The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019

InterpretationE+W+S

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the 2017 Regulations” means the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 M1;

“the Agency” in relation to premises or a plan relating to premises—

“approved dosimetry service” means an approved dosimetry service within the meaning of the 2017 Regulations and which is approved for the purpose of regulation 22 of those Regulations;

“authorised defence site” has the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 M2;

“Category 1 responder” has the meaning set out in Parts 1, 2 and 2A of Schedule 1 to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 M3;

“Category 2 responder” has the meaning set out in Parts 3, 4 and 5 of Schedule 1 to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 M4;

“consequences report” has the meaning set out in regulation 7(1);

“detailed emergency planning zone” means a zone determined in accordance with regulation 8 and covered by the local authority's off-site emergency plan;

“dose” means, in relation to ionising radiation, any dose or sum of dose quantities to which an individual is exposed as a result of a radiation emergency;

“dose assessment” means the dose assessment made and recorded by an approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 22 of the 2017 Regulations;

“dose record” means the record made and maintained in respect of an employee by the approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 22 of the 2017 Regulations;

“emergency exposure” means an exposure of an employee engaged in an activity of or associated with the response to a radiation emergency or potential radiation emergency in order to bring help to endangered persons, prevent exposure of other persons or save a valuable installation or goods, whereby one of the individual dose limits referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the 2017 Regulations could be exceeded;

“emergency services” means—

“emergency worker” means any person who has a defined responding role in an operator's emergency plan or a local authority's off-site emergency plan, and who might be exposed to radiation as a result of a potential or actual radiation emergency;

“existing exposure situation” means an exposure situation which does not call or no longer calls for the implementation of any protective action from an emergency plan;

“health authority” means—

“installation” means a unit in which the radioactive substances present are, or are intended to be, produced, used, handled or stored, and it includes—

“ionising radiation” means the energy transferred in the form of particles or electromagnetic waves of a wavelength of 100 nanometres or less or a frequency of 3 x 10¹⁵ hertz or more capable of producing ions directly or indirectly;

“licensed site” means a site in respect of which a nuclear site licence has been granted and is in force;

“local authority” means in relation to—

“medical surveillance” means medical surveillance carried out in accordance with the 2017 Regulations;

“new nuclear build site” has the meaning given by regulation 2A of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 M8;

“non-dispersible source” means a sealed source or a radioactive substance which, in either case, it is determined that, by virtue of its physical and chemical form, it cannot cause a radiation emergency but does not include any radioactive substance that is or has been a component of a nuclear reactor;

“nuclear site licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 M9;

“nuclear warship site” has the meaning given by regulation 2B of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 M10;

“off-site emergency plan” is to be interpreted in accordance with regulation 11;

“operator” has the meaning set out in paragraph (2);

“operator's emergency plan” are to be interpreted in accordance with regulation 10;

“outline planning zone” means a zone determined in accordance with regulation 9 and covered by the local authority's off-site emergency plan;

“premises” means—

“protective action” means an action or actions taken in order to prevent or reduce the exposure of emergency workers, members of the public, the environment or the contamination of property from ionising radiation in the event of a radiation emergency, and includes the provision of appropriate information to the public in accordance with regulations 21 and 22;

“radiation emergency” means a non-routine situation or event arising from work with ionising radiation that necessitates prompt action to mitigate the serious consequences—

“radiation protection adviser” means a radiation protection adviser within the meaning of the 2017 Regulations and who is recognised as such for the purpose of regulation 14 of those Regulations;

“radioactive substance” means any substance which contains one or more radionuclides whose activity cannot be disregarded for the purposes of radiation protection;

“reference level” is to be interpreted in accordance with regulation 20;

“regulator” means—

“sealed source” means a source containing any radioactive substance whose structure is such as to prevent dispersion of radioactive substances into the environment;

“work with ionising radiation” means work involving the production, processing, handling, use, holding, storage or disposal of radioactive substances which can increase the exposure of persons to radiation from an artificial source, or from a radioactive substance containing naturally occurring radionuclides which are processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference to an operator is a reference to—

(a)in relation to any premises other than a licensed site, the person who is, in the course of a trade or business or other undertaking carried on by that person, in control of the operation of premises, and

(b)in relation to a licensed site, a person to whom a nuclear site licence has been granted,

and any duty imposed by these Regulations on the operator extends only in relation to those premises.

(3) In these Regulations—

(a)any reference to an effective dose means the sum of the effective dose to the whole body from external ionising radiation and the committed effective dose from internal ionising radiation; and

(b)any reference to equivalent dose to a human tissue or organ includes the committed equivalent dose to that tissue or organ from internal ionising radiation.

(4) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to—

(a)an employer includes a reference to a self-employed person and any duty imposed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of its employee extends to a self-employed person in respect of that self-employed person,

(b)exposure to ionising radiation is a reference to exposure to ionising radiation arising from work with ionising radiation.

(5) In these Regulations, references to “local authority”, unless the context otherwise requires, are to the local authority in which the premises are situated, and references to “lead local authority”, where more than one local authority is involved, are to that local authority.