Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 15 - Mississippi Department of Health
Part 21 - Division of Radiological Health
Subpart 78 - Radiological Health
Chapter 1 - REGULATIONS FOR CONTROL OF RADIATION IN MISSISSIPPI
Subchapter 1 - General Provisions
Rule 15-21-78-1.1.2 - Definitions

1. "A1" means the maximum activity of special form radioactive material permitted in a Type A package. "A2" means the maximum activity of radioactive material, other than special form, LSA and SCO material, permitted in a Type A package. These values are either listed in Appendix A, Table A-1 of Subchapter 13 of these regulations or may be derived in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Appendix A of Subchapter 13 of these regulations.

2. "Absorbed dose" means the energy imparted to matter by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material at the place of interest. The units of absorbed dose are the rad and the gray (Gy).

3. "Accelerator" means any machine capable of accelerating electrons, protons, deuterons, or other charged particles in a vacuum and of discharging the resultant particulate or other radiation into a medium at energies usually in excess of 1 MeV. For purposes of this definition, "particle accelerator" is an equivalent term.

4. "Accelerator-produced radioactive material" means any material made radioactive by a particle accelerator.

5. "Acute" as used in this part, means a single radiation dose or multiple radiation dose occurring within a short time (24 hours or less).

6. "Act" means the Mississippi Radiation Protection Law of 1976.

7. "Activity" means the rate of disintegration (transformation) or decay of radioactive material. The units of activity are the curie (Ci) and the becquerel (Bq).

8. "Adult" means an individual 18 or more years of age.

9. "Agency" means the Mississippi State Department of Health.

10. "Agreement State" means any State with which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission has entered into an effective agreement under Subchapter 274b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (73 Stat. 689).

11. "Airborne radioactive material" means any radioactive material dispersed in the air in the form of dusts, fumes, particulates, mists, vapors, or gases.

12. "Airborne radioactivity area" means a room, enclosure, or area in which airborne radioactive materials exist in concentrations:

13. "Alert" means events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred that could lead to a release of radioactive material but that the release is not expected to require a response by offsite response organizations to protect persons offsite.

14. "As low as is reasonably achievable" (ALARA) means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits in these regulations as is practical, consistent with the purpose for which the licensed or registered activity is undertaken, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to utilization of nuclear energy and licensed or registered sources of radiation in the public interest.

15. "Becquerel" (Bq) means the SI unit of activity. One becquerel is equal to 1 disintegration or transformation per second (dps or tps).

16. "Bioassay" means the determination of kinds, quantities or concentrations, and, in some cases, the locations of radioactive material in the human body, whether by direct measurement, in vivo counting, or by analysis and evaluation of materials excreted or removed from the human body. For purposes of these regulations, "radiobioassay" is an equivalent term.

17. "Brachytherapy" means a method of radiation therapy in which sealed sources are utilized to deliver a radiation dose at a distance of up to a few centimeters, by surface, intracavitary, or interstitial application.

18. "Byproduct material" means:

19. "Calendar quarter" means not less than 12 consecutive weeks nor more than 14 consecutive weeks. The first calendar quarter of each year shall begin in January and subsequent calendar quarters shall be so arranged such that no day is included in more than one calendar quarter and no day in any one year is omitted from inclusion within a calendar quarter. No licensee or registrant shall change the method observed by him of determining calendar quarters for purposes of these regulations except at the beginning of a year.

20. "Calibration" means the determination of (1) the response or reading of an instrument relative to a series of known radiation values over the range of the instrument, or (2) the strength of a source of radiation relative to a standard.

21. "CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations"

22. "Chelating agent" means amine polycarboxylic acids, hydroxycarboxylic acids, gluconic acid, and polycarboxylic acids.

23. "Collective dose" means the sum of the individual doses received in a given period of time by a specified population from exposure to a specified source of radiation.

24. "Committed dose equivalent" (HT,50) means the dose equivalent to organs or tissues of reference (T) that will be received from an intake of radioactive material by an individual during the 50-year period following the intake. "Committed effective dose equivalent" (HE, 50) is the sum of the products of the weighting factors applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated and the committed dose equivalent to each of these organs or tissues (HE,50 =

(HE,50 = [SIGMA] WTHT,50).

25. "Consortium" means an association of medical use licensees and a PET radionuclide production facility in the same geographical area that jointly own or share in the operation and maintenance cost of the PET radionuclide production facility that produces PET radionuclides for use in producing radioactive drugs within the consortium for noncommercial distributions among its associated members for medical use. The PET radionuclide production facility within the consortium must be located at an educational institution or a Federal facility or a medical facility.

26. "Controlled area" means an area, outside of a restricted area but inside the site boundary, access to which can be limited by the licensee or registrant for any reason.

27. "Critical Group" means the group of individuals reasonably expected to receive the greatest exposure to residual radioactivity for any applicable set of circumstances.

28. "Curie" means a unit of quantity of radioactivity. One curie (Ci) is that quantity of radioactive material which decays at the rate of 3.7E+10 transformations per second (tps). Commonly used submultiples of the curie are the millicurie and the microcurie. One millicurie (mCi) = 0.001 curie = 3.7E+7 tps. One microcurie (Ci) = 0.000001 curie = 3.7E+4 tps (See 1.1.16 for SI equivalent becquerel).

29. "Decommission" means to remove a facility or site safely from service and reduce residual radioactivity to a level that permits:

30. "Deep dose equivalent" (Hd), which applies to external whole body exposure, means the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 1 centimeter (1000 mg/cm2).

31. "Depleted uranium" means the source material uranium in which the isotope uranium-235 is less than 0.711 weight percent of the total uranium present. Depleted uranium does not include special nuclear material.

32. "Discrete source" means a radionuclide that has been processed so that its concentration within a material has been purposely increased for use for commercial, medical, or research activities.

33. "Distinguishable from background" means that the detectable concentration of a radionuclide is statistically different from the background concentration of that radionuclide in the vicinity of the site or, in the case of structures, in similar materials using adequate measurements technology, survey, and statistical techniques.

34. "Dose" is a generic term that means absorbed dose, dose equivalent, effective dose equivalent, committed dose equivalent, committed effective dose equivalent, total organ dose equivalent, or total effective dose equivalent. For purposes of these regulations, "radiation dose" is an equivalent term.

35. "Dose Commitmenf means the total radiation dose to a part of the body that will result from retention in the body of radioactive material. For purposes of estimating the dose commitment, it is assumed that from the time of intake the period of exposure to retained material will not exceed 50 years.

36. "Dose equivalent (Ht)" means the product of the absorbed dose in tissue, quality factor, and all other necessary modifying factors at the location of interest. The units of dose equivalent are the rem and the sievert (Sv).

37. "Dose limits" means the permissible upper bounds of radiation doses established in accordance with these regulations. For purposes of these regulations, "limits" is an equivalent term.

38. "Effective dose equivalent (HE)" means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to each organ or tissue (HT) and the weighting factor (wt) applicable to each of the body organs or tissues that are irradiated (H E = [SIGMA] wTH T).

39. "Embryo/fetus" means the developing human organism from conception until the time of birth.

40. "Entrance or access point" means any opening through which an individual or extremity of an individual could gain access to radiation areas or to sources of radiation. This includes entry or exit portals of sufficient size to permit human entry, irrespective of their intended use.

41. "Explosive material" means any chemical compound, mixture, or device which produces a substantial instantaneous release of gas and heat spontaneously or by contact with sparks or flame.

42. "Exposure" means being exposed to ionizing radiation or to radioactive material.

43. "Exposure" means the quotient of dQ by dm where "dQ" is the absolute value of the total charge of the ions of one sign produced in air when all the electrons (negatrons and positrons) liberated by photons in a volume element of air having mass "dm" are completely stopped in air. The SI unit of exposure is the coulomb per kilogram (C/kg). The special unit of exposure is the roentgen (R) (See 1.1.15 for SI equivalent coulomb per kilogram).2

44. "Exposure rate" means the exposure per unit of time, such as roentgen per minute and milliroentgen per hour.

45. "External dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from any source of radiation outside the body.

46. "Extremity" means hand, elbow, arm below the elbow, foot, knee, and leg below the knee.

47. "Former U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) or U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed facilities" means nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, uranium enrichment plants, or critical mass experimental facilities where AEC or NRC licenses have been terminated.

48. "Generally applicable environmental radiation standards" means standards issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, that impose limits on radiation exposuresor levels, or concentrations or quantities of radioactive material, in the general environment outside the boundaries of locations under the control of persons possessing or using radioactive material.

49. "Gray" (Gy) means the SI unit of absorbed dose. One gray is equal to an absorbed dose of 1 joule per kilogram (100 rads).

50. "Hazardous waste" means those wastes designated as hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations in 40 CFR Part 261.

51. "Healing arts" means the professional disciplines authorized by the laws of this state to use sources of radiation in the diagnosis or treatment of human or animal diseases.

52. "High radiation area" means an area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation sources external to the body could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.1 rem (1 millisievert) in 1 hour at 30 centimeters from any source of radiation or 30 centimeters from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

53. "Human use" means the internal or external administration of radiation or radioactive material to human beings.

54. "Individual" means any human being.

55. "Individual monitoring" means the assessment of:

56. "Individual monitoring devices" (individual monitoring equipment) means devices designed to be worn by a single individual for the assessment of dose equivalent such as film badges, thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs), optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLs), pocket ionization chambers, and personal ("lapel") air sampling devices

57. "Inspection" means an official examination or observation including, but not limited to, tests, surveys, and monitoring to determine compliance with rules, regulations, orders, requirements, and conditions of the Agency.

58. "Interlock" means a device arranged or connected such that the occurrence of an event or condition is required before a second event or condition can occur or continue to occur.

59. "Internal dose" means that portion of the dose equivalent received from radioactive material taken into the body

60. "Lens dose equivalent" (LDE) applies to the external exposure of the lens of the eye and is taken as the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 0.3 centimeter (300 mg/cm2).

61. "License" means a license issued by the Agency in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Agency.

62. "Licensed material" means radioactive material received, possessed, used, transferred or disposed of under a general or specific license issued by the Agency.

63. "Licensee" means any person who is licensed by the Agency in accordance with these regulations and the Act.

64. "Licensing State" means any State with regulations equivalent to the Suggested State Regulations for Control of Radiation relating to, and an effective program for, the regulatory control of NARM and which has been granted final designation by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc.

65. "Limits" See "Dose limits".

66. "Lost or missing source of radiation" means a source of radiation whose location is unknown. This definition includes licensed material that has been shipped but has not reached its planned destination and whose location cannot be readily traced in the transportation system.

67. "Lot Tolerance Percent Defective" means the poorest quality in an individual inspection lot that should be accepted, expressed in percent defective.

68. "Major processor" means a user processing, handling, or manufacturing radioactive material exceeding Type A quantities as unsealed sources or material, or exceeding 4 times Type B quantities as sealed sources, but does not include nuclear medicine programs, universities, industrial radiographers, or small industrial programs. Type A and B quantities are defined in Subchapter 13 ( 10 CFR 71.4) of these regulations.

69. "Member of the public" means any individual except when that individual is receiving an occupational dose.

70. "Minor" means an individual less than 18 years of age.

71. "NARM" means any naturally occurring or accelerator-produced radioactive material. It does not include byproduct, source, or special nuclear material.

72. "Nationally tracked source" means a sealed source containing a quantity equal to or greater than Category 1 or Category 2 levels of any radioactive material listed in Subchapter 4 (10 CFR Part 20, Appendix E) of these regulations. In this context a sealed source is defined as radioactive material that is sealed in a capsule or closely bonded, in a solid form and which is not exempt from regulatory control. It does not mean material encapsulated solely for disposal, or nuclear material contained in any fuel assembly, subassembly, fuel rod, or fuel pellet. Category 1 nationally tracked sources are those containing radioactive material at a quantity equal to or greater than the Category 1 threshold. Category 2 nationally tracked sources are those containing radioactive material at a quantity equal to or greater than the Category 2 threshold but less than the Category 1 threshold.

73. "Natural radioactivity" means radioactivity of naturally occurring nuclides.

74. "Nuclear Regulatory Commission" (NRC) means the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.

75. "Occupational dose" means the dose received by an individual in the course of employment in which the individual's assigned duties involve exposure to radiation and/or radioactive material from licensed and unlicensed sources of radiation, whether in the possession of the licensee, registrant, or other person. Occupational dose does not include doses from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released in accordance with Subchapter 7 ( 10 CFR 35.75) of these regulations, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, or as a member of the public.

76. "Offshore Waters" means that area of land and water, beyond Agreement States' Submerged Lands Act jurisdiction, on or above the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

77. "Package" means the packaging together with its radioactive contents as presented for transport.

78. "Particle accelerator" See "Accelerator".

79. "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency, political subdivision of this State, any other State or political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing, other than the NRC and federal government agencies licensed or exempted by the NRC.

80. "Personnel monitoring equipment" See "Individual monitoring devices".

81. "Pharmacist" means an individual licensed by this State to compound and dispense drugs, prescriptions, and poisons.

82. "Physician" means an individual licensed by this State to dispense drugs in the practice of medicine.

83. "Principal activities" means activities authorized by the license which are essential to achieving the purpose(s) for which the license was issued or amended. Storage during which no licensed material is accessed for use or disposal and activities incidental to decontamination or decommissioning are not principal activities.

84. "Public dose" means the dose received by a member of the public from exposure to radiation and/or radioactive material released by a licensee, or to any other source of radiation under the control of the licensee or registrant. Public dose does not include occupational dose or doses received from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released in accordance with Subchapter 7 ( 10 CFR 35.75) of these regulations, or from voluntary participation in medical research programs.

85. "Pyrophoric liquid" means any liquid that ignites spontaneously in dry or moist air at or below 130 ºF (54.4 ºC). A pyrophoric solid is any solid material, 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. Included are spontaneously combustible and water-reactive materials.

86. "Qualified expert" means an individual having the knowledge and training to measure ionizing radiation, to evaluate safety techniques, and to advise regarding radiation protection needs, for example, individuals certified in the appropriate field by the American Board of Radiology or the American Board of Health Physics, or those having equivalent qualifications. With reference to the calibration of radiation therapy equipment, an individual having, in addition to the above qualifications, training and experience in the clinical applications of radiation physics to radiation therapy, for example, individuals certified in Therapeutic Radiological Physics or X-Ray and Radium Physics by the American Board of Radiology, or those having equivalent qualifications.

87. "Quality factor" (Q) means the modifying factor, listed in Tables I and II of 1.1.15, that is used to derive dose equivalent from absorbed dose.

88. "Rad" means the special unit of absorbed dose. One rad is equal to an absorbed dose of 100 ergs per gram or 0.01 joule per kilogram (0.01 gray).

89. "Radiation" means gamma rays and x-rays, alpha and beta particles, high speed electrons, neutrons, high speed protons and other atomic particles and electromagnetic radiation consisting of associated and interacting electric and magnetic waves and ultrasonic waves.

90. "Radiation area" means any area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.005 rem (0.05 millisievert) in 1 hour at 30 centimeters from the source of radiation or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

91. "Radiation dose" See "Dose".

92. "Radiation machine" means any device capable of producing radiation except, those devices with radioactive material as the only source of radiation.

93. "Radioactive material" means any solid, liquid, or gas which emits radiation spontaneously.

94. "Radioactivity" means the transformation of unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation.

95. "Radiobioassay" See "Bioassay".

96. "Registrant" means any person who is registered with the Agency and is legally obligated to register with the Agency pursuant to these regulations and the Act.

97. "Registration" means registration with the Agency in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Agency.

98. "Regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation" means the regulations in 49 CFR Parts 100-189.

99. "Residual radioactivity" means radioactivity in structures, materials, soils, groundwater, and other media at a site resulting from activities under the licensee(s control. This includes radioactivity from all licensed and unlicensed sources used by the licensee, but excludes background radiation. It also includes radioactive materials remaining at the site as a result of routine or accidental releases of radioactive material at the site and previous burials at the site, even if those burials were made in accordance with the provisions of Subchapter 4 of these regulations.

100. "Rem" means the special unit of any of the quantities expressed as dose equivalent.

The dose equivalent in rem is equal to the absorbed dose in rad multiplied by the quality factor (1 rem = 0.01 sievert).

101. "Research and development" means

102. "Roentgen" means the special unit of exposure. One roentgen (R) equals 2.58E-4 coulomb per kilogram of air (see "Exposure" and 1.1.15).

103. "Sealed source" means any radioactive material that is encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or escape of the radioactive material.

104. "Shallow dose equivalent" (Hs), which applies to the external exposure of the skin of the whole body or the skin of an extremity, means the dose equivalent at a tissue depth of 0.007 centimeter (7 mg/cm2).

105. "SI" means the abbreviation for the International System of Units

106. "Sievert" (Sv) means the SI unit of any of the quantities expressed as dose equivalent. The dose equivalent in sievert is equal to the absorbed dose in gray multiplied by the quality factor (1 sievert = 100 rems).

107. "Site area emergency" means events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred that could lead to a significant release of radioactive material and that could require a response by offsite response organizations to protect persons offsite.

108. "Site boundary" means that line beyond which the land or property is not owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the licensee or registrant.

109. "Source material" means:

110. "Source material milling" means any activity that results in the production of byproduct material as defined by definition (2) of byproduct material.

111. "Source of radiation" means any radioactive material or any device or equipment emitting, or capable of producing, radiation.

112. "Special form radioactive material" means radioactive material that satisfies the following conditions:

113. "Special nuclear material" means:

114. "Special nuclear material in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass" means uranium enriched in the isotope U-235 in quantities not exceeding 350 grams of contained U-235; uranium-233 in quantities not exceeding 200 grams; plutonium in quantities not exceeding 200 grams; or any combination of them in accordance with the following formula: For each kind of special nuclear material, determine the ratio between the quantity of that special nuclear material and the quantity specified above for the same kind of special nuclear material. The sum of such ratios for all of the kinds of special nuclear material in combination shall not exceed 1. For example, the following quantities in combination would not exceed the limitation and are within the formula:

115. "Survey" means an evaluation of the radiological conditions and potential hazards incident to the production, use, transfer, release, disposal, or presence of sources of radiation. When appropriate, such evaluation includes, but is not limited to, tests, physical examinations, calculations, and measurements of levels of radiation or concentrations of radioactive material present.

116. "Test" means the process of verifying compliance with an applicable regulation.

117. "These regulations" mean all sections of the Mississippi State Department of Health Regulations for Control of Radiation, Subpart 78 - Radiological Health.

118. "Total effective dose equivalent" (TEDE) means the sum of the effective dose equivalent for external exposures and the committed effective dose equivalent for internal exposures.

119. "Total organ dose equivalent" (TODE) means the sum of the deep dose equivalent and the committed dose equivalent to the organ receiving the highest dose as described in Subchapter 4 ( 10 CFR 20.2104) of these regulations.

120. "U.S. Department of Energy" means the Department of Energy established by Public Law 95-91, August 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq., to the extent that the Department exercises functions formerly vested in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, its Chairman, members, officers and components and transferred to the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration and to the Administrator thereof pursuant to sections 104(b), (c) and (d) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 ( Public Law 93-438, October 11, 1974, 88 Stat. 1233 at 1237, 42 U.S.C. 5814, effective January 19, 1975) and retransferred to the Secretary of Energy pursuant to section 301(a) of the Department of Energy Organization Act ( Public Law 95-91, August 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 565 at 577-578, 42 U.S.C. 7151, effective October 1, 1977).

121. "Unrefined and unprocessed ore" means ore in its natural form prior to any processing, such as grinding, roasting, beneficiating, or refining.

122. "Unrestricted area" means any area access to which is neither limited nor controlled by the licensee or registrant for purposes of protection of individuals from exposure to radiation and radioactive material. For purposes of these regulations, "uncontrolled area" is an equivalent term.

123. "Very high radiation area" means an area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation sources external to the body could result in an individual receiving an absorbed dose in excess of 500 rads (5 grays) in 1 hour at 1 meter from a source of radiation or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.3

124. "Waste" means those low-level radioactive wastes containing source, special nuclear, or byproduct material that are acceptable for disposal in a land disposal facility. For the purposes of this definition, low-level radioactive waste means radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or byproduct material as defined in paragraphs (b.), (c.), (d.) and (e.) of the definition of byproduct material set forth in this section.

125. "Waste handling licensees" mean persons licensed to receive and store radioactive wastes prior to disposal and/or persons licensed to dispose of radioactive waste.

126. "Week" means 7 consecutive days starting on Sunday.

127. "Whole body" means, for purposes of external exposure, head, trunk including male gonads, arms above the elbow, or legs above the knee.

128. "Worker" means an individual engaged in work under a license or registration issued by the Agency and controlled by a licensee or registrant, but does not include the licensee or registrant.

129. "Working level" (WL) means any combination of short-lived radon daughters in 1 liter of air that will result in the ultimate emission of 1.3E+5 MeV of potential alpha particle energy. The short-lived radon daughters are -- for radon-222: polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214, and polonium-214; and for radon-220: polonium-216, lead-212, bismuth-212, and polonium-212.

130. "Working level month" (WLM) means an exposure to 1 working level for 170 hours (2,000 working hours per year divided by 12 months per year is approximately equal to 170 hours per month).

131. "Year" means the period of time beginning in January used to determine compliance with the provisions of these regulations. The licensee or registrant may change the starting date of the year used to determine compliance by the licensee or registrant provided that the change is made at the beginning of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated in consecutive years.

1 Attention is directed to the fact that regulation by the State of source material, byproduct material, and special nuclear material in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass is subject to the provisions of the agreement between State and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and to 10 CFR Part 150 of the Commission's regulations.

2 "When not underlined as above or indicated as 'exposure' (x), the term 'exposure' has a more general meaning in these regulations."

3 "Very high radiation area" means an area, accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation sources external to the body could result in an individual receiving an absorbed