| (a) Scope. Except as otherwise specifically provided,
this section applies to all persons who receive, possess, use, transfer,
or acquire any radioactive material unless the person is subject to
regulation by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
This section does not apply to radioactive material in the possession
of federal agencies. State regulation 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 the state and NRC and to Part 150 of NRC regulations (10 Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 150). A person who receives, possesses,
uses, owns, transfers, or acquires radioactive material before receiving
a license is subject to the requirements of this chapter.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms when
used in this chapter have the following meanings unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Absorbed dose--The energy imparted by ionizing
radiation per unit mass of irradiated material. The units of absorbed
dose are the gray (Gy) and the rad.
(2) Accelerator-produced material--Any material made
radioactive by exposing it to the radiation from a particle accelerator.
(3) Access control--A system for allowing only approved
individuals to have unescorted access to the security zone and for
ensuring that all other individuals are subject to escorted access.
(4) Act--Texas Radiation Control Act, Texas Health
and Safety Code (HSC) Chapter 401.
(5) Activity--The rate of disintegration or transformation
or decay of radioactive material. The units of activity are the becquerel
(Bq) and the curie (Ci).
(6) Adult--An individual 18 or more years of age.
(7) Aggregated--Accessible by the breach of a single
physical barrier that would allow access to radioactive material in
any form, including any devices that contain the radioactive material,
when the total activity equals or exceeds a category 2 quantity of
radioactive material.
(8) Agreement state--Any state with which NRC has entered
into an effective agreement under Section 274 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended.
(9) Airborne radioactive material--Any radioactive
material dispersed in the air in the form of dusts, fumes, particulates,
mists, vapors, or gases.
(10) Airborne radioactivity area--A room, enclosure,
or area in which airborne radioactive materials exist in concentrations:
(A) over the derived air concentrations (DACs) specified
in Table I, Column 3 of §289.202(ggg)(2)(F) of this subchapter
(relating to Standards for Protection Against Radiation from Radioactive
Materials); or
(B) to such a degree that an individual present in
the area without respiratory protective equipment could exceed, during
the hours an individual is present in a week, an intake of 0.6 percent
of the annual limit on intake (ALI) or 12 derived air concentration-hours
(DAC-hours).
(11) Approved individual--An individual whom the licensee
has determined to be trustworthy and reliable for unescorted access
as specified in §289.252(ii)(2)-(8) of this chapter (relating
to Licensing of Radioactive Material) and who has completed the training
required by §289.252(ii)(10)(C) of this chapter.
(12) As low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA)--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 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
societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to utilization
of ionizing radiation and licensed sources of radiation in the public
interest.
(13) Background investigation--The investigation conducted
by a licensee or applicant to support the determination of trustworthiness
and reliability.
(14) Background radiation--Radiation from cosmic sources;
non-technologically enhanced, naturally occurring radioactive material,
including radon, except as a decay product of source or special nuclear
material; and global fallout as it exists in the environment from
the testing of nuclear explosive devices or from past nuclear accidents,
such as Chernobyl, contributing to background radiation and not under
the control of the licensee. "Background radiation" does not include
radiation from sources of radiation regulated by the department.
(15) Becquerel (Bq)--The International System of Units
(SI) unit of activity. One becquerel is equal to one disintegration
or transformation per second (dps or tps). Commonly used multiples
of the becquerel are the kBq (kilobecquerel, 103 Bq),
MBq (megabecquerel, 106 Bq), GBq (gigabecquerel,
109 Bq), and TBq (terabecquerel, 1012 Bq). 1 Ci = 37 GBq.
(16) Bioassay--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 this chapter, "radiobioassay"
is an equivalent term.
(17) Brachytherapy--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--Byproduct material is defined
as:
(A) any radioactive material (except special nuclear
material) yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation
incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear
material;
(B) the tailings or wastes produced by or resulting
from the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any
ore processed primarily for its source material content, including
discrete surface wastes resulting from uranium solution extraction
processes. Underground ore bodies depleted by these solution extraction
operations do not constitute "byproduct material" within this definition;
(C) any discrete source of radium-226 that is produced,
extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August
8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity;
(D) any material that has been made radioactive by
use of a particle accelerator; and is produced, extracted, or converted
after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for
a commercial, medical, or research activity; or
(E) any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive
material, other than source material, that is extracted or converted
after extraction before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use in a
commercial, medical, or research activity and that the United States
NRC, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Secretary of Energy, the
United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any
other appropriate federal agency, determines would pose a threat similar
to the threat posed by a discrete source of radium-226 to the public
health and safety or the common defense and security.
(19) Category 1 quantity of radioactive material--A
quantity of radioactive material meeting or exceeding the category
1 threshold in §289.252(jj)(9) of this chapter. This is determined
by calculating the ratio of the total activity of each radionuclide
to the category 1 threshold for that radionuclide and adding the ratios
together. If the sum is equal to or exceeds one, the quantity would
be considered a category 1 quantity. Category 1 quantities of radioactive
material do not include the radioactive material contained in any
fuel assembly, subassembly, fuel rod, or fuel pellet.
(20) Category 2 quantity of radioactive material--A
quantity of radioactive material meeting or exceeding the category
2 threshold but less than the category 1 threshold in §289.252(jj)(9)
of this chapter. This is determined by calculating the ratio of the
total activity of each radionuclide to the category 2 threshold for
that radionuclide and adding the ratios together. If the sum is equal
to or exceeds one, the quantity would be considered a category 2 quantity.
Category 2 quantities of radioactive material do not include the radioactive
material contained in any fuel assembly, subassembly, fuel rod, or
fuel pellet.
(21) Certificate of registration--A form of permission
to engage in regulated activities given by the department to an applicant
who has met the requirements for registration or mammography system
certification set out in the Act and this chapter.
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