| (111) Total effective dose equivalent--The sum of the
effective dose equivalent (for external exposures) and the committed
effective dose equivalent (for internal exposures).
(112) Traceable to a national standard--This indicates
that a quantity or a measurement has been compared to a national standard,
for example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, directly
or indirectly through one or more intermediate steps and that all
comparisons have been documented.
(113) Tube--An x-ray tube, unless otherwise specified.
(114) Tube housing assembly--The tube housing with
tube installed. It includes high-voltage and filament transformers
and other appropriate elements when such are contained within the
tube housing.
(115) Unrestricted area--An area, access to which is
neither limited nor controlled by the registrant. For purposes of
this section, "uncontrolled area" is an equivalent term.
(116) Useful beam--Radiation that passes through the
window, aperture, cone, or other collimating device of the source
housing. Also referred to as the primary x-ray beam.
(117) Veterinarian--An individual licensed by the Texas
Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
(118) Veterinary medicine--The term when used in this
chapter has the same meaning as found in Texas Occupations Code, Chapter
801.
(119) Very high radiation area--An area, accessible
to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation machines
external to the body could result in an individual receiving an absorbed
dose in excess of 500 rads (5 grays) in one hour at 1 meter from a
radiation machine or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.
At very high doses received at high dose rates, units of absorbed
dose, Gy and rad, are appropriate, rather than units of dose equivalent,
Sv and rem.
(120) Violation--An infringement of any rule, license
or registration condition, order of the agency, or any provision of
the Act.
(121) Whole body--For purposes of external exposure,
head and trunk, including male gonads, arms above the elbow, or legs
above the knee.
(122) Worker--An individual engaged in work under a
certificate of registration issued by the agency and controlled by
a registrant but does not include the registrant.
(123) X-ray control panel--A device that controls input
power to the x-ray high-voltage generator or the x-ray tube. It includes
equipment, such as timers, phototimers, automatic brightness stabilizers,
and similar devices that control the technique factors of an x-ray
exposure.
(124) X-ray field--That area of the intersection of
the useful beam and any one of the set of planes parallel to and including
the plane of the image receptor, whose perimeter is the locus of points
at which the air kerma rate is one-fourth of the maximum in the intersection.
(125) X-ray system--An assemblage of components for
the controlled production of x-rays. It includes minimally an x-ray
high-voltage generator, an x-ray control, a tube housing assembly,
a beam-limiting device, and the necessary supporting structures. Additional
components that function with the system are considered integral parts
of the system.
(126) X-ray tube--Any electron tube that is designed
to be used primarily for the production of x-rays.
(127) Year--The period of time beginning in January
used to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The registrant may change the starting date of the year used to determine
compliance by the registrant provided that the change is made at the
beginning of the year and that no day is omitted or duplicated in
consecutive years.
(e) Exemptions.
(1) The agency may, upon application or upon its own
initiative, exempt a source of radiation or a kind of use or user
from the requirements of this section if the agency determines that
the law does not prohibit the exemption and it will not result in
a significant risk to public health or safety or the environment.
In determining such exemptions, the agency will consider:
(A) state of technology;
(B) economic considerations in relation to benefits
to the public health and safety; and
(C) other societal, socioeconomic, or public health
and safety considerations.
(2) Electronic equipment that produces radiation incidental
to its operation for other purposes is exempt from the registration
and notification requirements of this section, if the dose equivalent
rate averaged over an area of 10 square cm does not exceed 0.5 millirem
(5 microsieverts) per hour at 5 cm from any accessible surface of
such equipment. The production, testing, or factory servicing of such
equipment shall not be exempt.
(3) Radiation machines in transit or in storage incident
to transit are exempt from the requirements of this section. This
exemption does not apply to the providers of radiation machines for
mobile services.
(4) Facilities that have placed all radiation machines
in storage, including on-site storage secured from unauthorized use
or removal, and have notified the agency in writing, are exempt from
the requirements of this section. This exemption is void if any radiation
machine is energized resulting in the production of radiation. Before
resuming use of the radiation machine, the radiation machine shall
meet all requirements of this section.
(5) Inoperable radiation machines are exempt from the
requirements of this section. For the purposes of this section, an
inoperable radiation machine means a radiation machine that cannot
be energized when connected to a power supply without repair or modification.
(6) A person that takes possession of a radiation machine
as the result of foreclosure, bankruptcy, or other default of payment
may possess the radiation machine without registering it. If the radiation
machine is energized, it shall be under the supervision of a person
registered in accordance with this section and shall be energized
in accordance with this chapter and shall be energized only to demonstrate
that the radiation machine is operable for sale, lease, or transfer
purposes.
(7) Portable radiation machines designed to be hand-held
are exempt from the requirements of subsection (i)(5)(I) of this section.
The portable radiation machines shall be held according to manufacturer's
specifications.
(8) Individuals who are sole veterinarians, sole operators,
and the only occupationally exposed individual are exempt from the
following requirements:
(A) operating and safety procedures specified in subsection
(j)(2) of this section;
(B) instructions to workers specified in subsection
(j)(3)(G) of this section; and
(C) posting of notices to workers specified in subsection
(j)(4)(B) of this section.
(f) Communications.
(1) Except where otherwise specified, all communications
and reports concerning this chapter and applications filed under the
communications and reports should be faxed, emailed, or mailed by
postal service to Radiation Control, Department of State Health Services,
P.O. Box 149347, MC 2003, Austin, Texas, 78714-9347. Communications,
reports, and applications may be delivered in person to the agency's
office located at 8407 Wall Street, Austin, Texas, 78754.
(2) Documents received by the agency will be deemed
to have been received on the date of the postmark, fax, or other electronic
media transmission.
(g) Interpretations. Except as specifically authorized
by the agency in writing, no interpretation of the meaning of this
chapter by any officer or employee of the agency other than a written
legal interpretation by the agency, will be considered binding upon
the agency.
(h) Fees for certificates of registration for veterinary
facilities.
(1) Payment of fees.
(A) Each application for a certificate of registration
for radiation machines used in veterinary medicine shall be accompanied
by a nonrefundable fee specified in §289.204 of this title, as
amended. No application will be accepted for filing or processed before
payment of the full amount specified.
(B) A nonrefundable fee specified in §289.204
of this title, as amended, shall be paid for each certificate of registration
for radiation machines in veterinary medicine.
(C) Each application for reciprocal recognition of
an out-of-state registration shall be accompanied by the nonrefundable
fee specified in §289.204 of this title, as amended, provided
that no such fee has been submitted within 24 months of the date of
commencement of the proposed activity.
(2) Failure to pay prescribed fees.
(A) In any case where the agency finds that an applicant
for a certificate of registration has failed to pay the fee prescribed
in §289.204 of this title, as amended, the agency will not process
that application until such fee is paid.
Cont'd... |
