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TITLE 12. HEALTH

BOARD OF HEALTH

Final Regulation
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The following regulatory actions are exempt from the
Administrative Process Act in accordance with §2.2-4006 A 4 c of the Code
of Virginia, which excludes regulations that are necessary to meet the
requirements of federal law or regulations, provided such regulations do
not differ materially from those required by federal law or regulation. The
State Air Pollution Control Board will receive, consider and respond to
petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to
reconsideration or revision.
Title of Regulation: 12VAC5-481. Virginia Radiation Protection Regulations
(amending 12VAC5-481-10, 12VAC5-481-20, 12VAC5-481-30, 12VAC5-481-90,
12VAC5-481-100, 12VAC5-481-110, 12VAC5-481-130, 12VAC5-481-150, 12VAC5-481-
230 through 12VAC5-481-270, 12VAC5-481-340, 12VAC5-481-370 through 12VAC5-
481-450, 12VAC5-481-470, 12VAC5-481-480, 12VAC5-481-500 through 12VAC5-481-
590, 12VAC5-481-630 through 12VAC5-481-760, 12VAC5-481-780, 12VAC5-481-790,
12VAC5-481-810 through 12VAC5-481-910, 12VAC5-481-930 through 12VAC5-481-
1050, 12VAC5-481-1070, 12VAC5-481-1090, 12VAC5-481-1100, 12VAC5-481-1110,
12VAC5-481-1130, 12VAC5-481-1190, 12VAC5-481-1200, 12VAC5-481-1220, hrough
12VAC5-481-1250, 12VAC5-481-1270, 12VAC5-481-1300, 12VAC5-481-1310, 12VAC5-
481-1320, 12VAC5-481-1350, 12VAC5-481-1380, 12VAC5-481-1420, 12VAC5-481-
1440, 12VAC5-481-1490, 12VAC5-481-1520, 12VAC5-481-1560, 12VAC5-481-1570,
12VAC5-481-1670, through 12VAC5-481-2040, 12VAC5-481-2060, 12VAC5-481-2070,
12VAC5-481-2080, 12VAC5-481-2100, 12VAC5-481-2230, 12VAC5-481-2240, 12VAC5-
481-2260, 12VAC5-481-2270, 12VAC5-481-2280, 12VAC5-481-2330, 12VAC5-481-
2420, 12VAC5-481-2430, 12VAC5-481-2470, 12VAC5-481-2490, 12VAC5-481-2510,
12VAC5-481-2530, 12VAC5-481-2540, 12VAC5-481-2550, 12VAC5-481-2660 through
12VAC5-481-2950, 12VAC5-481-2970, 12VAC5-481-2980, 12VAC5-481-3000 through
12VAC5-481-3040, 12VAC5-481-3070 through 12VAC5-481-3140, 12VAC5-481-3160,
12VAC5-481-3200 through 12VAC5-481-3270, 12VAC5-481-3290, 12VAC5-481-3300,
12VAC5-481-3340, 12VAC5-481-3350, 12VAC5-481-3400, 12VAC5-481-3430, 12VAC5-
481-3440, 12VAC5-481-3480, 12VAC5-481-3490, 12VAC5-481-3510, 12VAC5-481-
3520, 12VAC5-481-3530, 12VAC5-481-3560, 12VAC5-481-3580, 12VAC5-481-3600,
12VAC5-481-3610, 12VAC5-481-3650; adding 12VAC5-481-571, 12VAC5-481-971,
12VAC5-481-1151, 12VAC5-481-1161, 12VAC5-481-2001, 12VAC5-481-2571, 12VAC5-
481-2572, 12VAC5-481-2573, 12VAC5-481-3051, 12VAC5-481-3091, 12VAC5-481-
3151, 12VAC5-481-3241, 12VAC5-481-3261, 12VAC5-481-3680, 12VAC5-481-3690,
12VAC5-481-3700, 12VAC5-481-3710, 12VAC5-481-3720, 12VAC5-481-3730, 12VAC5-
481-3740, 12VAC5-481-3750, 12VAC5-481-3760, 12VAC5-481-3770, 12VAC5-481-
3780; repealing 12VAC5-481-200, 12VAC5-481-460, 12VAC5-481-800, 12VAC5-481-
1160, 12VAC5-481-1540, 12VAC5-481-1550, 12VAC5-481-2050, 12VAC5-481-3050,
12VAC5-481-3670).
Statutory Authority: §32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC §2021.
Effective Date: June 12, 2008.
Agency Contact: Mike Welling, Director, Radioactive Materials Program,
Department of Health, 109 Governor Street, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone
804-864-8168, FAX 804-864-8155, or email mike.welling@vdh.virginia.gov.
Summary:
12VAC5-481, Virginia Radiation Protection Regulations, are used by the
Virginia Department of Health, Division of Radiological Health in the
licensing and inspecting of radioactive materials used in the
Commonwealth of Virginia. These regulations are based upon Part 10,
Energy, of the Federal Code of Regulations (10 CFR).
Virginia is in the process of entering into an agreement with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) for regulating certain radioactive materials
in the Commonwealth. In order to enter into such agreement, 12VAC5-481
must be compatible with 10 CFR. The NRC has reviewed the regulations
twice and supplied comments. These amendments are based upon those
comments.
12VAC5-481 provides regulations to protect the public from unnecessary
radiation exposure while allowing for the safe and effective use of
radioactive materials in areas such as medical, industrial and research
and development.
Part I
General Provisions
12VAC5-481-10. Definitions.
As used in these regulations, these terms have the definitions set forth
below.
"A1" means the maximum activity of special form radioactive material
permitted in a Type A package. This value is listed in Table 1 of 12VAC5-
481-3770.
"A2" means the maximum activity of radioactive material, other than special
form radioactive material, LSA, and SCO material, permitted in a Type A
package. This value is listed in Table 1 of 12VAC5-481-3770.
"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.
"Absorbed dose rate" means absorbed dose per unit time, for machines with
timers, or dose monitor unit per unit time for linear accelerators.
"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 one MeV. For purposes of this definition, "particle
accelerator" is an equivalent term.
"Accelerator-produced material" means any material made radioactive by a
particle accelerator.
"Accessible surface" means the external surface of the enclosure or housing
of the radiation producing machine as provided by the manufacturer. It also
means surface of equipment or of an equipment part that can be easily or
accidentally touched by persons without the use of a tool.
"Act" means §§32.1-227 through 32.1-238 of the Code of Virginia.
"Active maintenance" means any significant activity needed during the
period of institutional control to maintain a reasonable assurance that the
performance objectives in 12VAC5-481-2490 and 12VAC5-481-2500 are met. Such
active maintenance includes ongoing activities such as the pumping and
treatment of water from a disposal unit or one-time measures such as
replacement of a disposal unit cover. Active maintenance does not include
custodial activities such as repair of fencing, repair or replacement of
monitoring equipment, revegetation, minor additions to soil cover, minor
repair of disposal unit covers, and general disposal site upkeep such as
mowing grass.
"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).
"Acute" means a single radiation dose or chemical exposure event or
multiple radiation dose or chemical exposure events occurring within a
short time (24 hours or less).
"Added filtration" means any filtration that is in addition to the inherent
filtration.
"Address of use" means the building or buildings that are identified on the
license and where radioactive material may be produced, prepared, received,
used, or stored.
"Adult" means an individual 18 or more years of age.
"Agency" means the Radiological Health Program of the Virginia Department
of Health.
"Agreement state" means any state with which the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission NRC or the Atomic Energy Commission has entered into an
effective agreement under subsection 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (73 Stat. 689).
"Airborne radioactive material" means any 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 10 CFR Part 20 12VAC5-481-3690; 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% of the annual limit on
intake (ALI) or 12 DAC-hours.
"Air kerma (K)" means the kinetic energy released in air by ionizing
radiation. Kerma is determined as the quotient of De by Dm, where De is the
sum of the initial kinetic energies of all the charged ionizing particles
liberated by uncharged ionizing particles in air of mass Dm. The SI unit of
air kerma is joule per kilogram and the special name for the unit of kerma
is the gray (Gy).
"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.
"Alert" means events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred that
could lead to a release of radioactive material but that the release is not
expected to require a response by offsite response organizations to protect
persons offsite.
"Aluminum equivalent" means the thickness of type 1100 aluminum alloy
affording the same attenuation, under specified conditions, as the material
in question. The nominal chemical composition of type 100 aluminum is
99.00% minimum aluminum, 0.12% copper.
"Analytical X-ray equipment" means equipment used for X-ray diffraction or
fluorescence analysis.
"Analytical X-ray system" means a group of components utilizing x- or gamma-
rays to determine the elemental composition or to examine the
microstructure of materials.
"Annual limit