Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 15 - HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT › Part 2 - Radon Control › Section 216-RICR-50-15-2.3 - Definitions, General Provisions, and Radon Standards

Current through June 14, 2024
2.3.1 Definitions
A. Whenever used in these rules and
				  regulations, the following terms shall be construed as follows:
1. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-61,
				  entitled Radon Control.
2. "Alpha
				  track detector" means a passive radon testing device which performs
				  time-integrated measurement.
3.
				  "Back-drafting" means a condition where normal upward movement of combustion
				  products is reversed.
4. "Charcoal
				  adsorption device" means one of several variously configured containers filled
				  with a measured amount of activated charcoal and used to measure
				  radon.
5. "Child care facility"
				  means a facility which accommodates five (5) or more children of any age who
				  are not related and is licensed by the Department of Children, Youth,
				  && Families or the Department of Education.
6. "Continuous radon monitor" means an active
				  radon detection device which uses an electronic detector to accumulate and
				  store information related to the periodic measurement of average radon
				  concentration.
7. "Department"
				  means the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).
8. "Diagnostic tests" means tests performed
				  or procedures used to determine appropriate radon mitigation methods.
9. "Director" means the director of the Rhode
				  Island Department of Health.
10.
				  "Electret Ion Chamber" means a passive measurement device consisting of a
				  canister containing a charged electret.
11. "EPA" means the United States
				  Environmental Protection Agency.
12. "Follow-up testing" means a test in which
				  the radon testing device is exposed for a minimum of ten (10) days but not
				  longer than one year.
13. "High
				  priority building" means any public building or public, private, and/or
				  parochial school (Grades pre-K to 12), and/or child care facility.
14. "HVAC" means heating, ventilation and air
				  conditioning system.
15. "OSHA"
				  means the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States
				  Department of Labor.
16. "Owner"
				  means the person having legal title to property and/or buildings. For purposes
				  of publicly owned property only, the owner shall be defined as the chief
				  executive officer of the state or municipal agency which owns, leases or
				  controls the use of the property.
17. "Person" means any individual,
				  corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private
				  institution, group, agency, political subdivision of this state, and other
				  state or political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor,
				  representative, agent or agency of the foregoing.
18. "Picocurie per liter (pCi/L)" means a
				  unit of measurement of the concentration of radioactivity in a gas which equals
				  2.22 disintegrations per minute of radioactive material per liter. One
				  picocurie is equivalent to 10 to the minus 12 ( 10-12) of a curie.
19. "Public building" means any building
				  owned, managed, leased, furnished, or occupied by a state or municipal agency
				  or commission, or public school.
20. "Radon" means the radioactive noble gas
				  radon 222.
21. "Radon analytical
				  service" means any person engaged in the reading or analysis of radon testing
				  devices.
22. "Radon testing
				  business" means any person engaged in radon testing for a fee, whose employees
				  test for radon or radon progeny.
23. "Radon inspector" means an individual who
				  performs radon or radon progeny testing, provides professional advice on such
				  testing, health risks, radon related exposure, radon entry routes, and other
				  radon related consulting activities.
24. "Radon contractor" means a person who
				  engages in radon mitigation as a business, whose employees install systems to
				  mitigate radon or radon progeny contamination.
25. "Radon supervisor" means an individual
				  who evaluates diagnostic tests to determine appropriate radon or radon progeny
				  mitigation strategies, designs and supervises the installation of mitigation
				  systems. This individual will be named on the radon contractor's
				  license.
26. "Radon worker" means
				  an individual who helps install radon or radon progeny mitigation
				  systems.
27. "Radon progeny" means
				  the short lived radionuclides formed as a result of the decay of radon 222,
				  including polonium 218, bismuth 214, lead 214, and polonium 214.
28. "Radon/radon progeny mitigation" means
				  any actions or measures taken and any materials or equipment installed to
				  reduce levels of radon gas and/or radon progeny in the air or water supply of a
				  building, or to prevent entry of radon or radon progeny into the indoor
				  atmosphere.
29. "Radon training
				  course" means a course that provides instruction in radon testing or mitigation
				  techniques.
30. "RCP" means the EPA
				  National Radon Contractor Proficiency Program.
31. "RMP" means the EPA National Radon
				  Measurement Proficiency Program.
32. "Short-term testing" means a test in
				  which a radon testing device is exposed for a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours
				  in closed conditions up to a maximum of ninety (90) days.
33. "Working Level (WL)" means the
				  concentration of short lived radon progeny in the air that will result in
				  130,000 million electron volts (1.3 x 105 MeV) of potential alpha particle
				  energy per liter of air.