Wash. Admin. Code § 246-249-010

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

Section 246-249-010 - Definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Broker" means a person who performs one or more of the following functions for a radioactive waste generator:

(a) Arranges for transportation of the radioactive waste;

(b) Collects and/or consolidates shipments of radioactive waste (waste collector);

(c) Processes radioactive waste in some manner, not including carriers whose sole function is to transport radioactive waste (waste processor).

(2) "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 by-product 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 Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 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 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 in a commercial, medical, or research activity.

(3) "Chelating agent" means amine polycarboxylic acids (e.g., EDTA, DTPA), hydroxy-carboxylic acids, and polycarboxylic acids (e.g., citric acid, carbolic acid, and glucinic acid).

(4) "Chemical description" means a description of the principal chemical characteristics of a radioactive waste.

(5) "Computer-readable medium" means the regulatory agency's computer can transfer the information from the medium into its memory.

(6) "Consignee" means the designated receiver of the shipment of radioactive waste.

(7) "Decontamination facility" means a facility operating under a commission or agreement state license whose principal purpose is decontamination of equipment or materials to accomplish recycle, reuse, or other waste management objectives, and, for purposes of this section, is not considered to be a consignee for radioactive waste shipments.

(8) "Disposal container" means a container principally used to confine radioactive waste during disposal operations at a land disposal facility (also see "high integrity container"). Note that for some shipments, the disposal container may be the transport package.

(9) "EPA identification number" means the number assigned by the EPA administrator under 40 C.F.R. Part 263.

(10) "Generator" means any entity including a licensee operating under a commission or agreement state license who:

(a) Is a waste generator as defined in this part; or

(b) Is the entity or licensee to whom waste can be attributed within the context of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (e.g., waste generated as a result of decontamination or recycle activities).

(11) "High integrity container (HIC)" means a container commonly designed to meet the structural stability requirements of this chapter, and to meet department of transportation Type A package requirements.

(12) "Land disposal facility" means the land, buildings, and equipment which are intended to be used for the disposal of radioactive wastes. For the purposes of this chapter, a land disposal facility does not include a geologic repository.

(13) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, truck, tractor, semi-trailer, or trailer (or any permitted combination of these), driven by mechanical power and used upon the highways to carry property.

(14) "Motor common carrier" means a person holding itself out to the general public to provide motor vehicle transportation for compensation over regular or irregular routes, or both.

(15) "Motor contract carrier" means a person other than a common carrier providing motor vehicle transportation of property for compensation under continuing agreements with one or more persons.

(16) "Motor private carrier" means a person, other than a motor carrier, transporting property by motor vehicle when the person is the owner, lessee, or bailee of the property being transported; and the property is being transported for sale, lease, rent, or bailment, or to further a commercial enterprise.

(17) "Motor carrier" means a motor common carrier and a motor contract carrier.

(18) "Naturally occurring and accelerator produced material" (NARM) means any radioactive material of natural or accelerator origin; but does not include by-product, source or special nuclear material. Diffuse NARM is low activity NARM that has less than 2 nCi/g of 226-Ra.

(19) "NRC Forms 540, 540A, 541, 541A, 542, and 542A" are official NRC Forms referenced in this section. Licensees need not use originals of these NRC Forms as long as any substitute forms are equivalent to the original documentation in respect to content, clarity, size, and location of information. Upon agreement between the shipper and consignee, NRC Forms 541 (and 541A) and NRC Forms 542 (and 542A) may be completed, transmitted, and stored in electronic media. The electronic media must have the capability for producing legible, accurate, and complete records in the format of the uniform manifest.

(20) "Package" means the assembly of components necessary to ensure compliance with the packaging requirements of DOT regulations, together with its radioactive contents, as presented for transport.

(21) "Physical description" means the items on NRC Form 541 that describe a radioactive waste.

(22) "Radioactive waste" means either or both low-level radioactive waste and naturally occurring and accelerator produced radioactive material.

(23) "Residual waste" means radioactive waste resulting from processing or decontamination activities that cannot be easily separated into distinct batches attributable to specific waste generators. This waste is attributable to the processor or decontamination facility, as applicable.

(24) "Rollover volume" means the difference, in a calendar year, between the volume of NARM disposed at the disposal site and the site volume limit set forth under WAC 246-249-080(4).

(25) "Shipper" means the licensed entity (i.e., the waste generator, waste collector, or waste processor) who offers radioactive waste for transportation, typically consigning this type of waste to a licensed waste collector, waste processor, or land disposal facility operator.

(26) "Shipment" means the total radioactive waste material transported in one motor vehicle.

(27) "Shipping paper" means NRC Form 540 and, if required, NRC Form 540A which includes the information required by DOT in 49 C.F.R. Part 172.

(28) "Transuranic waste" means material contaminated with elements that have an atomic number greater than 92.

(29) "Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest or uniform manifest" means the combination of NRC Forms 540, 541, and, if necessary, 542, and their respective continuation sheets as needed, or equivalent.

(30) "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 the 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 WAC 246-249-010(2)(b), (c), and (d).

(31) "Waste collector" means an entity, operating under a commission or agreement state license, whose principal purpose is to collect and consolidate waste generated by others, and to transfer this waste, without processing or repackaging the collected waste, to another licensed waste collector, licensed waste processor, or licensed land disposal facility.

(32) "Waste description" means the physical, chemical and radiological description of a radioactive waste as called for on NRC Form 541.

(33) "Waste generator" means an entity, operating under a commission or agreement state license, who:

(a) Possesses any material or component that contains radioactivity or is radioactively contaminated for which the licensee foresees no further use; and

(b) Transfers this material or component to a licensed land disposal facility or to a licensed waste collector or processor for handling or treatment prior to disposal.

A licensee performing processing or decontamination services may be a "waste generator" if the transfer of radioactive waste from its facility is defined as "residual waste."

(34) "Waste processor" means an entity, operating under a commission or agreement state license, whose principal purpose is to process, repackage, or otherwise treat radioactive material or waste generated by others prior to eventual transfer of waste to a licensed low-level radioactive waste land disposal facility.

(35) "Waste type" means a waste within a disposal container having a unique physical description (i.e., a specific waste descriptor code or description; or a waste sorbed on or solidified or stabilized in a specifically defined media).

Wash. Admin. Code § 246-249-010

Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 11-03-020, § 246-249-010, filed 1/7/11, effective 2/7/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050. 05-21-128, 05-23-113 and 06-01-105, § 246-249-010, filed 10/19/05, 11/18/05 and 12/21/05, effective 8/15/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 98-09-117, § 246-249-010, filed 4/22/98, effective 5/23/98; 91-16-109 (Order 187), § 246-249-010, filed 8/7/91, effective 9/7/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121), recodified as § 246-249-010, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.080. 87-01-031 (Order 2450), § 402-62-020, filed 12/11/86.