Washington Administrative Code › Title 246 - Health, Department of › RADIATION › Chapter 246-247 - Radiation protectionAir emissions › Section 246-247-030 - Definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms in this section
				  and WAC
				  246-220-010,
				  apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise.
(1) "Abatement technology"
				means any mechanism, process or method that has the potential to reduce public
				exposure to radioactive air emissions. Abatement control features include
				automatic mechanisms and administrative controls used in the operation and
				control of abatement technology from entry of radionuclides into the ventilated
				vapor space to release to the environment.
(2) "Administrative control" means any policy
				or procedure that limits the emission of radionuclides.
(3) "ALARA" means as low as reasonably
				achievable making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as
				far below the dose standards in this chapter as is practical, consistent with
				the purpose for which the licensed activity is undertaken, taking into account
				the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to the state
				of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the
				public health and safety, and other socioeconomic considerations, and in
				relation to the utilization of nuclear energy, ionizing radiation, and
				radioactive materials in the public interest. See WAC
				246-220-007.
(4) "As low as reasonably achievable control
				technology" (ALARACT) means the use of radionuclide emission control technology
				that achieves emission levels that are consistent with the philosophy of ALARA.
				ALARACT compliance is demonstrated by evaluating the existing control system
				and proposed nonsignificant modifications in relation to applicable technology
				standards and other control technologies operated successfully in similar
				applications. In no event shall application of ALARACT result in emissions of
				radio-nuclides that could cause exceedance of the applicable standards of WAC
				246-247-040.
				See the definition of ALARA in this section. Note that ALARACT is equivalent
				to, but replaces, RACT in the June 23, 2007, version of chapter 173-480
				WAC.
(5) "Annual possession
				quantity" means the sum of the quantity of a radionuclide on hand at the
				beginning of the calendar year and the quantity of that radionuclide received
				or produced during the calendar year.
(6) "Best available radionuclide control
				technology" (BARCT) means technology that will result in a radionuclide
				emission limitation based on the maximum degree of reduction for radionuclides
				from any proposed newly constructed or significantly modified emission units
				that the licensing authority determines is achievable on a case-by-case basis.
				A BARCT compliance demonstration must consider energy, environmental, and
				economic impacts, and other costs through examination of production processes,
				and available methods, systems, and techniques for the control of radionuclide
				emissions. A BARCT compliance demonstration is the conclusion of an evaluative
				process that results in the selection of the most effective control technology
				from all known feasible alternatives. In no event shall application of BARCT
				result in emissions of radionuclides that could exceed the applicable standards
				of WAC
				246-247-040.
				Control technology that meets BARCT requirements also meets ALARACT
				requirements. See WAC
				173-480-030 and
				246-247-120.
(7) "Committed effective dose equivalent"
				(CEDE) means the sum of the products of absorbed dose from internally deposited
				radionuclides and appropriate factors to account for differences in biological
				effectiveness due to the quality of radiation and its distribution in the body
				of reference man over a fifty-year period.
(8) "Construction" means fabrication,
				erection, or installation of a new building, structure, plant, process, or
				operation within a facility that has the potential to emit airborne
				radionuclides. Construction includes activities of a permanent nature aimed at
				completion of the emission unit, such as pouring concrete, putting in a
				foundation, or installing utilities directly related to the emission unit. It
				does not include preliminary activities such as tests to determine site
				suitability, equipment procurement and storage, site clearing and grading, and
				the construction of ancillary buildings.
(9) "Decommissioning" means actions taken to
				reduce or eliminate the potential public health and safety impacts of a
				building, structure, or plant that has permanently ceased operations,
				including, but not limited to, actions such as decontamination, demolition, and
				disposition.
(10) "Emission unit"
				means any single location that emits or has the potential to emit airborne
				radioactive material. This may be a point source, nonpoint source, or source of
				fugitive emissions.
(11) "Facility"
				means all buildings, structures, plants, processes, and operations on one
				contiguous site under control of the same owner or operator.
(12) "Fugitive emissions" are radioactive air
				emissions which do not and could not reasonably pass through a stack, vent, or
				other functionally equivalent structure, and which are not feasible to directly
				measure and quantify.
(13)
				"Indication device" means any method or apparatus used to monitor, or to enable
				monitoring, the operation of abatement controls or the potential or actual
				radioactive air emissions.
(14)
				"License" means a radioactive air emissions license issued by the department
				with requirements and limitations listed therein. Compliance with the license
				requirements are determined and enforced by the department. The license will be
				incorporated as an applicable requirement in the air operating permit issued by
				the department of ecology or a local air pollution control authority when the
				department of ecology or a local air pollution control authority issues an air
				operating permit.
(15) "Maximally
				exposed individual" (MEI) means any member of the public (real or hypothetical)
				who abides or resides in an unrestricted area, and may receive the highest TEDE
				from the emission unit(s) under consideration, taking into account all exposure
				pathways affected by the radioactive air emissions.
(16) "Modification" means any physical change
				in, or change in the method of operation of, an emission unit that could
				increase the amount of radioactive materials emitted or may result in the
				emission of any radionuclide not previously emitted. This definition includes
				the cleanup of land contaminated with radioactive material, the decommissioning
				of buildings, structures, or plants where radioactive contamination exists, and
				changes that will cause an increase in the emission unit's operating design
				capacity. This definition excludes routine maintenance, routine repair,
				replacement-in-kind, any increases in the production rate or hours of
				operation, provided the emission unit does not exceed the release quantities
				specified in the license application or the operating design capacity approved
				by the department, addition of abatement technology as long as it is not less
				environmentally beneficial than existing, approved controls, and changes that
				result in an increase in the quantity of emissions of an existing radionuclide
				that will be offset by an equal or greater decrease in the quantity of
				emissions of another radionuclide that is deemed at least as hazardous with
				regard to its TEDE to the MEI.
(17)
				"Monitoring" means the measurement of radioactive material released to the
				ambient air by means of an in line radiation detector, or by the withdrawal of
				representative samples from the effluent stream. Ambient air measurements may
				be acceptable for nonpoint sources and fugitive emissions.
(18) "Nonpoint source" is a location at which
				radioactive air emissions originate from an area, such as contaminated ground
				above a near-surface waste disposal unit, whose extent may or may not be
				well-defined.
(19) "Notice of
				construction" (NOC) is an application submitted to the department by an
				applicant that contains information required by WAC
				246-247-060
				for proposed construction or modification of a registered emission unit(s), or
				for modification of an existing, unregistered emission unit(s).
(20) "Point source" is a discrete,
				well-defined location from which radioactive air emissions originate, such as a
				stack, vent, or other functionally equivalent structure.
(21) "Potential-to-emit" means the rate of
				release of radionuclides from an emission unit based on the actual or potential
				discharge of the effluent stream that would result if all abatement control
				equipment did not exist, but operations are otherwise normal. Determine the
				potential-to-emit by one of the following methods:
(a) Multiply the annual possession quantity
				of each radionuclide by the release fraction for that radionuclide, depending
				on its physical state. Use the following release fractions:
(i) 1 for gases;
(ii) 10-3 for
				liquids or particulate solids; and
(iii) 10-6 for
				solids. Determine the physical state for each radionuclide by considering its
				chemical form and the highest temperature to which it is subjected. Use a
				release fraction of one if the radionuclide is subjected to temperatures at or
				above its boiling point; use a release fraction of
				10-3 if the radionuclide is subjected to
				temperatures at or above its melting point, but below its boiling point. If the
				chemical form is not known, use a release fraction of one for any radionuclide
				that is heated to a temperature of one hundred degrees Celsius or more, boils
				at a temperature of one hundred degrees Celsius or less, or is intentionally
				dispersed into the environment. Other release fractions may be used only with
				the department's approval; or