Wash. Admin. Code § 246-220-010

Current through Register Vol. 24-23, December 1, 2024

Section 246-220-010 - Definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms

The definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms in this section apply throughout chapters 246-220 through 246-254 WAC unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additional definitions used only in a certain chapter are included in that chapter.

(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 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, including any amendments thereto.

(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 18 or more years of age.

(6)"Agreement state" means any state with which the Atomic Energy Commission or the NRC has entered into an effective agreement under subsection 274b of the act. Nonagreement state means any other state.

(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 the 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)"ALARA" (as low as reasonably achievable or as low as is reasonably achievable) means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits in this chapter as is practical, consistent with the purpose for which the licensed activity 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 the benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to the utilization of nuclear energy and licensed materials in the public interest.

(11)"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 off-site response organizations to protect persons off-site.

(12)"ALI (annual limit on intake)" 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.

(13)"APF (assigned protection factor)" 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.

(14)"Atmosphere-supplying respirator" means a respirator that supplies the respirator user with breathing air from a source independent of the ambient atmosphere, and includes SARs and SCBA units.

(15)"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.

(16)"Bq (becquerel)" means the SI unit of activity. One becquerel is equal to 1 disintegration or transformation per second (s^-1).

(17)"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 rules, "radiobioassay" is an equivalent term.

(18)"By-product 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 using special nuclear material;

(b) The tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from ore processed primarily for its source material content, including discrete surface wastes resulting from uranium solution extraction processes. Underground ore bodies depleted by these solution extraction operations do not constitute "byproduct material" within this definition;

(c)

(i) Any discrete source of radium-226 that is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; or

(ii) Any material that:

(A) Has been made radioactive by use of a particle accelerator; and

(B) Is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; and

(d) Any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that:

(i) The NRC, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other appropriate federal agency, determines what would pose a threat similar to the threat posed by a discrete source of radium-226 to the public health and safety or the common defense and security; and

(ii) Before, on, or after August 8, 2005, is extracted or converted after extraction for use for in a commercial, medical, or research activity.

(19)"Calendar quarter" means at least 12 but no more than 14 consecutive weeks. The first calendar quarter of each year begins in January and subsequent calendar quarters shall be arranged so 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. A licensee or registrant may not change the method of determining calendar quarters for purposes of these rules.

(20)"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.

(21)"C.F.R." means Code of Federal Regulations.

(22)"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. For purposes of these rules, "lung class" and "inhalation class" are equivalent terms. For "class of waste" see WAC 246-249-040.

(23)"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.

(24)"Commencement of construction" means taking any action defined as construction or any other activity at the site of a facility subject to the regulations in this chapter that has a reasonable nexus to radiological health and safety.

(25)"Committed dose equivalent" (H_{T, 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.

(26)"Committed effective dose equivalent" (H_{E, 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 (H_{E, 50} = [SIGMA]w_T,H_{T, 50}).

(27)"Consortium" means an association of medical use licensees and a PET radionuclide production facility in the same geographical area that jointly own or share in the operation and maintenance cost of the PET radionuclide production facility that produces PET radionuclides for use in producing radioactive drugs within the consortium for noncommercial distributions among its associated members for medical use. The PET radionuclide production facility within the consortium must be located at an educational institution or a federal facility or a medical facility.

(28)"Constraint" or dose constraint means a value above which specified licensee actions are required.

(29)"Construction" means the installation of foundations, or in-place assembly, erection, fabrication, or testing for any structure, system, or component of a facility or activity subject to the requirements in chapters 246-220 through 246-254 WAC that are related to radiological safety or security. The term construction does not include:

(a) Changes for temporary use of the land for public recreational purposes;

(b) Site exploration, including necessary borings to determine foundation conditions or other preconstruction monitoring to establish background information related to the suitability of the site, the environmental impacts of construction or operation, or the protection of environmental values;

(c) Preparation of the site for construction of the facility, including clearing of the site, grading, installation of drainage, erosion and other environmental mitigation measures, and construction of temporary roads and borrow areas;

(d) Erection of fences and other access control measures that are not related to the safe use of, or security of, radiological materials;

(e) Excavation;

(f) Erection of support buildings (e.g., construction equipment storage sheds, warehouse and shop facilities, utilities, concrete mixing plants, docking and unloading facilities, and office buildings) for use in connection with the construction of the facility;

(g) Building of service facilities (e.g., paved roads, parking lots, railroad spurs, exterior utility and lighting systems, potable water systems, sanitary sewerage treatment facilities, and transmission lines);

(h) Procurement or fabrication of components or portions of the proposed facility occurring at other than the final in-place location at the facility; or

(i) Taking any other action that has no reasonable nexus to radiological health and safety.

(30)"Controlled area." See "Restricted area."

(31)"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).

(32)"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.

(33)"Deep dose equivalent" (H_d), which applies to external whole body exposure, means the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 centimeter (1000 mg/cm²).

(34)"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.

(35)"Department" means the Washington state department of health, which has been designated as the state radiation control agency under chapter 70A.388 RCW.

(36)"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.

(37)"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, results in an intake of one ALI. For purposes of these rules, the condition of light work is an inhalation rate of 1.2 cubic meters of air per hour for 2,000 hours in a year. DAC values are given in WAC 246-221-290.

(38)"DAC-hour (derived air concentration-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 2,000 DAC-hours to represent one ALI, equivalent to a committed effective dose equivalent of 0.05 Sv (5 rem).

(39)"Discrete source" means a radionuclide that has been processed so that its concentration within a material has been purposely increased for use for commercial, medical or research activities.

(40)"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).

(41)"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 rules, "radiation dose" is an equivalent term.

(42)"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 50 years.

(43)"Dose equivalent" (H_T) 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.

(44)"Dose limits" means the permissible upper bounds of radiation doses established in accordance with these rules. For purposes of these rules, "limits" is an equivalent term.

(45)"Dosimetry processor" means a person that processes and evaluates individual monitoring devices in order to determine the radiation dose delivered to the monitoring devices.

(46)"dpm" means disintegrations per minute. See also "curie."

(47)"Effective dose equivalent" (H_E) means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to each organ or tissue (H_T) and the weighting factor (w_T) applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated (H_E = [SIGMA]w_TH_T).

(48)"Embryo/fetus" means the developing human organism from conception until the time of birth.

(49)"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.

(50)"Exposure" means

(a) being exposed to ionizing radiation or to radioactive material, or

(b) the quotient of dQ 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 special unit of exposure is the roentgen (R) and the SI equivalent is the coulomb per kilogram (c/kg). One roentgen is equal to 2.58 x 10^-4 coulomb per kilogram of air.

(51)"Exposure rate" means the exposure per unit of time, such as roentgen per minute and milliroentgen per hour.

(52)"External dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from any source of radiation outside the body.

(53)"Extremity" means hand, elbow, arm below the elbow, foot, knee, and leg below the knee.

(54)"Filtering facepiece" (dust mask) means a negative pressure particulate respirator with a filter as an integral part of the face-piece or with the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium, not equipped with elastomeric sealing surfaces and adjustable straps.

(55)"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.

(56)"Fit test" means the use of a protocol to qualitatively or quantitatively evaluate the fit of a respirator on an individual.

(57)"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.

(58)"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.

(59)"Gray" (Gy) means the SI unit of absorbed dose. One gray is equal to an absorbed dose of 1 joule/kilogram (100 rad).

(60)"Healing arts" means the disciplines of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, and veterinary medicine.

(61)"Helmet" means a rigid respiratory inlet covering that also provides head protection against impact and penetration.

(62)"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 rules, rooms or areas in which diagnostic X-ray systems are used for healing arts purposes are not considered high radiation areas.

(63)"Hood" means a respiratory inlet covering that completely covers the head and neck and may also cover portions of the shoulders and torso.

(64)"Human use" means the intentional internal or external administration of radiation or radioactive material to human beings.

(65)"Immediate" or "immediately" means as soon as possible but no later than four hours after the initiating condition.

(66)"IND" means investigatory new drug for which an exemption has been claimed under the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (Title 21 C.F.R.).

(67)"Individual" means any human being.

(68)"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.

(69)"Individual monitoring devices" (individual monitoring equipment) means devices designed to be worn by a single individual for the assessment of dose equivalent e.g., as film badges, thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), pocket ionization chambers, and personal ("lapel") air sampling devices.

(70)"Inspection" means an official examination or observation by the department including, but not limited to, tests, surveys, and monitoring to determine compliance with rules, orders, requirements and conditions of the department.

(71)"Interlock" means a device arranged or connected so that the occurrence of an event or condition is required before a second event or condition can occur or continue to occur.

(72)"Internal dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radioactive material taken into the body.

(73)"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.

(74)"LDE (lens dose equivalent)" 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).

(75)"License" means a license issued by the department.

(76)"Licensed material" means radioactive material received, possessed, used, transferred, or disposed under a general or specific license issued by the department.

(77)"Licensee" means any person who is licensed by the department under chapter 70A.388 RCW.

(78)"Loose-fitting facepiece" means a respiratory inlet covering that is designed to form a partial seal with the face.

(79)"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.

(80)"Member of the public" means an individual except when the individual is receiving an occupational dose.

(81)"Minor" means an individual less than 18 years of age.

(82)"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 rules, radiation monitoring and radiation protection monitoring are equivalent terms.

(83)"NARM" means any naturally occurring or accelerator-produced radioactive material. It does not include by-product, source, or special nuclear material.

(84)"Nationally tracked source" means a sealed source containing a quantity equal to or greater than Category 1 or Category 2 levels of any radioactive material listed in WAC 246-221-236. In this context a sealed source is defined as radioactive material that is sealed in a capsule or closely bonded, in a solid form and which is not exempt from regulatory control. It does not mean material encapsulated solely for disposal, or nuclear material contained in any fuel assembly, sub-assembly, fuel rod, or fuel pellet. Category 1 nationally tracked sources are those containing radioactive material at a quantity equal to or greater than the Category 1 threshold. Category 2 nationally tracked sources are those containing radioactive material at a quantity equal to or greater than the Category 2 threshold but less than the Category 1 threshold.

(85)"Natural radioactivity" means radioactivity of naturally occurring nuclides.

(86)"NDA" means a new drug application which has been submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration.

(87)"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.

(88)"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 rules, a "deterministic effect" is an equivalent term.

(89)"NRC" means the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(90)"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 under chapter 246-240 WAC, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, or as a member of the public.

(91)"Ore refineries" means all processors of a radioactive material ore.

(92)"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. For purposes of this definition, "accelerator" is an equivalent term.

(93)"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.

(94)"Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of the foregoing.

(95)"Personal supervision" means supervision where the supervisor is physically present at the facility and in sufficient proximity that contact can be maintained and immediate assistance given as required.

(96)"Personnel monitoring equipment." See individual monitoring devices.

(97)"PET" means positron emission tomography.

(98)"Pharmacist" means an individual licensed by this state to compound and dispense drugs, and poisons.

(99)"Physician" means a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy licensed by this state to prescribe and dispense drugs in the practice of medicine.

(100)"Planned special exposure" means an infrequent exposure to radiation, separate from and in addition to the annual occupational dose limits.

(101)"Positive pressure respirator" means a respirator in which the pressure inside the respiratory inlet covering exceeds the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.

(102)"PAPR (powered air-purifying respirator)" means an air-purifying respirator that uses a blower to force the ambient air through air-purifying elements to the inlet covering.

(103)"Practitioner" means an individual licensed by the state for the practice of a healing art (i.e., physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, etc.).

(104)"Pressure demand respirator" means a positive pressure atmosphere-supplying respirator that admits breathing air to the face-piece when the positive pressure is reduced inside the facepiece by inhalation.

(105)"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 under chapter 246-240 WAC, or from voluntary participation in medical research programs.

(106)"Qualified expert" means an individual who has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department 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.

(107)"QLFT (qualitative fit test)" means a pass/fail fit test to assess the adequacy of respirator fit which relies on the individual's response to the test agent.

(108)"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

^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 rules, 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 EQUIVALENT FOR MONOENERGETIC NEUTRONS

Neutron Energy (MeV)	Quality Factora (Q)	Fluence per Unit Dose Equivalentb (neutrons cm-2 rem-1)	Fluence per Unit Dose Equivalentb (neutrons cm-2 Sv-1)
(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.

(109)"QNFT (quantitative fit test)" means an assessment of the adequacy of respirator fit by numerically measuring the amount of leakage into the respirator.

(110)"Quarter" means a period of time equal to one-fourth of the year observed by the licensee, approximately 13 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.

(111)"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).

(112)"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 rules: Radiation does not include magnetic fields or nonionizing radiation, such as radiowaves or microwaves, visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light; and ionizing radiation is an equivalent term.

(113)"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 30 centimeters from the source of radiation or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

(114)"Radiation machine" means any device capable of producing ionizing radiation except those devices with radioactive material as the only source of radiation.

(115)"Radiation safety officer" means an individual who has the knowledge and responsibility to apply appropriate radiation protection rules and has been assigned that responsibility by the licensee or registrant.

(116)"Radiation source." See "Source of radiation."

(117)"Radioactive material" means any material (solid, liquid, or gas) which emits radiation spontaneously.

(118)"Radioactive waste" means any radioactive material which is no longer of use and intended for disposal or treatment for the purposes of disposal.

(119)"Radioactivity" means the transformation of unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation.

(120)"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 in-sult to a common base.

(121)"Registrable item" means any radiation-producing machine except those exempted by RCW 70A.388.200 or exempted by the department under the authority of RCW 70A.388.050.

(122)"Registrant" means any person who is registered by the department or is legally obligated to register with the department in accordance with these rules and the act.

(123)"Registration" means registration with the department in accordance with the rules adopted by the department.

(124)"Regulations of the United States Department of Transportation" means the regulations in 49 C.F.R. Parts 170-189, 14 C.F.R. Part 103, and 46 C.F.R. Part 146.

(125)"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).

(126)"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.

(127)"Respiratory protective equipment" means an apparatus, such as a respirator, used to reduce an individual's intake of airborne radioactive materials.

(128)"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" does 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.

(129)"Roentgen" (R) means the special unit of exposure. One roentgen equals 2.58 x 10^-4 coulombs/kilogram of air.

(130)"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.

(131)"Sealed source" means any radioactive material that is encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or the escape of the radioactive material.

(132)"SEPA" means the State Environmental Policy Act under chapter 43.21C RCW.

(133)"SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus)" means an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the breathing air source is designed to be carried by the user.

(134)"Shallow dose equivalent" (H_s), 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).

(135)"SI" means an abbreviation of the International System of Units.

(136)"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).

(137)"Site area emergency" means events which 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 off-site response organizations to protect persons off-site.

(138)"Site boundary" means that line beyond which the land or property is not owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the licensee or registrant.

(139)"Source container" means a device in which radioactive material is transported or stored.

(140)"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 uranium, thorium, or any combination thereof. Source material does not include special nuclear material.

(141)"Source material milling" means the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processing primarily for its source material content.

(142)"Source of radiation" means any radioactive material, or any device or equipment emitting or capable of producing ionizing radiation.

(143)"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 NRC, under 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.

(144)"Special nuclear material in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass" means uranium enriched in the isotope U-235 in quantities not exceeding 350 grams of contained U-235; uranium-233 in quantities not exceeding 200 grams; plutonium in quantities not exceeding 200 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 the 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:

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(145)"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 rules, probabilistic effect is an equivalent term.

(146)"SAR (supplied-air respirator)" or "airline respirator" means an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the source of breathing air is not designed to be carried by the user.

(147)"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, the evaluation includes, but is not limited to, tests, physical examinations, calculations and measurements of levels of radiation or concentration of radioactive material present.

(148)"Test" means

(a) the process of verifying compliance with an applicable rule, or

(b) a method for determining the characteristics or condition of sources of radiation or components thereof.

(149)"These rules" mean all parts of the rules for radiation protection of the state of Washington.

(150)"Tight-fitting facepiece" means a respiratory inlet covering that forms a complete seal with the face.

(151)"TEDE (total effective dose equivalent)" means the sum of the effective dose equivalent for external exposures and the committed effective dose equivalent for internal exposures.

(152)"TODE (total organ dose equivalent)" means the sum of the deep dose equivalent and the committed dose equivalent to the organ or tissue receiving the highest dose.

(153)"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 under 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 under 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).

(154)"Unrefined and unprocessed ore" means ore in its natural form prior to any processing, such as grinding, roasting or beneficiating, or refining. Processing does not include sieving or encapsulation of ore, or preparation of samples for laboratory analysis.

(155)"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.

(156)"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.

(157)"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.

(158)"Waste" means those low-level radioactive wastes containing source, special nuclear or by-product material that are acceptable for disposal in a land disposal facility. For purposes of this definition, low-level radioactive waste means radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or by-product material as defined in subsection (17)(b), (c), and (d) of the definition of by-product material in this section.

(159)"Waste handling licensees" mean persons licensed to receive and store radioactive wastes prior to disposal or persons licensed to dispose of radioactive waste.

(160)"Week" means seven consecutive days starting on Sunday.

(161)"Weighting factor" w_T 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 w_T 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 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, w_T =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.

(162)"Whole body" means, for purposes of external exposure, head, trunk including male gonads, arms above the elbow, or legs above the knee.

(163)"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 18 years or older are subjected routinely to work involving radiation, then the students are considered to be workers. Individuals of less than 18 years of age shall meet the requirements of WAC 246-221-050.

(164)"WL (working level)" 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.

(165)"WLM (working level month)" means an exposure to one working level for 170 hours - 2,000 working hours per year divided by 12 months per year is approximately equal to 170 hours per month.

(166)"Year" means the period of time beginning in January used to determine compliance with the provisions of these rules. 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.

Wash. Admin. Code § 246-220-010

Amended by WSR 14-01-077, filed 12/16/13, effective 1/16/2014

Amended by WSR 15-06-015, Filed 2/23/2015, effective 3/26/2015

Amended by WSR 16-13-054, Filed 6/10/2016, effective 7/11/2016

Amended by WSR 22-07-025, Filed 3/9/2022, effective 4/9/2022

Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 11-03-020, § 246-220-010, filed 1/7/11, effective 2/7/11; 09-06-003, § 246-220-010, filed 2/18/09, effective 3/21/09. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 06-05-019, § 246-220-010, filed 2/6/06, effective 3/9/06; 04-23-093, § 246-220-010, filed 11/17/04, effective 12/18/04; 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.