N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 380-2.1
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024
Section 380-2.1 - General Definitions(a) The following terms have the following meanings when used in this Part. (1) 'Absorbed dose' means the energy imparted by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material. The units of absorbed dose are the rad and the gray (Gy).(2) 'Activity' is the rate of disintegration (transformation) or decay of radioactive material. The units of activity are the curie (Ci) and the becquerel (Bq).(3) 'Adult' means an individual 18 or more years of age.(4) 'Agreement state' means any state that has entered into an effective agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission pursuant to Section 274b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.(5) 'ALARA' (as low as reasonably achievable) means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits in this Part as is practical consistent with the purpose for which the action is undertaken, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to utilization of radioactive materials in the public interest.(6) '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 5 rems (0.05 Sv) or a committed dose equivalent of 50 rems (0.5 Sv) to any individual organ or tissue. (ALI values for intake by ingestion and by inhalation of selected radionuclides are given in Table I, Columns 1 and 2, of section 380-11.7 of this Part).(7) 'Applicant' means the person applying for a permit issued pursuant to this Part.(8) '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 global fallout as it exists in the environment from the testing of nuclear explosive devices or from nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl that are not under the control of the licensee. "Background radiation" does not include radiation from source, byproduct, or special nuclear material regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the State, or another agreement state.(9) 'Biological material' means material derived from living organisms.(10) 'Class' (or lung class or inhalation 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 10 days, for Class W (Weeks) from 10 to 100 days, and for Class Y (Years) of greater than 100 days.(11) 'Collective dose' is 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.(12) '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 50-year period following the intake.(13) '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 these organs or tissues (HE,50 = [SIGMA]WTHT,50).(14) 'Constraint' (or dose constraint) means a value above which specified permittee actions are required.(15) 'Deep-dose equivalent' (Hd), which applies to external whole-body exposure, is the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 cm (1000 mg/cm2).(16) 'Department' means the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Newly renumbered paragraphs 380-2.1(a)(17) and (19) are amended to tread as follows:(17) '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 2,000 hours under conditions of light work (inhalation rate 1.2 cubic meters of air per hour), results in an intake of one ALI. DAC values are given in Table I, Column 3, in section 380-11.7 of this Part.(18) 'Derived air concentration-hour' (DAC-hour) is 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 may take 2,000 DAC-hours to represent one ALI, equivalent to a committed effective dose equivalent of 5 rems (0.05 Sv).(19) 'Discharge' means a release of material to the ground or surface water of the State.(20) 'Disposal' means the act of discarding regulated radioactive material. Depositing or injecting radioactive material in the environment is disposal unless the radioactive material is being used in the environment, as authorized by a permit issued under section 380-3.1 of this Part.(21) 'Dose' (or radiation dose) is a generic term that means absorbed dose, dose equivalent, effective dose equivalent, committed dose equivalent, committed effective dose equivalent, or total effective dose equivalent, as defined in section 380-2.3 of this Subpart.(22) '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 rem and sievert (Sv). Rem is the special unit and sievert is the SI unit used for any of the quantities expressed as dose equivalent.(23) 'Effective dose equivalent' (HE) is the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the organ or issue (HT) and the weighting factors (WT) applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated (He = [SIGMA]WTHT.(24) 'Effluent' means material released to the air or water.(25) 'Effluent treatment' means those processes designed to reduce the concentration of radionuclides in effluents to air or water that employ equipment permanently installed in the effluent duct or pipe. Effluent treatment does not include devices or procedures employed before the effluent enters the duct or pipe to reduce the concentration of radionuclide in the air or water entering the duct or pipe.(26) 'Emission' means a release of material to air.(27) 'Environmental Conservation Law' (or ECL) means Chapter 43-B of the Consolidated Laws of New York.(28) 'Exposure' means the quotient of dQ divided by dm where dQ 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 dm are completely stopped in air. The SI unit of exposure is the columb per kilogram (C/kg) (see section 380-2.2 of this Subpart).(29) 'External dose' means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radiation sources outside the body.(30) 'Extremities' means hand, elbow, arm below the elbow, foot, knee, and leg below the knee.(31) 'Gray' (see section 380-2.3 of this Subpart).(32) 'Incineration' means thermally breaking down waste in an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion to an ash residue that contains little or no combustible material as a method of disposal.(33) 'Individual' means any human being.(34) 'Inspection' means an official examination or observation including, but not limited to, records, tests, surveys, and monitoring to determine compliance with rules, regulations, orders, requirements, and conditions of the Department.(35) 'Internal dose' means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radioactive material taken into the body.(36) 'License' means a radioactive material license issued by the New York State Department of Health, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or licensing agency of an agreement state, authorizing the receipt, possession, use, transfer, or disposal of radioactive material.(37) 'Licensee' means the holder of a license.(38) 'Licensing agency' means the municipal, State, or Federal government agency authorized to issue radioactive material licenses.(39) 'Licensed material' means radioactive material subject to general or specific licensing and regulatory control by the New York State Department of Health, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or licensing agency of an agreement state.(40) 'Limits' (dose limits) means the permissible upper bounds of radiation doses.(41) 'Loss of control of radioactive material' means the loss of containment of radioactive material or radioactive material whose location is unknown which may result in the unauthorized disposal or release of radioactive material to the environment.(42) 'Member of the public' means any individual except when that individual is receiving an occupational dose.(43) 'Monitoring' (radiation monitoring, radiation protection monitoring) means the measurement of radiation levels, radioactive material concentrations, surface area concentrations, or quantities of radioactive material and the use of the results of these measurements to evaluate potential exposures and doses.(44) 'Nonstochastic effect' (deterministic 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.(45) 'NYCRR' means the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.(46) '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 and/or to radioactive material from licensed and unlicensed sources of radiation, whether in the possession of the licensee or other person. Occupational dose does not include doses received from background radiation, as a patient from medical practices, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, or as a member of the public.(47) 'Permit' means a radiation control permit issued pursuant to this Part authorizing the disposal or release of radioactive material to the environment, the use of radioactive materials in the environment, or the maintenance of a former radioactive waste land burial site. The permit identifies the approved action, includes any variances, and contains standards and conditions of performance for the action.(48) 'Permittee' means a person authorized to undertake an action regulated under a permit issued pursuant to this Part. Eligible permittees are owners, lessees, and operators at a site or facility.(49) 'Person' means: (i) Any individual, public, private, or government corporation, joint stock company, industry, partnership, co-partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, agency, department, or bureau of the State, or group, political subdivision of the State, any other State or political subdivision thereof, Federal government agencies other than the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or Department of Energy, any foreign government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation; and(ii) Any legal subsidiary, successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing, or any other legal entity whatsoever.(50) 'Public dose' means the dose received by a member of the public from exposure to radiation and/or radioactive material released into the environment by a person regulated under this Part, or to any other source of radiation under the control of a person regulated under this Part. It 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 in accordance with a radioactive materials license, or from voluntary participation in medical research programs.(51) 'Quality Factor' (Q) means the modifying factor (listed in Tables 1 and 2 of section 380-2.3(b) and (c) of this Subpart) that is used to derive dose equivalent from absorbed dose.(52) 'Rad' (see section 380-2.3 of this Subpart).(53) 'Radiation' (ionizing radiation) means alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, x-rays, neutrons, high-speed electrons, high-speed protons, and other particles capable of producing ions. Radiation, as used in this Part, does not include non-ionizing radiation, such as radiowaves or microwaves, or visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light.(54) 'Radioactive material' means any material (solid, liquid, or gas) which emits radiation spontaneously.(55) 'Radioactivity' means the transformation of unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation.(56) '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.(57) 'Release' means the introduction of material to the environment. Release includes all discharges and emissions.(58) 'Rem' (see section 380-2.3 of this Subpart).(59) 'Restricted area' means an area, access to which is limited by the licensee for the purpose of protecting individuals against undue risks from exposure to radiation and radioactive materials. Restricted area does not include areas used as residential quarters, but separate rooms in a residential building may be set apart as a restricted area.(60) 'Sanitary sewerage' means a system of public sewers for carrying off waste water and refuse, but excluding on-site waste water treatment facilities, septic tanks, and leach fields owned or operated by the licensee.(61) 'SI' is the abbreviation for the International System of Units.(62) 'Sievert' (see section 380-2.3 of this Subpart).(63) 'Stochastic effect' (probabilistic 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 function of dose without threshold. Hereditary effects and cancer incidence are examples of stochastic effects.(64) 'Survey' means an evaluation of the radiological conditions and potential hazards incident to the production, use, transfer, release, disposal, or presence of radioactive material or other sources of radiation. When appropriate, such an evaluation includes a physical survey of the location of radioactive material, and measurements, monitoring, or calculations of levels of radiation, concentrations, or quantities of radioactive material present.(65) 'Total effective dose equivalent' (TEDE) means the sum of the effective dose equivalent (for external exposures) and the committed effective dose equivalent (for internal exposures).(66) 'Technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material' (TENORM) means naturally occurring radioactive material whose radionuclide concentrations are increased by or as a result of past or present human practices, such as manufacturing or water processing.(67) 'Uncontrolled release' means a release of material to the environment that was unplanned, due to failure to secure radioactive material, equipment failure, human error, or a severe event such as fire, flood, or storm.(68) 'Unrestricted area' means an area, access to which is neither limited nor controlled by the licensee.(69) 'Week' means seven consecutive days.(70) 'Weighting factor (WT)' for an organ or tissue (T) is 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: ORGAN DOSE WEIGHTING FACTORS |
Organ or Tissue | Wt |
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 from 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.
(71) 'Whole body' means, for purposes of external exposure, head, trunk (including male gonads), arms above the elbow, or legs above the knee.(72) 'Year' means the period of time beginning in January used to determine compliance with the provisions of this Part. The permittee may change the starting date of the year used to determine compliance by the permit provided that the change is made at the beginning of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated in consecutive years.N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 380-2.1
Amended New York State Register April 25, 2018/Volume XL, Issue 17, eff. 5/10/2018