Article 3. General Licenses
12VAC5-481-2990. General licenses for carriers.
Article 3
General Licenses
A. A general license is hereby issued to any common or contract carrier not exempt under 12VAC5-481-2970 to receive, possess, transport, and store radioactive material in the regular course of their carriage for others or storage incident thereto, provided the transportation and storage is in accordance with the applicable requirements, appropriate to the mode of transport, of the United States Department of Transportation insofar as such requirements relate to the loading and storage of packages, placarding of the transporting vehicle, and incident reporting. Notification of an incident shall be filed with, or made to, the agency as prescribed in 49 CFR, regardless of or in addition to notification made to the United States Department of Transportation or other agencies.
B. A general license is hereby issued to any private carrier to transport radioactive material, provided the transportation is in accordance with the applicable requirements, appropriate to the mode of transport, of the United States Department of Transportation insofar as such requirements relate to the loading and storage of packages, placarding of the transporting vehicle, and incident reporting. Notification of an incident shall be filed with, or made to, the agency as prescribed in 49 CFR, regardless of or in addition to notification made to the United States Department of Transportation or other agencies.
C. Persons who transport radioactive material pursuant to the general licenses in subsection A or B of this section are exempt from the requirements of Parts IV (12VAC5-481-600 et seq.) and X (12VAC5-481-2250 et seq.) of this chapter to the extent that they transport radioactive material.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006.
12VAC5-481-3000. General license: NRC-approved packages.
A. A general license is hereby issued to any licensee to transport, or to deliver to a carrier for transport, licensed material in a package for which a license, certificate of compliance (CoC), or other approval has been issued by the NRC. This general license applies only to a licensee who has a quality assurance program approved by the agency as satisfying the provisions of 12VAC5-481-3130.
B. This general license applies only to a licensee who:
1. Has a copy of the license, CoC, or other approval by the NRC of the package and has the drawings and other documents referenced in the approval relating to the use and maintenance of the packaging and to the actions to be taken prior to shipment;
2. Complies with the terms and conditions of the license, certificate, or other approval by the NRC, as applicable, and the applicable requirements of Part XIII (12VAC5-481-2950 et seq.) of this chapter;
3. Prior to the licensee's first use of the package, submits in writing to the NRC: ATTN: Document Control Desk, Director, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, using an appropriate method listed in 10 CFR 71.1(a), the licensee's name and license number and the package identification number specified in the package approval; and
4. Has a quality assurance program that complies with 12VAC5-481-3130.
C. The general license in subsection A of this section applies only when the package approval authorizes use of the package under this general license.
D. For a Type B or fissile material package, the design of which was approved by the NRC before April 1, 1996, the general license is subject to the additional restrictions of 12VAC5-481-3010.
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; Volume 37, Issue 25, eff. January 14, 2022.
12VAC5-481-3010. Previously approved packages.
A Type B(U) package, a Type B(M) package or a fissile material package, previously approved by the NRC but without the designation "-85" in the identification number of the NRC CoC, may be used under the general license of 12VAC5-481-3000 with the following additional conditions:
1. Fabrication of the package is satisfactorily completed by April 1, 1999, as demonstrated by application of its model number in accordance with 10 CFR 71.85(c);
2. A package used for a shipment to a location outside the United States is subject to multilateral approval except approved under special arrangement in accordance with United States Department of Transportation regulations at 49 CFR 173.403; and
3. A serial number that uniquely identifies each packaging that conforms to the approved design is assigned to and legibly and durably marked on the outside of each packaging.
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.
12VAC5-481-3020. General License: United States Department of Transportation specification container.
A. A general license is issued to any licensee to transport, or to deliver to a carrier for transport, licensed material in a specification container for fissile material or for a Type B quantity of radioactive material as specified in 49 CFR Parts 173 and 178.
B. This general license applies only to a licensee who:
1. Has a copy of the specification;
2. Complies with the terms and conditions of the specification and the applicable requirements of this part; and
3. Has a quality assurance program that complies with 12VAC5-481-3130.
C. The general license in subsection A of this section is subject to the limitation that the specification container may not be used for a shipment to a location outside the United States except by multilateral approval as defined in 49 CFR 173.403.
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.
12VAC5-481-3030. General license: use of foreign approved package.
A. A general license is issued to any licensee to transport, or to deliver to a carrier for transport, licensed material in a package the design of which has been approved in a foreign national competent authority certificate that has been revalidated by the DOT as meeting the applicable requirements of 49 CFR 171.23.
B. This general license applies only to shipments made to or from locations outside the United States.
C. This general license applies only to a licensee who:
1. Has a copy of the applicable certificate, the revalidation, and the drawings and other documents referenced in the certificate relating to the use and maintenance of the packaging and to the actions to be taken prior to shipment;
2. Complies with the terms and conditions of the certificate and revalidation, and with the applicable requirements of this part; and
3. The licensee has a quality assurance program approved by the agency that complies with 12VAC5-481-3130.
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.
12VAC5-481-3040. General license: fissile material.
A. A general license is issued to any licensee to transport fissile material, or to deliver fissile material to a carrier for transport, if the material is shipped in accordance with this section. The fissile material need not be contained in a package that meets the standards of 10 CFR Part 71, Subparts E and F; however, the material must be contained in a Type A package. The Type A package must also meet the DOT requirements of 49 CFR 173.417(a).
B. The general license applies only to a licensee who has a quality assurance program that complies with 12VAC5-481-3130.
C. The general license applies only when a package's contents:
1. Contain no more than a Type A quantity of radioactive material; and
2. Contain less than 500 total grams of beryllium, graphite, or hydrogenous material enriched in deuterium.
D. The general license applies only to packages containing fissile material that are labeled with a CSI that:
1. Has been determined in accordance with subsection E of this section;
2. Has a value less than or equal to 10; and
3. For a shipment of multiple packages containing fissile material, the sum of the CSIs must be less than or equal to 50 (for shipment on a nonexclusive use conveyance) and less than or equal to 100 (for shipment on an exclusive use conveyance).
E. The value for the CSI must be greater than or equal to the number calculated by the following equation:
1. The calculated CSI must be rounded up to the first decimal place;
2. The values of X, Y, and Z used in the CSI equation must be taken from Tables 5 or 6, as appropriate;
3. If Table 5 is used to obtain the value of X, then the values for the terms in the equation for uranium-233 and plutonium must be assumed to be zero; and
4. Table 4 values for X, Y, and Z must be used to determine the CSI if:
a. Uranium-233 is present in the package;
b. The mass of plutonium exceeds one percent of the mass of uranium-235;
c. The uranium is of unknown uranium-235 enrichment or greater than 24 weight percent enrichment; or
d. Substances having a moderating effectiveness (i.e., an average hydrogen density greater than H2O) (e.g., certain hydrocarbon oils or plastics) are present in any form, except as polyethylene used for packing or wrapping.
| Table 4 | ||
| Fissile material | Fissile material mass mixed with moderating substances having an average hydrogen density less than or equal to H2O (grams) | Fissile material mass mixed with moderating substances having an average hydrogen density greater than H2Oa (grams) |
| U-235 (X) | 60 | 38 |
| U-233 (Y) | 43 | 27 |
| Pu-239 or Pu-241 (Z) | 37 | 24 |
| aWhen mixtures of moderating substances are present, the lower mass limits shall be used if more than 15 percent of the moderating substance has an average hydrogen density greater than H2O. | ||
| Table 5 | |
| Uranium enrichment in weight | Fissile material mass of |
| 24 | 60 |
| 20 | 63 |
| 15 | 67 |
| 11 | 72 |
| 10 | 76 |
| 9.5 | 78 |
| 9 | 81 |
| 8.5 | 82 |
| 8 | 85 |
| 7.5 | 88 |
| 7 | 90 |
| 6.5 | 93 |
| 6 | 97 |
| 5.5 | 102 |
| 5 | 108 |
| 4.5 | 114 |
| 4 | 120 |
| 3.5 | 132 |
| 3 | 150 |
| 2.5 | 180 |
| 2 | 246 |
| 1.5 | 408 |
| 1.35 | 480 |
| 1 | 1,020 |
| 0.92 | 1,800 |
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.
12VAC5-481-3050. (Repealed.)
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 25, eff. September 20, 2006; repealed, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.
12VAC5-481-3051. General license: plutonium-berylium special form material.
A. A general license is issued to any licensee to transport fissile material in the form of plutonium-beryllium (Pu-Be) special form sealed sources, or to deliver Pu-Be sealed sources to a carrier for transport, if the material is shipped in accordance with this section. This material need not be contained in a package that meets the standards of Subparts E and F of 10 CFR Part 71; however, the material must be contained in a Type A package. The Type A package must also meet the DOT requirements of 49 CFR 173.417(a).
B. The general license applies only to a licensee who has a quality assurance program that complies with 12VAC5-481-3130.
C. The general license applies only when a package's contents:
1. Contain no more than a Type A quantity of radioactive material; and
2. Contain less than 1,000 grams of plutonium, provided that: plutonium-239, plutonium-241, or any combination of these radionuclides, constitutes less than 240 grams of the total quantity of plutonium in the package.
D. The general license applies only to packages labeled with a CSI that:
1. Has been determined in accordance with subsection E of this section;
2. Has a value less than or equal to 100; and
3. For a shipment of multiple packages containing Pu-Be sealed sources, the sum of the CSIs must be less than or equal to 50 (for shipment on a nonexclusive use conveyance) and less than or equal to 100 (for shipment on an exclusive use conveyance).
E. The value for the CSI must be greater than or equal to the number calculated by the following equation:
The calculated CSI must be rounded up to the first decimal place.
Statutory Authority
§ 32.1-229 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 18, eff. June 12, 2008.