New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 28 - RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAMS › Subchapter 27 - RADON TESTING AND MITIGATION › Section 7:28-27.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The words and terms defined below, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Acknowledgement notice" means a written statement from the Department to an individual who applies for initial or expired renewal certification as a radon measurement specialist, radon mitigation specialist, or radon measurement technician, or to a business that applies for initial certification as a radon measurement business or radon mitigation business, that documents that all initial certification application requirements have been met. The acknowledgement notice qualifies an individual and a business to enter into an affiliation. The individual or business is not certified when the acknowledgement notice is issued.
"Affiliate" or "affiliated" means, as to a certified radon measurement technician or certified radon measurement specialist, an individual who deploys and retrieves radon measurement devices through an arrangement with a certified radon measurement business as delineated in a completed affiliation form. As to a certified radon mitigation specialist, "affiliate" or "affiliated" means an individual who installs radon mitigation systems through an arrangement with a certified radon mitigation business, as delineated in a completed affiliation form. The affiliate need not be an employee of the certified business.
"Affiliation" means the association of a certified radon measurement technician or certified radon measurement specialist with a certified radon measurement business, or the association of a certified radon mitigation specialist with a certified radon mitigation business. Affiliation is established between the certified business and the affiliate by completing an affiliation form. An individual or business can have multiple affiliations.
"Affiliation form" means a document recognized by the Department and signed by a certified business or a business with an acknowledgement notice and a certified individual or an individual with an acknowledgement notice that details the responsibilities of both the certified radon business and the certified individual in accordance with this subchapter.
"Applicant" means any business or individual who applies for certification.
"Approved radon chamber facility" means a performance test chamber that is certified or approved by a nationally recognized organization to perform testing for the authorized proficiency program and perform instrument calibrations.
"Authorized measurement protocol" means the most current revisions of "Protocol for Conducting Measurements of Radon and Radon Decay Products in Homes," American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST) MAH-2019; "Protocol for Conducting Measurements of Radon and Radon Decay Products in Multifamily Buildings," ANSI/AARST MAMF-2017; and "Protocol for Conducting Measurements of Radon and Radon Decay Products in Schools and Large Buildings," ANSI/AARST MALB-2014. ANSI/AARST publications are available at
www.aarst.org
and
www.ansi.org
. The Department is incorporating these authorized measurement protocols herein, as supplemented or amended.
"Authorized mitigation protocol" means "Soil Gas Mitigation Standards for Existing Homes," ANSI/AARST SGM-SF-2017; "Radon Mitigation Standards for Multifamily Buildings," ANSI/AARST RMS-MF-2018; and "Radon Mitigation Standards for Schools and Large Buildings," ANSI/AARST RMS-LB-2018. ANSI/AARST publications are available at
www.aarst.org
and
www.ansi.org
. The Department is incorporating these authorized measurement protocols herein, as supplemented or amended.
"Authorized proficiency test" means a radon measurement device performance test conducted in accordance with the requirements of a nationally recognized organization.
"Blank measurement" means a method of evaluating a detector response from sources other than the radon exposure at a testing location, such as during shipping, storage, and handling.
"Business" means and includes, without limitation, a sole proprietorship, corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, of the United States, any state, and any political subdivision or agency thereof.
"Calibration" means the process of determining the response of an instrument or measurement system to a series of known radon values over the range of the instrument or measurement system, and adjusting the response, if necessary, based on known radon levels.
"Certification credential" means a certificate printed on State of New Jersey stationery, or other official written or electronic documentation of certification issued by the Department, which shows that an applicant meets all certification requirements of this subchapter and is approved and certified for one year. The name of the certified business or individual, certification number, and dates of the certification period are listed on the certification credential. For initial and renewal applications, a certification credential will be issued when the Department approves the application.
"Certified business" means a certified radon measurement business or a certified radon mitigation business, as applicable.
"Certified individual" means a certified radon measurement technician, certified radon measurement specialist, or certified radon mitigation specialist, as applicable. "Certified individual" also means a certified radon mitigation technician certified in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:28-27.34.
"Certified radon laboratory" means a radiological laboratory that analyzes samples for the presence of radon and/or radon progeny in a facility separate from the location in which the sample was taken using stationary detection equipment, and that holds a current valid certification issued by the Department pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:18 for radon analysis.
"Certified radon measurement business" means a business certified pursuant to this subchapter to test for the presence of radon gas in buildings.
"Certified radon measurement specialist" means an individual certified pursuant to this subchapter to perform radon measurement activities and evaluate radon measurements, and to direct the operations of a certified radon measurement business, if agreed upon by the specialist and business.
"Certified radon measurement technician" means an individual certified pursuant to this subchapter to perform radon measurement activities.
"Certified radon mitigation business" means a business certified pursuant to this subchapter to design and install systems in buildings to mitigate and safeguard against radon exposure.
"Certified radon mitigation specialist" means an individual certified pursuant to this subchapter to inspect a building, evaluate diagnostic tests to determine appropriate radon mitigation and safeguard strategies for a building, and to design and install systems in buildings to mitigate and safeguard against radon exposure.
"Client" means the individual or business that owns the building that is tested or mitigated through services regulated pursuant to this subchapter.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"Device" means test equipment that is on a nationally recognized organization's approved list of test equipment that can be used to test for radon.
"Device model" means a unique number or name given to portable test equipment that is made by a device manufacturer.
"Duplicate measurement" means two devices placed side-by-side, approximately four inches apart, during the same time period in order to determine the ability of the measurement to be consistently reproduced.
"Expiration date" means 11:59 P.M. on the date that is one year from the date of the issuance of a certification.
"Individual" means a human being.
"Large building" means a building classified as Group A, Group B, Group F, Group H, Group I, and/or Group M by the International Building Code, incorporated by reference at N.J.A.C. 5:233.14; or any other occupancy group included in the Authorized Measurement Protocols.
"Minimum detectable concentration (MDC)" means the lowest concentration that is detectable at an established confidence level (95 percent at a minimum). Refer to "Radon Measurement Systems Quality Assurance" (ANSI/AARST MS-QA), as supplemented or amended, for the method to calculate MDC using the equation for the Lower Limit of Detection Counting Technology (LLD# #) Methods for CRMs and the Lower Limit of Detection Non-Counting Technology (LLD# #) Methods for EICs.
"Mitigate" means to apply materials and/or install systems and materials to reduce the radon concentration in the indoor atmosphere or prevent entry of radon into the indoor atmosphere.
"Mitigation system" means a step, or series of steps, employed to actively reduce radon levels in buildings including, but not limited to, sealing techniques, natural and forced air ventilation techniques, soil depressurization techniques, and the installation of a fan to activate radon-resistant elements of new construction.
"Multifamily building" means a residential building having more than one attached dwelling or other occupied unit including, but not limited to, condominium, townhouse, and apartment buildings.
"Nationally recognized organization" means the National Radon Proficiency Program, National Radon Safety Board, or other recognized independent administrative program that provides radon certification, accreditation, chamber approval, standards development, and proficiency services.
"Non-portable device" means a device that requires additional laboratory equipment in order to analyze the sample collected and generate reportable results including, but not limited to, a charcoal canister, charcoal liquid scintillation detector, or alpha track detector. Non-portable devices shall be analyzed by a certified laboratory pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:18.
"Picocurie per liter (pCi/L)" means 2.2 disintegrations of radioactive decay in one liter. It is used as a measure of the concentration of radon gas in air. One picocurie is equivalent to one trillionth of a Curie.
"Portable device" means a device that does not require additional laboratory equipment in order to analyze the sample collected and generate reportable results, such as, but not limited to, a continuous radon monitor or electret device, including the electret reader. Portable devices do not require the analysis to be conducted by a certified laboratory pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:18.
"Program administration fee" means the fee charged in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:28-27.27(c)  to fund the radon certification program.
"Quality assurance" or "QA" means the activities required to establish confidence that radon test data are of the required precision and accuracy.
"Quality assurance plan" or "QA plan" means a formal document describing in detail the necessary quality assurance policies, quality control procedures, and other technical activities that must be implemented to ensure that the results of the work performed will satisfy the stated performance or acceptance criteria. The quality assurance plan defines objectives to be attained and the responsibilities and authorities of personnel, especially in regard to data quality and corrective action.
"Quality control" or "QC" means the technical activities that measure the attributes and performance of a process against defined standards to verify that they meet established specifications, including documentation.
"Radiation work experience" means the experience an individual obtains from performing work related to radiation including, but not limited to, radiation protection; use of radiation equipment, devices, and instruments; monitoring, testing, and analyzing radiation; reviewing, interpreting, and analyzing radiological data; and radon measurement activities.
"Radon" means the radioactive noble gas radon-222 and the short-lived decay products of radon-222 decay, including polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214, and polonium-214.
"Relative percent difference" or "RPD" means a statistic used to evaluate the difference between two measurements. The "RPD" normalizes the difference between two measurements by dividing by the best estimate of the true value, which is the mean of the two results. The difference is compared as a fraction to the mean of the two results as there is no reason to assume that one measurement is more accurate than the other, and over time a set of "RPD" values can be used as an estimate of imprecision.
"Single-family home" means a residential building with one dwelling unit.
"Spike testing" means exposing a device to known radon concentrations in a radon chamber facility to test the accuracy of the device. The concentrations are as recommended by the manufacturer to simulate exposures normally encountered in field measurements.
"Working level" or "WL" means a unit of radon decay product exposure rate. One working level refers to the concentration of short-lived decay products of radon in equilibrium with 100 pCi/L in the air.
"Working level month" or "WLM" means a unit of exposure used to express the accumulated human exposure to radon decay products, where one WLM = one WL exposure for 170 hours.