Code of Massachusetts Regulations
345 CMR - LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD
Title 345 CMR 1.00 - Low-level Radioactive Waste Management Plan
Section 1.02 - Definitions
For the purpose of 345 CMR 1.00 and 345 CMR 3.00, the following definitions shall apply unless the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation:
Activity, the rate of decay of radioactive material.
Affected Community, a community, other than a site community, which is identified in an environmental impact report prepared pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 30, and can be expected to experience significant impacts as a result of the location, development, operation, closure, post-closure observation and maintenance, or institutional control of a facility.
Board, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Board established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 2, which is responsible for planning and effecting the management of low-level radioactive waste in the Commonwealth.
Broker, a person engaged in the business of arranging for the collection, transportation, treatment, storage or disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
Candidate Site, a site, identified in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 20 which will be the subject of detailed site characterization as part of the process to select any superior site.
Candidate Site Community, a community in which is located all or any part of a candidate site.
Chelating Agent means certain organic compounds capable of forming(multiple) coordinate bonds with metals through two or more atoms of the organic compound, typically resulting in enhanced thermodynamic stability in solution and greatly altered behavior of the metal ions. Examples include amine polycarboxylic acids (e.g., EDTA, DTPA), and polycarboxylic acids (e.g., citric acid, carbolic acid and glucinic acid).
Chief Elected Official, the mayor of any city, the chairman of the board of selectmen in any town.
Chief Executive Officer, the city manager in any city having a city manager, the mayor in any other city, the town manager in any town having a town manager, the chairman of the board of selectmen in any other town.
Closure, the permanent termination of low-level radioactive waste acceptance at a facility, including closure prior to the scheduled closing date, and the implementation of a closure plan.
Community, a city or town of the Commonwealth.
Community Compensation, any money, thing of value, or economic benefit conferred by an operator or the Board on any site or neighboring community under the terms and conditions specified in a comprehensive operating contract executed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 33.
Community Supervisory Committee, a committee, established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 21 to facilitate the participation of a community, in which a candidate site is located, in the activities established by 345 CMR 1.00.
Comprehensive Operating Contract, a contract entered into by an operator and the Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 33 which specifies the community compensation to be provided by the operator or the Board.
Container means the primary vessel, exclusive of other reusable shielding or other packaging materials, in which waste is placed and received for treatment, storage, or disposal; or the vessel into which waste is repackaged for storage or disposal and potential retrieval.
Contingent Liability Account, an account within the Low Level Radioactive Waste Trust Fund established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 41 for the purpose of compensating for injuries to persons, land or property, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 9, if no other funds, insurance, tort compensation or other means of satisfying a damage judgment or settlement are available.
Curie, a unit of activity which represents the quantity of any radionuclide that undergoes 37 billion disintegrations per second (3.7 x 1010 d/s).
Days, calendar days; provided that in computing time periods such periods shall exclude the day of the event which starts the period running, and further provided that if the last day of a period falls on a Sunday, legal holiday or declared state of emergency day, such period shall be extended to the close of business on the next business day.
Decommissioning, the safe removal from service of an activity involving radioactive materials or waste, and the reduction of residual radioactivity to a level that permits release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of the license.
DEP, the Department of Environmental Protection.
Detailed Site Characterization, the on-site investigatory and analytical step of site selection established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 23, and conducted prior to the selection of any superior site.
Determinable Property Interest, an interest in property created with a special limitation that delimits the duration of the interest.
Development, all activities undertaken with respect to a low-level radioactive waste facility during the period commencing with the selection of any superior site pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 23 and continuing until the commencement of facility operation pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 39.
Disposal, the isolation of low-level radioactive waste from the biosphere inhabited by human beings and their food chains.
DPH, the Department of Public Health.
Environmental Monitoring Program, a monitoring program established by DPH, after consultation with DEP and the board of health of each site community, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 36 for the purpose of collecting and analyzing environmental data prior to construction and throughout the construction, operation, closure, post-closure observation and maintenance, and institutional control of a facility.
Facility, a parcel of land, together with the structures, equipment and improvements thereon or appurtenant thereto, which, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, is being developed, is used, or has been used for the treatment, storage or disposal of low-level radioactive waste. A "facility" does not include any property used for temporary storage of low-level radio active waste in sealed containers by a broker.
Facility License, a license to operate a facility issued by DPH pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 31, or a license issued for a facility by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Financial Risk Assessment, a comprehensive evaluation of the potential hazards associated with the operation, closure, post-closure observation and maintenance, and institutional control of a storage, treatment or disposal facility, the financial risks associated with these potential hazards and the financial mechanisms necessary to indemnify or insure against such risks.
Generator, a person, including a broker, who produces low level radioactive waste.
Half-Life, the time in which half the atoms of a particular radioactive substance disintegrate to another nuclear form.
Hazardous Waste, a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, or welfare or to the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, used or disposed of, or otherwise managed, however, not to include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1967 as amended, or source, special nuclear, or by product materials as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
High Volume, Low Activity Waste, soils or demolition rubble that have average concentrations of radioactive material less than or equal to the concentrations set forth in 345 CMR 1.13, Table 1.13B and that have been accepted for disposal at a licensed LLRW disposal facility.
Institutional Control, the continued observation, monitoring and care of a facility following transfer of the facility license from the operator to the Board.
Institutional Control Account, an account within the Low Level Radioactive Waste Trust Fund established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 41 for the purpose of paying institutional control costs pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, §§ 9 and 47.
Interim Storage, storage of low-level radioactive waste for a period of five years or less, or as determined by the licensing agency.
Isotopes, nuclides with the same number of protons but differing numbers of neutrons in the nucleus.
Licensee, a person holding a license issued pursuant to Part C of 105 CMR 120.000 by DPH or a license issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer, acquire, own, possess or use quantities of, or devices or equipment utilizing, radioactive material.
Low-Level Radioactive Waste ('LLRW') or waste, radioactive material that (1) is neither high-level waste, nor spent nuclear fuel, nor byproduct material as defined in § 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e); and (2) is classified by the Federal Government as low-level radioactive waste, but not including waste which remains a Federal responsibility, as designated in § 3(b) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2021c(b), as in effect as of December 8, 1987.
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Trust Fund , a trust fund established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 10, § 35H which shall consist of surcharges collected from users of the low-level radioactive waste facility in an amount determined by the Board on an annual basis, which shall be used to meet the obligations set forth in M.G.L. c. 111H, §§ 9 and 47.
Management, the storage, packaging, treatment, transportation, or disposal, where applicable, of low-level radioactive waste.
Management Plan, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Plan adopted by the Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 12 to provide for the safe and efficient management of low-level radioactive waste.
Manifest, a detailed record of the characteristics and quantities of packaged waste as presented for transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal which usually accompanies waste transfers for these purposes.
Mixed Waste, low-level radioactive waste containing material that either
(a) is listed in 310 CMR 30.131 through 30.136; or
(b) causes the waste to exhibit any of the characteristics identified in 310 CMR 30.120.
Monitoring, observing and making measurements to provide data on a facility, its site, its surrounding environment, and its health and environmental impacts.
Neighboring Community, a community, other than a site community, which, according to the most recent decennial census conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 9, § 7, has at least 20% of its population residing within three miles of any superior site.
Nuclide, atoms characterized by their atomic number (number of protons) and their mass.
Operation, the control, supervision or implementation of the actual physical activities involved in the acceptance, storage, treatment, disposal or monitoring of low-level radioactive waste at a facility and the maintenance of the facility and any other responsibilities of the operation pertaining to the facility.
Operator, a person designated in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L. c. 111H, §§ 22 and 27 to develop and operate a low-level radioactive waste facility.
Performance assessment, the process of analyzing the performance of a facility, usually using computer modeling, in order to evaluate its ability to meet the requirements of 105 CMR 120.811 through 120.816.
Person, any agency or political subdivision of the Federal Government or the Commonwealth, or of any state, any public or private corporation or authority, individual, firm, joint stock company, partnership, association, trust, estate, institution or other entity, and any officer, employee or agent of such person, and any group of such persons.
Possible Location, a location, identified in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 20, which will be the subject of preliminary characterization.
Post-closure Observation and Maintenance, the active monitoring and maintenance of a facility which has been closed in preparation for transfer of the facility's license from the operator to the Board.
Preliminary Characterization, the investigatory and analytical step established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 20, and conducted prior to the identification of candidate sites.
Professional Training, the level of academic or on-the-job training generally recognized as adequate to qualify a person to be employed in a discipline.
Property Value Protection District, an area of land, identified by the Board, after consultation with the community supervisory committee, which includes all land within 1/2 mile of the waste management area of a facility and may include other land not more than one mile from the waste management area of the facility.
Public Interest, the common welfare, convenience, benefit, and necessity of the people of the Commonwealth, including public health, safety, and the environment.
Public Meeting, a public hearing, satisfying the requirements of M.G.L. c. 30A, § 2, in which an agency presents information, responds to inquiries, and hears testimony of interested persons.
Public Participation Coordinator, the person appointed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 6 to encourage and facilitate the participation of interested persons in all of the processes established in or pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, and to carry out the other duties prescribed in M.G.L. c. 111H.
Radioactive Materials, any solid, liquid, or gas which emits radiation spontaneously.
Radioactivity, the transformation of unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation.
Radionuclide, an isotope that eventually undergoes spontaneous disintegration, with the emission of radiation.
Remediation, the planning, design, and implementation of appropriate means of assessment and solution of a contamination problem.
Retrievable, able to recover waste in an intact container without substantial destruction of the engineered barriers surrounding the waste containers.
Retrieval, the recovery of waste in an intact container.
Secretary, the Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
Shallow Land Burial, a land disposal method that relies on the site's natural characteristics as the primary barrier for isolation of the waste.
Site, a parcel of land which, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, is being considered, developed or used or has been used as a location for a facility.
Site Community, the community in which is located all or any part of any superior site.
Source Minimization, minimizing the volume or radioactivity of low-level radioactive waste prior to its generation by such methods as:
(1) avoiding unnecessary contamination of items during the use of radioactive materials;
(2) carefully segregating radioactive waste from non-radioactive trash; or
(3) substituting non-radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes with shorter half-lives where practicable.
Storage, the holding of low-level radioactive waste for treatment or disposal.
Storage for Decay, a procedure in which low-level radioactive waste with a relatively short half-life is held for natural radioactive decay in compliance with applicable federal and state regulations.
Superior Site, any site selected by the Board, after detailed site characterization, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 23.
Treatment, any method, technique, or process, including source minimization, volume minimization and storage for decay, designed to change the physical, radioactive, chemical or biological characteristics or composition of low-level radioactive waste in order to render such waste safer for management, amenable for recovery, convertible to another usable material or reduced in volume.
Volume Minimization, treatment of low-level radioactive waste after its generation in order to minimize the physical dimensions of the waste and the space required for storage or disposal.
Waste Form, those physical and chemical characteristics of LLRW of primary importance in influencing its stability in a storage or disposal environment.
