Article 2. General Regulatory Provisions
12VAC5-481-2960. Requirement for license.
Article 2
General Regulatory Provisions
No person shall transport radioactive material or deliver radioactive material to a carrier for transport except as authorized in a general or specific license issued by the agency or as exempted in 12VAC5-481-2970.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-2970. Exemptions.
A. Common and contract carriers, freight forwarders, and warehouse workers that are subject to the requirements of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) in 49 CFR Part 170 through 49 Part CFR 189 or the United States Postal Service in the Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), Section C-023.9.0, and the United States Postal Service, are exempt from the requirements of this part to the extent that they transport or store radioactive material in the regular course of their carriage for others or storage incident thereto. Common and contract carriers that are not subject to the requirements of the DOT or United States Postal Service are subject to 12VAC5-481-2960 and other applicable requirements of these regulations.
B. A licensee is exempt from all the requirements of this part with respect to shipment or carriage of the following low-level materials:
1. Natural material and ores containing naturally occurring radionuclides that are either in their natural state, or have only been processed for purposes other than the extraction of the radionuclides, and that are not intended to be processed for use of these radionuclides, provided the activity concentration of the material does not exceed 10 times the values specified in Table 2 or Table 3 of 12VAC5-481-3770.
2. Materials for which the activity concentration is not greater than the activity concentration values specified in Table 2 or Table 3 of 12VAC5-481-3770, or for which the consignment activity is not greater than the limit for an exempt consignment found in Table 2 or Table 3 of 12VAC5-481-3770.
3. Nonradioactive solid objects with radioactive substances present on any surfaces in quantities not in excess of the levels cited in the definition of "contamination" in 12VAC5-481-10.
C. Fissile material meeting one of the following requirements are exempt from classification as fissile material and from the fissile material package standards of 10 CFR 71.55 and 10 CFR 71.59, but are subject to all other requirements of 10 CFR 71, except as noted.
1. Individual package containing two grams or less fissile material.
2. Individual or bulk packaging containing 15 grams or less of fissile material provided the package has at least 200 grams of solid nonfissile material for every gram of fissile material. Lead, beryllium, graphite, and hydrogenous material enriched in deuterium may be present in the package but must not be included in determining the required mass for solid nonfissile material.
3. Low concentrations of solid fissile material commingled with solid nonfissile material, provided that there is at least 2,000 grams of solid nonfissile material for every gram of fissile material, and there is no more than 180 grams of fissile material distributed within 360 kg of contiguous nonfissile material. Lead, beryllium, graphite, and hydrogenous material enriched in deuterium may be present in the package but must not be included in determining the required mass of solid nonfissile material.
4. Uranium enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 1.0% by weight, and with total plutonium and uranium-233 content of up to 1.0% of the mass of uranium-235, provided that the mass of any beryllium, graphite, and hydrogenous material enriched in deuterium constitutes less than 5.0% of the uranium mass, and that the fissile material is distributed homogeneously and does not form a lattice arrangement within the package.
5. Liquid solutions of uranyl nitrate enriched in uranium-235 to a maximum of 2.0% by mass, with a total plutonium and uranium-233 content not exceeding 0.002% of the mass of uranium, and with a minimum nitrogen to uranium atomic ratio (N/U) of 2. The material must be contained in at least a DOT Type A package.
6. Packages containing, individually, a total plutonium mass of not more than 1,000 grams, of which not more than 20% by mass may consist of plutonium-239, plutonium-241, or any combination of these radionuclides.
D. Any physician licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to dispense drugs in the practice of medicine is exempt from this section with respect to transport by the physician of radioactive material for use in the practice of medicine provided the physician is an authorized user under Part VII (12VAC5-481-1660 et seq.).
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008; Volume 34, Issue 2, eff. October 18, 2017; Volume 34, Issue 14, eff. April 5, 2018.
12VAC5-481-2980. Transportation of licensed material.
A. Each licensee who transports licensed material outside the site of usage, as specified in the agency license, or where transport is on public highways, or who delivers licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall:
1. Comply with the applicable requirements, appropriate to the mode of transport, of the regulations of the DOT; particularly the regulations of the DOT in the following areas:
a. Packaging – 49 CFR Part 173: Subparts A and B and I.
b. Marking and labeling – 49 CFR Part 172: Subpart D, 172.400 through 172.407 and 172.436 through 172.441.
c. Placarding – 49 CFR Part 172: Subpart F, especially §§ 172.500 through 172.519, 172.556, and Appendices B and C.
d. Accident reporting – 49 CFR Part 171: §§ 171.15 and 171.16.
e. Shipping papers and emergency information – 49 CFR Part 172: Subpart C and Subpart G.
f. Hazardous material employee training – 49 CFR Part 172: Subpart H.
g. Hazardous material shipper/carrier registration – 49 CFR Part 107: Subpart G.
h. Security plans – 49 CFR Part 172: Subpart I.
2. The licensee shall also comply with applicable DOT regulations pertaining to the following modes of transportation:
a. Rail – 49 CFR Part 174: Subparts A through D and K.
b. Air – 49 CFR Part 175.
c. Vessel – 49 CFR Part 176: Subparts A through F and M.
d. Public Highway – 49 CFR Part 177 and Parts 390 through 397.
3. Assure that any special instructions needed to safely open the package are sent to or have been made available to the consignee in accordance with 12VAC5-481-900.
B. If, for any reason, the regulations of the DOT are not applicable to a shipment of licensed material, the licensee shall conform to the standards and requirements of 49 CFR Parts 107, 171 through 180, and 390 through 397, appropriate to the mode of transport to the same extent as if the shipment was subject to the regulations.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.