means the permissible upper bounds of radiation doses established in accordance with these regulations. For purposes of these regulations, "limits" is an equivalent term.
(40) "Dosimetry processor" means a person that processes and evaluates individual monitoring devices in order to determine the radiation dose delivered to the monitoring devices.
(41) "dpm" means disintegrations per minute. See also "curie."
(42) "Effective dose equivalent" (HE) means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to each organ or tissue (HT) and the weighting factor (wT) applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated (HE = &Sgr; wTHT).
(43) "Embryo/fetus" means the developing human organism from conception until the time of birth.
(44) "Entrance or access point" means any opening through which an individual or extremity of an individual could gain access to radiation areas or to licensed radioactive materials. This includes entry or exit portals of sufficient size to permit human entry, without respect to their intended use.
(45) "Exposure" means (a) being exposed to ionizing radiation or to radioactive material, or (b) the quotient of &Dgr;Q by &Dgr;m where "&Dgr;Q" is the absolute value of the total charge of the ions of one sign produced in air when all the electrons (negatrons and positrons) liberated by photons in a volume element of air having mass "&Dgr;m" are completely stopped in air. The special unit of exposure is the roentgen (R) and the SI equivalent is the coulomb per kilogram. One roentgen is equal to 2.58 x 10-4 coulomb per kilogram of air.
(46) "Exposure rate" means the exposure per unit of time, such as roentgen per minute and milliroentgen per hour.
(47) "External dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from any source of radiation outside the body.
(48) "Extremity" means hand, elbow, arm below the elbow, foot, knee, and leg below the knee.
(49) "Filtering facepiece" (dust mask) means a negative pressure particulate respirator with a filter as an integral part of the facepiece or with the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium, not equipped with elastomeric sealing surfaces and adjustable straps.
(50) "Fit factor" means a quantitative estimate of the fit of a particular respirator to a specific individual, and typically estimates the ratio of the concentration of a substance in ambient air to its concentration inside the respirator when worn.
(51) "Fit test" means the use of a protocol to qualitatively or quantitatively evaluate the fit of a respirator on an individual.
(52) "Former United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) or United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed facilities" means nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, uranium enrichment plants, or critical mass experimental facilities where AEC or NRC licenses have been terminated.
(53) "Generally applicable environmental radiation standards" means standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, that impose limits on radiation exposures or levels, or concentrations or quantities of radioactive material, in the general environment outside the boundaries of locations under the control of persons possessing or using radioactive material.
(54) "Gray" (Gy) means the SI unit of absorbed dose. One gray is equal to an absorbed dose of 1 joule/kilogram (100 rad).
(55) "Healing arts" means the disciplines of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, and veterinary medicine.
(56) "Helmet" means a rigid respiratory inlet covering that also provides head protection against impact and penetration.
(57) "High radiation area" means any area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation sources external to the body could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 1 mSv (0.1 rem) in one hour at 30 centimeters from any source of radiation or 30 centimeters from any surface that the radiation penetrates. For purposes of these regulations, rooms or areas in which diagnostic X-ray systems are used for healing arts purposes are not considered high radiation areas.
(58) "Hood" means a respiratory inlet covering that completely covers the head and neck and may also cover portions of the shoulders and torso.
(59) "Human use" means the intentional internal or external administration of radiation or radioactive material to human beings.
(60) "Immediate" or "immediately" means as soon as possible but no later than four hours after the initiating condition.
(61) "IND" means investigatory new drug for which an exemption has been claimed under the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (Title 21 CFR).
(62) "Individual" means any human being.
(63) "Individual monitoring" means the assessment of:
(a) Dose equivalent (i) by the use of individual monitoring devices or (ii) by the use of survey data; or
(b) Committed effective dose equivalent (i) by bioassay or (ii) by determination of the time-weighted air concentrations to which an individual has been exposed, that is, DAC-hours.
(64) "Individual monitoring devices" (individual monitoring equipment) means devices designed to be worn by a single individual for the assessment of dose equivalent such as film badges, thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), pocket ionization chambers, and personal ("lapel") air sampling devices.
(65) "Inspection" means an official examination or observation by the department including but not limited to, tests, surveys, and monitoring to determine compliance with rules, regulations, orders, requirements and conditions of the department.
(66) "Interlock" means a device arranged or connected such that the occurrence of an event or condition is required before a second event or condition can occur or continue to occur.
(67) "Internal dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radioactive material taken into the body.
(68) "Irretrievable source" means any sealed source containing licensed material which is pulled off or not connected to the wireline downhole and for which all reasonable effort at recovery, as determined by the department, has been expended.
(69) "Lens dose equivalent" (LDE) applies to the external exposure of the lens of the eye and is taken as the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 0.3 centimeters (300 mg/cm2).
(70) "License" means a license issued by the department in accordance with the regulations adopted by the department.
(71) "Licensed material" means radioactive material received, possessed, used, transferred, or disposed under a general or specific license issued by the department.
(72) "Licensee" means any person who is licensed by the department in accordance with these regulations and the act.
(73) "Licensing state" means any state with regulations equivalent to the suggested state regulations for control of radiation relating to, and an effective program for, the regulatory control of NARM and which has been granted final designation by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc.
(74) "Loose-fitting facepiece" means a respiratory inlet covering that is designed to form a partial seal with the face.
(75) "Lost or missing licensed material" means licensed material whose location is unknown. This definition includes licensed material that has been shipped but has not reached its planned destination and whose location cannot be readily traced in the transportation system.
(76) "Member of the public" means an individual except when the individual is receiving an occupational dose.
(77) "Minor" means an individual less than eighteen years of age.
(78) "Monitoring" means the measurement of radiation, radioactive material concentrations, surface area activities or quantities of radioactive material and the use of the results of these measurements to evaluate potential exposures and doses. For purposes of these regulations, radiation monitoring and radiation protection monitoring are equivalent terms.
(79) "NARM" means any naturally occurring or accelerator-produced radioactive material. It does not include by-product, source, or special nuclear material. For the purpose of meeting the definition of a Licensing State by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD), NARM refers only to discrete sources of NARM. Diffuse sources of NARM are excluded from consideration by the CRCPD for Licensing State designation purposes.
(80) "Natural radioactivity" means radioactivity of naturally occurring nuclides.
(81) "NDA" means a new drug application which has been submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(82) "Negative pressure respirator" (tight-fitting) means a respirator in which the air pressure inside the facepiece is negative during inhalation with respect to the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.
(83) "Nonstochastic effect" means a health effect, the severity of which varies with the dose and for which a threshold is believed to exist. Radiation-induced cataract formation is an example of a nonstochastic effect. For purposes of these regulations, a "deterministic effect" is an equivalent term.
(84) "Nuclear Regulatory Commission" (NRC) means the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.
(85) "Occupational dose" means the dose received by an individual in the course of employment in which the individual's assigned duties involve exposure to radiation or to radioactive material from licensed and unlicensed sources of radiation, whether in the possession of the licensee, registrant, or other person. Occupational dose does not include dose received: From background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released pursuant to chapters 246-239 and 246-240 WAC, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, or as a member of the public.
(86) "Ore refineries" means all processors of a radioactive material ore.
(87) "Particle accelerator" means any machine capable of accelerating electrons, protons, deuterons, or other charged particles in a vacuum and of discharging the resultant particulate or other radiation into a medium at energies usually in excess of 1 MeV.
(88) "Permittee" means a person who has applied for, and received, a valid site use permit for use of the low-level waste disposal facility at Hanford, Washington.
(89) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency, political subdivision of this state, any other state or political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of the foregoing, but shall not include federal government agencies.
(90) "Personal supervision" means supervision such that the supervisor is physically present at the facility and in such proximity that contact can be maintained and immediate assistance given as required.
(91) "Personnel monitoring equipment." See individual monitoring devices.
(92) "Pharmacist" means an individual licensed by this state to compound and dispense drugs, and poisons.
(93) "Physician" means an individual licensed by this state to prescribe and dispense drugs in the practice of medicine.
(94) "Planned special exposure" means an infrequent exposure to radiation, separate from and in addition to the annual occupational dose limits.
(95) "Positive pressure respirator" means a respirator in which the pressure inside the respiratory inlet covering exceeds the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.
(96) "Powered air-purifying respirator" (PAPR) means an air-purifying respirator that uses a blower to force the ambient air through air-purifying elements to the inlet covering.
(97) "Practitioner" means an individual licensed by the state in the practice of a healing art (i.e., physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, etc.).
(98) "Pressure demand respirator" means a positive pressure atmosphere-supplying respirator that admits breathing air to the facepiece when the positive pressure is reduced inside the facepiece by inhalation.
(99) "Public dose" means the dose received by a member of the public from exposure to sources of radiation under the licensee's or registrant's control or to radiation or radioactive material released by the licensee. Public dose does not include occupational dose or doses received from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released pursuant to chapters 246-239 and 246-240 WAC, or from voluntary participation in medical research programs.
(100) "Qualified expert" means an individual who has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department he/she has the knowledge, training, and experience to measure ionizing radiation, to evaluate safety techniques, and to advise regarding radiation protection needs. The department reserves the right to recognize the qualifications of an individual in specific areas of radiation protection.
(101) "Qualitative fit test" (QLFT) means a pass/fail fit test to assess the adequacy of respirator fit that relies on the individual's response to the test agent.
(102) "Quality factor" (Q) means the modifying factor, listed in Tables I and II, that is used to derive dose equivalent from absorbed dose.
| TABLE I | ||
| QUALITY FACTORS AND ABSORBED DOSE EQUIVALENCIES | ||
TYPE OF RADIATION |
Quality Factor (Q) |
Absorbed Dose
Equal to A Unit Dose Equivalenta |
| X, gamma, or beta
radiation and high-speed electrons |
1 | 1 |
| Alpha particles, multiple- charged particles, fission fragments and heavy particles of unknown charge |
20 | 0.05 |
| Neutrons of unknown energy | 10 | 0.1 |
| High-energy protons | 10 | 0.1 |
EQUIVALENT FOR MONOENERGETIC NEUTRONS Energy (MeV) (Q) Dose
Equivalentb (neutrons cm-2 rem-1) Dose
Equivalentb (neutrons cm-2 Sv-1) (103) "Quantitative fit test" (QNFT) means an assessment
of the adequacy of respirator fit by numerically measuring the
amount of leakage into the respirator. (104) "Quarter" means a period of time equal to
one-fourth of the year observed by the licensee, approximately
thirteen consecutive weeks, providing that the beginning of
the first quarter in a year coincides with the starting date
of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated in
consecutive quarters. (105) "Rad" means the special unit of absorbed dose. One
rad equals one-hundredth of a joule per kilogram of material;
for example, if tissue is the material of interest, then 1 rad
equals 100 ergs per gram of tissue. One rad is equal to an
absorbed dose of 100 erg/gram or 0.01 joule/kilogram (0.01
gray). (106) "Radiation" means alpha particles, beta particles,
gamma rays, X rays, neutrons, high-speed electrons, high-speed
protons, and other particles capable of producing ions. For
purposes of these regulations, ionizing radiation is an
equivalent term. Radiation, as used in these regulations,
does not include magnetic fields or nonionizing radiation,
such as radiowaves or microwaves, visible, infrared, or
ultraviolet light. (107) "Radiation area" means any area, accessible to
individuals, in which radiation levels could result in an
individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.05 mSv
(0.005 rem) in one hour at thirty centimeters from the source
of radiation or from any surface that the radiation
penetrates. (108) "Radiation machine" means any device capable of
producing ionizing radiation except those devices with
radioactive materials as the only source of radiation. (109) "Radiation safety officer" means an individual who
has the knowledge and responsibility to apply appropriate
radiation protection regulations and has been assigned such
responsibility by the licensee or registrant. (110) "Radiation source." See "Source of radiation." (111) "Radioactive material" means any material (solid,
liquid, or gas) which emits radiation spontaneously. (112) "Radioactive waste" means any radioactive material
which is no longer of use and intended for disposal or
treatment for the purposes of disposal. (113) "Radioactivity" means the transformation of
unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation. (114) "Reference man" means a hypothetical aggregation of
human physical and physiological characteristics determined by
international consensus. These characteristics may be used by
researchers and public health workers to standardize results
of experiments and to relate biological insult to a common
base. (115) "Registrable item" means any radiation machine
except those exempted by RCW 70.98.180 or exempted by the
department pursuant to the authority of RCW 70.98.080. (116) "Registrant" means any person who is registered by
the department or is legally obligated to register with the
department in accordance with these regulations and the act. (117) "Registration" means registration with the
department in accordance with the regulations adopted by the
department. (118) "Regulations of the United States Department of
Transportation" means the regulations in 49 CFR Parts 170-189,
14 CFR Part 103, and 46 CFR Part 146. (119) "Rem" means the special unit of any of the
quantities expressed as dose equivalent. The dose equivalent
in rem is equal to the absorbed dose in rad multiplied by the
quality factor (1 rem = 0.01 Sv). (120) "Research and development" means: (a) Theoretical
analysis, exploration, or experimentation; or (b) the
extension of investigative findings and theories of a
scientific or technical nature into practical application for
experimental and demonstration purposes, including the
experimental production and testing of models, devices,
equipment, materials, and processes. Research and development
does not include the internal or external administration of
radiation or radioactive material to human beings. (121) "Respiratory protective equipment" means an
apparatus, such as a respirator, used to reduce an
individual's intake of airborne radioactive materials. (122) "Restricted area" means any area to which access is
limited by the licensee or registrant for purposes of
protecting individuals against undue risks from exposure to
radiation and radioactive material. "Restricted area" shall
not include any areas used for residential quarters, although
a separate room or rooms in a residential building may be set
apart as a restricted area. (123) "Roentgen" (R) means the special unit of exposure. One roentgen equals 2.58 x 10-4 coulombs/kilogram of air. (124) "Sanitary sewerage" means a system of public sewers
for carrying off waste water and refuse, but excluding sewage
treatment facilities, septic tanks, and leach fields owned or
operated by the licensee or registrant. (125) "Sealed source" means any radioactive material that
is encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or the
escape of the radioactive material. (126) "Self-contained breathing apparatus" (SCBA) means
an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the breathing air
source is designed to be carried by the user. (127) "Shallow dose equivalent" (Hs), which applies to the
external exposure of the skin of the whole body or the skin of
an extremity, means the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of
0.007 centimeter (7 mg/cm2) (( (128) "SI" means an abbreviation of the International
System of Units. (129) "Sievert" means the SI unit of any of the
quantities expressed as dose equivalent. The dose equivalent
in sievert is equal to the absorbed dose in gray multiplied by
the quality factor (1 Sv = 100 rem). (130) "Site area emergency" means events may occur, are
in progress, or have occurred that could lead to a significant
release of radioactive material and that could require a
response by offsite response organizations to protect persons
offsite. (131) "Site boundary" means that line beyond which the
land or property is not owned, leased, or otherwise controlled
by the licensee or registrant. (132) "Source container" means a device in which
radioactive material is transported or stored. (133) "Source material" means: (a) Uranium or thorium,
or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form,
or (b) ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one
percent (0.05 percent) or more of (i) uranium, (ii) thorium,
or (iii) any combination thereof. Source material does not
include special nuclear material. (134) "Source material milling" means the extraction or
concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processing
primarily for its source material content. (135) "Source of radiation" means any radioactive
material, or any device or equipment emitting or capable of
producing ionizing radiation. (136) "Special nuclear material" means: (a) Plutonium, uranium-233, uranium enriched in the
isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material that
the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, pursuant to
the provisions of section 51 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended, determines to be special nuclear material, but
does not include source material; or (b) Any material artificially enriched in any of the
foregoing, but does not include source material. (137) "Special nuclear material in quantities not
sufficient to form a critical mass" means uranium enriched in
the isotope U-235 in quantities not exceeding three hundred
fifty grams of contained U-235; Uranium-233 in quantities not
exceeding two hundred grams; Plutonium in quantities not
exceeding two hundred grams; or any combination of them in
accordance with the following formula: For each kind of
special nuclear material, determine the ratio between the
quantity of that special nuclear material and the quantity
specified above for the same kind of special nuclear material.
The sum of such ratios for all of the kinds of special
nuclear material in combination shall not exceed "1" (i.e.,
unity). For example, the following quantities in combination
would not exceed the limitation and are within the formula: 350 200 200 (139) "Supplied-air respirator" (SAR) or "airline
respirator" means an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which
the source of breathing air is not designed to be carried by
the user. (140) "Survey" means an evaluation of the radiological
conditions and potential hazards incident to the production,
use, release, disposal, or presence of sources of radiation. When appropriate, such evaluation includes, but is not limited
to, tests, physical examinations, calculations and
measurements of levels of radiation or concentration of
radioactive material present. (141) "Test" means (a) the process of verifying
compliance with an applicable regulation, or (b) a method for
determining the characteristics or condition of sources of
radiation or components thereof. (142) "These regulations" mean all parts of the rules for
radiation protection of the state of Washington. (143) "Tight-fitting facepiece" means a respiratory inlet
covering that forms a complete seal with the face. (144) "Total effective dose equivalent" (TEDE) means the
sum of the deep dose equivalent for external exposures and the
committed effective dose equivalent for internal exposures. (145) "Total organ dose equivalent" (TODE) means the sum
of the deep dose equivalent and the committed dose equivalent
to the organ or tissue receiving the highest dose. (146) "United States Department of Energy" means the
Department of Energy established by Public Law 95-91, August
4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq., to the extent
that the department exercises functions formerly vested in the
United States Atomic Energy Commission, its chairman, members,
officers and components and transferred to the United States
Energy Research and Development Administration and to the
administrator thereof pursuant to sections 104 (b), (c) and
(d) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (Public Law
93-438, October 11, 1974, 88 Stat. 1233 at 1237, 42 U.S.C.
5814 effective January 19, 1975) and retransferred to the
Secretary of Energy pursuant to section 301(a) of the
Department of Energy Organization Act (Public Law 95-91,
August 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565 at 577-578, 42 U.S.C. 7151,
effective October 1, 1977). (147) "Unrefined and unprocessed ore" means ore in its
natural form prior to any processing, such as grinding,
roasting, beneficiating, or refining. (148) "Unrestricted area" (uncontrolled area) means any
area which is not a restricted area. Areas where the external
dose exceeds 2 mrem in any one hour or where the public dose,
taking into account occupancy factors, will exceed 100 mrem
total effective dose equivalent in any one year must be
restricted. (149) "User seal check" (fit check) means an action
conducted by the respirator user to determine if the
respirator is properly seated to the face. Examples include
negative pressure check, positive pressure check, irritant
smoke check, or isoamyl acetate check. (150) "Very high radiation area" means an area,
accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from
radiation sources external to the body could result in an
individual receiving an absorbed dose in excess of 5 Gy (500
rad) in one hour at one meter from a source of radiation or
one meter from any surface that the radiation penetrates. (151) "Waste handling licensees" mean persons licensed to
receive and store radioactive wastes prior to disposal and/or
persons licensed to dispose of radioactive waste. (152) "Week" means seven consecutive days starting on
Sunday. (153) "Weighting factor" wT for an organ or tissue (T)
means the proportion of the risk of stochastic effects
resulting from irradiation of that organ or tissue to the
total risk of stochastic effects when the whole body is
irradiated uniformly. For calculating the effective dose
equivalent, the values of wT are: Tissue wT (154) "Whole body" means, for purposes of external
exposure, head, trunk including male gonads, arms above the
elbow, or legs above the knee. (155) "Worker" means an individual engaged in activities
under a license or registration issued by the department and
controlled by a licensee or registrant but does not include
the licensee or registrant. Where the licensee or registrant
is an individual rather than one of the other legal entities
defined under "person," the radiation exposure limits for the
worker also apply to the individual who is the licensee or
registrant. If students of age eighteen years or older are
subjected routinely to work involving radiation, then the
students are considered to be workers. Individuals of less
than eighteen years of age shall meet the requirements of WAC 246-221-050. (156) "Working level" (WL) means any combination of
short-lived radon daughters in 1 liter of air that will result
in the ultimate emission of 1.3 x 105 MeV of potential alpha
particle energy. The short-lived radon daughters are -- for
radon-222: polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214, and
polonium-214; and for radon-220: polonium-216, lead-212,
bismuth-212, and polonium-212. (157) "Working level month" (WLM) means an exposure to
one working level for one hundred seventy hours -- two
thousand working hours per year divided by twelve months per
year is approximately equal to one hundred seventy hours per
month. (158) "Year" means the period of time beginning in
January used to determine compliance with the provisions of
these regulations. The licensee or registrant may change the
starting date of the year used to determine compliance by the
licensee or registrant provided that the change is made at the
beginning of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated
in consecutive years.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 01-05-110, §
246-220-010, filed 2/21/01, effective 3/24/01; 00-08-013, §
246-220-010, filed 3/24/00, effective 4/24/00; 99-15-105, §
246-220-010, filed 7/21/99, effective 8/21/99; 98-13-037, §
246-220-010, filed 6/8/98, effective 7/9/98; 95-01-108, §
246-220-010, filed 12/21/94, effective 1/21/95; 94-01-073, §
246-220-010, filed 12/9/93, effective 1/9/94. Statutory
Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 91-15-112 (Order
184), § 246-220-010, filed 7/24/91, effective 8/24/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121),
recodified as § 246-220-010, filed 12/27/90, effective
1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.080. 87-01-031
(Order 2450), § 402-12-050, filed 12/11/86; 83-19-050 (Order
2026), § 402-12-050, filed 9/16/83. Statutory Authority:
Chapter 70.121 RCW. 81-16-031 (Order 1683), § 402-12-050,
filed 7/28/81. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050.
81-01-011 (Order 1570), § 402-12-050, filed 12/8/80; Order
1095, § 402-12-050, filed 2/6/76; Order 708, § 402-12-050,
filed 8/24/72; Order 1, § 402-12-050, filed 7/2/71; Order 1, §
402-12-050, filed 1/8/69; Rules (part), filed 10/26/66.]
a
Absorbed dose in rad equal to 1 rem or the absorbed dose in gray equal to 1 Sv.
If it is more convenient to measure the neutron fluence rate
rather than to determine the neutron dose equivalent rate in
sievert per hour or rem per hour as required for Table I, then
0.01 Sv (1 rem) of neutron radiation of unknown energies may,
for purposes of these regulations, be assumed to result from a
total fluence of 25 million neutrons per square centimeter
incident upon the body. If sufficient information exists to
estimate the approximate energy distribution of the neutrons,
the licensee or registrant may use the fluence rate per unit
dose equivalent or the appropriate Q value from Table II to
convert a measured tissue dose in gray or rad to dose
equivalent in sievert or rem.TABLE II
MEAN QUALITY FACTORS, Q, AND FLUENCE PER UNIT DOSE
Neutron
Quality
Factora
Fluence per
Unit
Fluence per
Unit
(thermal) 2.5 x
10-8
2
980 x 106
980 x 108
1 x 10-7
2
980 x 106
980 x 108
1 x 10-6
2
810 x 106
810 x 108
1 x 10-5
2
810 x 106
810 x 108
1 x 10-4
2
840 x 106
840 x 108
1 x 10-3
2
980 x 106
980 x 108
1 x 10-2
2.5
1010 x 106
1010 x 108
1 x 10-1
7.5
170 x 106
170 x 108
5 x 10-1
11
39 x 106
39 x 108
1
11
27 x 106
27 x 108
2.5
9
29 x 106
29 x 108
5
8
23 x 106
23 x 108
7
7
24 x 106
24 x 108
10
6.5
24 x 106
24 x 108
14
7.5
17 x 106
17 x 108
20
8
16 x 106
16 x 108
40
7
14 x 106
14 x 108
60
5.5
16 x 106
16 x 108
1 x 102
4
20 x 106
20 x 108
2 x 102
3.5
19 x 106
19 x 108
3 x 102
3.5
16 x 106
16 x 108
4 x 102
3.5
14 x 106
14 x 108
a
Value of quality factor (Q) at the point where the dose equivalent is maximum in a 30-cm diameter cylinder
tissue-equivalent phantom.
b
Monoenergetic neutrons incident normally on a 30-cm diameter cylinder tissue-equivalent phantom.
averaged over an area of 1 square
centimeter)).175 (grams contained U-235)
+
50 (grams U-233)
+
50 (grams Pu)
< 1
(138) "Stochastic effect" means a health effect that
occurs randomly and for which the probability of the effect
occurring, rather than its severity, is assumed to be a linear
function of dose without threshold. Hereditary effects and
cancer incidence are examples of stochastic effects. For
purposes of these regulations, probabilistic effect is an
equivalent term.
ORGAN DOSE WEIGHTING FACTORS
Organ or
Gonads
0.25
Breast
0.15
Red bone marrow
0.12
Lung
0.12
Thyroid
0.03
Bone surfaces
0.03
Remainder
0.30a
Whole Body
1.00b
a
0.30 results form 0.06 for each of 5 "remainder” organs, excluding the skin and the lens of the eye, that receive
the highest doses.
b
For the purpose of weighting the external whole body dose, for adding it to the internal dose, a single weighting
factor, wT =1.0, has been specified. The use of other weighting factors for external exposure will be approved on
a case-by-case basis until such time as specific guidance is issued.
© Washington State Code Reviser's Office