Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart D - Environmental Health and Safety › Article V - Radiological Health › Chapter 236 - LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › GENERAL › Section 236.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
							 chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
							 otherwise:
Account
-The Long Term Care
							 Account.
Act
-The Low-Level Radioactive Waste
							 Disposal Act (35 P. S. §§
														7130.101-7130.905).
Active fault
-A fault along which
							 there is recurrent movement that is demonstrated by measurable periodic
							 displacements or seismic activity.
Active institutional control
							 period
-See the definition of time periods.
Active maintenance
-Significant
							 activity needed during the long term care period to maintain reasonable
							 assurance that the performance objectives in this subchapter are met. The term
							 includes major remedial actions such as replacement of disposal unit covers.
							 The term does not include custodial activities, such as repair of fencing,
							 repair or replacement of monitoring equipment, revegetation, minor repair of
							 disposal unit covers and general disposal site upkeep such as mowing
							 grass.
Affected municipality
-A unit of
							 local government other than the host municipality designated as an affected
							 municipality under section 318 of the act (35 P. S. §
														7130.318). The term may include a county,
							 city, borough, township or school district.
Broker
-An intermediate person who
							 collects, consolidates, handles, treats, processes, stores, packages, ships or
							 otherwise has responsibility for or possesses low-level radioactive waste.
Buffer zone
-A portion of the disposal site that is controlled
							 by the licensee and that lies under the disposal units and between the disposal
							 units and the boundary of the site.
Capable fault
-A fault which
							 exhibited movement at or near the ground surface within the past 35,000
							 years.
Carrier
-A person who transports
							 low-level radioactive waste from or to a generator or waste management facility
							 or to the regional disposal facility.
Chelating agent
-An organic chemical
							 that bonds with a central metal atom or ion at two or more points such as amine
							 polycarboxylic acids, hydroxycarboxylic acids, gluconic acids and
							 polycarboxylic acids.
Commencement of
							 construction
-Clearing of land, excavation or other substantial action
							 that would adversely affect the environment of the disposal facility. The term
							 does not include disposal site exploration, necessary roads for disposal site
							 exploration, borings to determine foundation conditions or other
							 preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background information
							 related to the suitability of the disposal site or the protection of
							 environmental values.
Commission
-The Appalachian States
							 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission.
Compact
-The Compact entered into by
							 the Commonwealth under the terms of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act
							 of 1980 (42 U.S.C.A.
							 §§
														2021b-2021j) and as
							 contained in the act of December 22, 1985 (P. L. 539, No. 120), known as the
							 Appalachian State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Law (35 P. S.
							 §§
														7125.1-7125.4).
Compact states
-The combined states,
							 including the Commonwealth, which have entered into the Compact.
Container
-The first enclosure which
							 encompasses the radioactive waste.
Containment
-The function of
							 isolating radioactive waste from the biosphere by emplacement of the waste
							 within a container, waste module or disposal unit.
Custodial agency
-An agency of the
							 government designated by the Governor to act on behalf of the government owner
							 of the disposal site. The agency is responsible for the long term monitoring
							 and care of the disposal site. The term does not include the Department.
Disposal
-The isolation of low-level
							 radioactive wastes from the biosphere.
Disposal facility
-The buildings,
							 equipment and other engineered features, including disposal units and temporary
							 holding facilities, within the disposal site which are used for the disposal of
							 low-level radioactive waste.
Disposal site
-The property,
							 including improvements thereon, which is used for disposal of low-level
							 radioactive waste. The term consists of the disposal units and the buffer zone.
Disposal Unit
-A discrete portion of
							 the disposal site into which waste is placed for disposal.
Disqualifying criteria
-Conditions
							 which would eliminate an area from further consideration for disposal.
Engineered barrier
-A manmade
							 structure or device that is intended to improve the disposal facility's ability
							 to meet the performance objectives in this chapter.
Engineered cover
-A manmade structure
							 constructed over the disposal facility.
Engineered structure
-A manmade
							 state-of-the-art barrier designed to:
(i) Provide additional measures for
						  containment of radioactive waste from the environment.
(ii) Provide protection for an inadvertent
						  intruder.
(iii) Provide stability
						  of the disposal facility.
(iv)
						  Prevent radioactive release.
Enhanced containment
-Additional
							 isolation of the radioactive waste from the environment as provided by
							 engineered structures.
Explosive material
-A chemical
							 compound, mixture or device which produces a substantial instantaneous release
							 of gas and heat spontaneously or by contact with sparks or flame.
Fund
-The Low-Level Waste Fund.
Generate
-To produce low-level
							 radioactive waste requiring disposal.
Generator
-A person whose activity
							 results in the production of low-level radioactive waste requiring
							 disposal.
Groundwater
-The part of the
							 subsurface water that is in the zone of saturation, perennial or
							 otherwise.
Hazardous life
-The time required for
							 radioactive materials to decay to safe levels of radioactivity, as defined by
							 the time period for the concentration of radioactive materials within a given
							 container or package to decay to maximum permissible concentrations as defined
							 by Federal law or by standards to be set by the host state, whichever is more
							 restrictive.
Hazardous wastes
-Wastes as defined
							 in section 103 of the Solid Waste Management Act (35 P. S. §
														6018.103) and regulations thereunder.
Host municipality
-A city, borough,
							 incorporated town or township, excluding a county, in which the low-level waste
							 disposal facility will be constructed, as designated by the Department under
							 section 318 of the act (35 P. S. §
														7130.318).
Inadvertent intruder
-A person who
							 might occupy the disposal site after closure and engage in normal activities,
							 such as agriculture, dwelling construction or other pursuits in which an
							 individual might be unknowingly exposed to radiation from the waste.
Intruder barrier
-A manmade structure
							 or sufficient depth of cover over the waste that inhibits contact with waste
							 and helps to ensure that radiation exposures to an inadvertent intruder will
							 meet the requirements under §
													236.320 (relating to protection
							 from inadvertent intruders) and the performance objectives in this
							 subchapter.
Isolation
-Protection of the public
							 and the environment from inadvertent intrusion or direct release of radioactive
							 material from the disposal site.
Leak resistance
-The material
							 properties of the disposal facility design which retard or prevent migration of
							 water.
Long term care period
-See the
							 definition of time periods.
Low-level radioactive
							 waste
-Radioactive waste that meets one of the following
							 criteria:
(i) Is not high-level
						  radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel or by-product material as defined in
						  section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.A. §
														2014(e)(2)), waste generated
						  as a result of atomic energy defense activities of the Federal government and
						  waste for which the Federal government is responsible under section 3(b)(1) of
						  the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C.A. §
														2021c(b)(1)).
(ii) Is classified by the Federal government
						  as low-level waste, consistent with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy
						  Amendments Act of 1985 or waste that contains naturally occurring or
						  accelerator produced radioactive material which is not excluded by subparagraph
						  (i).
Management
-The reduction,
							 collection, consolidation, storage, processing, incineration, separation,
							 minimization, compaction, segregation, solidification, evaporation, packaging
							 or treatment of low-level radioactive waste.
Mixed waste
-Waste that is low-level
							 radioactive waste, as defined in this subchapter, and either contains a
							 hazardous waste or exhibits a hazardous characteristic as contained in the
							 Solid Waste Management Act (35 P. S. §§
														6018.101-6018.1003).
Monitoring
-Observing and making
							 measurements to provide data to evaluate the performance and characteristics of
							 the disposal site.
Municipality
-A county, city,
							 borough, home rule or incorporated town or township as defined in
							 1
							 Pa.C.S. §
														1991 (relating to
							 definitions).
Passive institutional control
							 period
-See the definition of time periods.
Person
-Includes the
							 following:
(i) The definition
						  contained in §
													215.2 (relating to
						  definitions).
(ii) An individual,
						  corporation, partnership, association, public or private institution,
						  cooperative enterprise, municipal authority, public utility, trust, estate,
						  group, Federal government or agency, other than the United States Nuclear
						  Regulatory Commission or a successor thereto, State institution and agency or
						  other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and
						  duties. The term includes officers and directors of a corporation or other
						  legal entity having officers and directors.
Postclosure observation and maintenance
							 period
-See the definition of time periods.
Potentially suitable site
-An area
							 containing approximately 500 acres, for the disposal site, that meets the
							 screening requirements in Subchapter B (relating to requirements for siting the
							 regional disposal facility) and would reasonably be expected to meet the
							 performance objectives in this subchapter and site suitability requirements in
							 Subchapter B.
Protection fund
-The Regional
							 Facility Protection Fund.
Public water system
-A water system
							 which provides water to the public for human consumption and which has at least
							 15 service connections or regularly services an average of at least 25
							 individuals daily, at least 60 days out of the year.
Pyrophoric material
-aterial that
							 ignites spontaneously. The term includes any liquid that ignites spontaneously
							 in dry or moist air at or below 130° F (54.5°C), or a solid, other than
							 one classed as an explosive, which under normal conditions is liable to cause
							 fires through friction, retained heat from manufacturing or processing, or
							 which can be ignited readily and when ignited burns so vigorously and
							 persistently as to create a serious transportation, handling or disposal
							 hazard. The term also includes spontaneously combustible and water reactive
							 materials.
Shallow land burial
-The disposal of
							 low-level radioactive waste directly in subsurface trenches without additional
							 confinement in engineered structures and in proper packaging as determined in
							 the act.
Site closure and
							 stabilization
-Actions that are taken upon completion of operations
							 that prepare the disposal site for custodial care and that assure that the
							 disposal site will remain stable and will not need ongoing active
							 maintenance.
Stability
-Structural
							 stability.
Surveillance
-onitoring and
							 observation of the disposal site for purposes of visual detection of need for
							 maintenance, custodial care, evidence of intrusion and compliance with other
							 license, permit and regulatory requirements.
Time periods
-Specific periods of
							 time associated with the life of the disposal facility. The term includes the
							 following time periods presented in chronological order:
(i)
Postclosure observation and
						  maintenance period
-The period of time following site closure during
						  which the site operator is preparing the site for transfer to the custodial
						  agency.
(ii)
Long term care
						  period
-The period of time which includes both the active and passive
						  institutional control periods.
(iii)
Active institutional control
						  period
-The period of time following site closure and the postclosure
						  observation and maintenance period during which active access control,
						  surveillance, monitoring and custodial care is maintained. This period will
						  last for a minimum of 100 years.
(iv)
Passive institutional control
						  period
-The period of time after the active institutional control
						  period during which monitoring and passive access control of the facility is
						  maintained. This period will be at least as long as the hazardous life of the
						  radioactive waste.
Waste
-Low-level radioactive
							 waste.
Waste module
-A discrete assembly of
							 waste containers within a disposal unit.
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
															236.1 (relating to purpose and
								scope); 25 Pa. Code §
															236.311 (relating to general
								requirements); and 25 Pa. Code §
															237.2 (relating to
								definitions).