Section 641.40.2. Definitions.  


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  •        40.2(1) For the purposes of this chapter, the definitions of 641—Chapter 38 may also apply.

           40.2(2) As used in this chapter, these terms have the definitions set forth below.

    “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 person that would result in a committed effective dose equivalent of 5 rem (0.05 Sv) or a committed dose equivalent of 50 rem (0.5 Sv) to any individual organ or tissue. ALI values for intake by ingestion and by inhalation of selected radionuclides are given in Table I, Columns 1 and 2, of Appendix B.

    “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.

    “Declared pregnant woman” means a woman who has voluntarily informed her 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.

    “Derived air concentration (DAC)” means the concentration of a given radionuclide in air which, if breathed by the reference person for a working year of 2,000 hours under conditions of light work (inhalation rate 1.2 cubic meters of air per hour) results in an intake of one ALI. DAC values are given in Table I, Column 3, of Appendix B.

    “Derived air concentration-hour (DAC-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 dose equivalent of 5 rem (0.05 Sv).

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

    “Inhalation class” (see “Class.”)

    “Lung class” (see “Class.”)

    “National 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 Appendix H of this chapter. 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 that 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.

    “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, “deterministic effect” is an equivalent term.

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

    “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.

    “Reference person” means a hypothetical aggregation of human physical and physiological characteristics determined by international consensus. These characteristics may be used by researchers and public health workers to standardize results of experiments and to relate biological insult to a common base. A description of the reference person is contained in the International Commission on Radiological Protection report, ICRP Publication 23, “Report of the Task Group on Reference Man.”

    “Respiratory protective equipment” means an apparatus, such as a respirator, used to reduce an individual’s intake of airborne radioactive materials.

    “Sanitary sewerage” means a system of public sewers for carrying off wastewater and refuse, but excluding sewage treatment facilities, septic tanks, and leach fields owned or operated by the licensee or registrant.

    “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.

    “Weighting factor” wT 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 wT are:

     

    ORGAN DOSE WEIGHTING FACTORS

     

     

    Organ or Tissue

    wT

     

     

    Gonads

    0.25

     

     

    Breast

    0.15

     

     

    Red bone marrow

    0.12

     

     

    Lung

    0.12

     

     

    Thyroid

    0.03

     

     

    Bone surfaces

    0.03

     

     

    Remainder

    0.30 a

     

     

    Whole Body

    1.00 b

     

     

     

     

     

    a0.30 results from 0.06 for each of 5 “remainder” organs, excluding the skin and the lens of the eye, that receive the highest doses.

    bFor the purpose of weighting the external whole body dose, for adding it to the internal dose, a single weighting factor, wT = 1.0, has been specified. The use of other weighting factors for external exposure will be approved on a case-by-case basis until such time as specific guidance is issued.