§ 20.1003 - Definitions.

§ 20.1003 Definitions.

As used in this part:

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).

Accelerator-produced radioactive material means any material made radioactive by a particle accelerator.

Act means the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), as amended.

Activity is the rate of disintegration (transformation) or decay of radioactive material. The units of activity are the curie (Ci) and the becquerel (Bq).

Adult means an individual 18 or more years of age.

Airborne radioactive material means radioactive material dispersed in the air in the form of dusts, fumes, particulates, mists, vapors, or gases.

Airborne radioactivity area means a room, enclosure, or area in which airborne radioactive materials, composed wholly or partly of licensed material, exist in concentrations -

(1) In excess of the derived air concentrations (DACs) specified in appendix B, to §§ 20.1001-20.2401, or

(2) 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 12 DAC-hours.

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.

ALARA (acronym for “as low as is 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 licensed activity is undertaken, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to 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 nuclear energy and licensed materials in the public interest.

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 1, columns 1 and 2, of appendix B to §§ 20.1001-20.2401).

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.

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.

Background radiation means radiation from cosmic sources; naturally occurring radioactive material, 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 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 radiation from source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials regulated by the Commission.

Bioassay (radiobioassay) 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.

Byproduct material means -

(1) 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;

(2) 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;

(3)

(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

(4) Any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that -

(i) The 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.

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.

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.

Commission means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.

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.

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 these organs or tissues (H_E,50 = Σ w_T H_T,50).

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

Controlled area means an area, outside of a restricted area but inside the site boundary, access to which can be limited by the licensee for any reason.

Critical Group means the group of individuals reasonably expected to receive the greatest exposure to residual radioactivity for any applicable set of circumstances.

Declared pregnant woman means a woman who has voluntarily informed the licensee, 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.

Decommission means to remove a facility or site safely from service and reduce residual radioactivity to a level that permits -

(1) Release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of the license; or

(2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and the termination of the license.

Deep-dose equivalent (H_d), which applies to external whole-body exposure, is the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 cm (1000 mg/cm²).

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.

Department means the Department of Energy established by the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) to the extent that the Department, or its duly authorized representatives, exercises functions formerly vested in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, its Chairman, members, officers, and components and transferred to the U.S. 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 (Pub. L. 93-438, 88 Stat. 1233 at 1237, 42 U.S.C. 5814) and retransferred to the Secretary of Energy pursuant to section 301(a) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 91 Stat 565 at 577-578, 42 U.S.C. 7151).

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 1, column 3, of appendix B to §§ 20.1001-20.2401.

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).

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.

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).

Distinguishable from background means that the detectable concentration of a radionuclide is statistically different from the background concentration of that radionuclide in the vicinity of the site or, in the case of structures, in similar materials using adequate measurement technology, survey, and statistical techniques.

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 other paragraphs of this section.

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 rem and sievert (Sv).

Dosimetry processor means an individual or organization that processes and evaluates individual monitoring equipment in order to determine the radiation dose delivered to the equipment.

Effective dose equivalent (H_E) is the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the organ or tissue (H_T) and the weighting factors (w_T) applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated (H_E = Σ w_T H_T).

Embryo/fetus means the developing human organism from conception until the time of birth.

Entrance or access point means any location through which an individual could gain access to radiation areas or to radioactive materials. This includes entry or exit portals of sufficient size to permit human entry, irrespective of their intended use.

Exposure means being exposed to ionizing radiation or to radioactive material.

External dose means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radiation sources outside the body.

Extremity means hand, elbow, arm below the elbow, foot, knee, or leg below the knee.

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.

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.

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

Generally applicable environmental radiation standards means standards issued by the 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.

Government agency means any executive department, commission, independent establishment, corporation wholly or partly owned by the United States of America, which is an instrumentality of the United States, or any board, bureau, division, service, office, officer, authority, administration, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government.

Gray [See § 20.1004].

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

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 a dose equivalent in excess of 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in 1 hour at 30 centimeters from the radiation source or 30 centimeters from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

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

Individual means any human being.

Individual monitoring means -

(1) The assessment of dose equivalent by the use of devices designed to be worn by an individual;

(2) The assessment of committed effective dose equivalent by bioassay (see Bioassay) or by determination of the time-weighted air concentrations to which an individual has been exposed, i.e., DAC-hours; or

(3) The assessment of dose equivalent by the use of survey data.

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, thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs), pocket ionization chambers, and personal (“lapel”) air sampling devices.

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

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 centimeter (300 mg/cm²).

License means a license issued under the regulations in parts 30 through 36, 39, 40, 50, 60, 61, 63, 70, or 72 of this chapter.

Licensed material means source material, special nuclear material, or byproduct material received, possessed, used, transferred or disposed of under a general or specific license issued by the Commission.

Licensee means the holder of a license.

Limits (dose limits) means the permissible upper bounds of radiation doses.

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

Lost or missing licensed material means licensed material whose location is unknown. It includes material that has been shipped but has not reached its destination and whose location cannot be readily traced in the transportation system.

Member of the public means any individual except when that individual is receiving an occupational dose.

Minor means an individual less than 18 years of age.

Monitoring (radiation monitoring, radiation protection monitoring) means the measurement of radiation levels, concentrations, surface area concentrations or quantities of radioactive material and the use of the results of these measurements to evaluate potential exposures and doses.

Nationally tracked source is a sealed source containing a quantity equal to or greater than Category 1 or Category 2 levels of any radioactive material listed in Appendix E of this part. 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, subassembly, 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.

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.

Nonstochastic effect means health effects, 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 (also called a deterministic effect).

NRC means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.

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 or other person. Occupational dose does not include doses received from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released under § 35.75, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, or as a member of the public.

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 megaelectron volt. For purposes of this definition, “accelerator” is an equivalent term.

Person means -

(1) Any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency other than the Commission or the Department of Energy (except that the Department shall be considered a person within the meaning of the regulations in 10 CFR chapter I to the extent that its facilities and activities are subject to the licensing and related regulatory authority of the Commission under section 202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1244), the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (92 Stat. 3021), the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 2201), and section 3(b)(2) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (99 Stat. 1842)), any State or any political subdivision of or any political entity within a State, any foreign government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation, or other entity; and

(2) Any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing.

Planned special exposure means an infrequent exposure to radiation, separate from and in addition to the annual dose limits.

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

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.

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.

Public dose means the dose received by a member of the public from exposure to radiation or to radioactive material released by a licensee, or to any other source of radiation under the control of a 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 § 35.75, or from voluntary participation in medical research programs.

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.

Quality Factor (Q) means the modifying factor (listed in tables 1004(b).1 and 1004(b).2 of § 20.1004) that is used to derive dose equivalent from absorbed dose.

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

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

Rad (See § 20.1004).

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 radio- or microwaves, or visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light.

Radiation area means an area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.005 rem (0.05 mSv) in 1 hour at 30 centimeters from the radiation source or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

Reference man means a hypothetical aggregation of human physical and physiological characteristics arrived at 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.

Rem (See § 20.1004).

Residual radioactivity means radioactivity in structures, materials, soils, groundwater, and other media at a site resulting from activities under the licensee's control. This includes radioactivity from all licensed and unlicensed sources used by the licensee, but excludes background radiation. It also includes radioactive materials remaining at the site as a result of routine or accidental releases of radioactive material at the site and previous burials at the site, even if those burials were made in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR part 20.

Respiratory protective device means an apparatus, such as a respirator, used to reduce the individual's intake of airborne radioactive materials.

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.

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.

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

Shallow-dose equivalent (H_s), which applies to the external exposure of the skin of the whole body or the skin of an extremity, is taken as the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 0.007 centimeter (7 mg/cm²).

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

Source material means -

(1) Uranium or thorium or any combination of uranium and thorium in any physical or chemical form; or

(2) Ores that contain, by weight, one-twentieth of 1 percent (0.05 percent), or more, of uranium, thorium, or any combination of uranium and thorium. Source material does not include special nuclear material.

Special nuclear material means -

(1) Plutonium, uranium-233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material that the Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 51 of the Act, determines to be special nuclear material, but does not include source material; or

(2) Any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing but does not include source material.

Stochastic effects means health effects that occur 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.

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.

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 or calculations of levels of radiation, or concentrations or quantities of radioactive material present.

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

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).

Unrestricted area means an area, access to which is neither limited nor controlled by the licensee.

Uranium fuel cycle means the operations of milling of uranium ore, chemical conversion of uranium, isotopic enrichment of uranium, fabrication of uranium fuel, generation of electricity by a light-water-cooled nuclear power plant using uranium fuel, and reprocessing of spent uranium fuel to the extent that these activities directly support the production of electrical power for public use. Uranium fuel cycle does not include mining operations, operations at waste disposal sites, transportation of radioactive material in support of these operations, and the reuse of recovered non-uranium special nuclear and byproduct materials from the cycle.

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.

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 500 rads (5 grays) in 1 hour at 1 meter from a radiation source or 1 meter from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

Note:

At very high doses received at high dose rates, units of absorbed dose (e.g., rads and grays) are appropriate, rather than units of dose equivalent (e.g., rems and sieverts)).

Waste means those low-level radioactive wastes containing source, special nuclear, or byproduct 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 byproduct material as defined in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of the definition of Byproduct material set forth in this section.

Week means 7 consecutive days starting on Sunday.

Weighting factor w_T, 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 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	1 0.30
Whole Body	2 1.00

¹ 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.

² 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.

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

Working level (WL) is any combination of short-lived radon daughters (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) in 1 liter of air that will result in the ultimate emission of 1.3 × 10⁵ MeV of potential alpha particle energy.

Working level month (WLM) means an exposure to 1 working level for 170 hours (2,000 working hours per year/12 months per year = approximately 170 hours per month).

Year means the period of time beginning in January used to determine compliance with the provisions of this part. The licensee may change the starting date of the year used to determine compliance by the licensee provided that the change is made at the beginning of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated in consecutive years.

[56 FR 23391, May 21, 1991, as amended at 57 FR 57878, Dec. 8, 1992; 58 FR 7736, Feb. 9, 1993; 60 FR 36043, July 13, 1995; 60 FR 48625, Sept. 20, 1995; 61 FR 65127, Dec. 10, 1996; 62 FR 4133, Jan. 29, 1997; 62 FR 39087, July 21, 1997; 63 FR 39481, July 23, 1998; 64 FR 54556, Oct. 7, 1999; 66 FR 55789, Nov. 2, 2001; 67 FR 16304, Apr. 5, 2002; 67 FR 20370, Apr. 24, 2002; 67 FR 62872, Oct. 9, 2002; 71 FR 65707, Nov. 8, 2006; 72 FR 55921, Oct. 1, 2007; 72 FR 68058, Dec. 4, 2007; 74 FR 62680, Dec. 1, 2009]