Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (c. 12)

General U.K.

47 General interpretation provisions. U.K.

[F1 (1) In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires—

• [F2 “the appropriate Agency” means—

  (a)

  in relation to England and Wales, the Environment Agency; and

  (b)

  in relation to Scotland, SEPA;]

• [F3 “the appropriate Minister” means, in relation to Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;]

• [F4 “high-activity sealed source” means a sealed source for which the activity of the contained radionuclide is equal to or exceeds the relevant activity value laid down in Annex III of the Basic Safety Standards Directive;]

• “article” includes a part of an article,

• [F5 “the Basic Safety Standards Directive” means Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from the exposure to ionising radiation and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom;]

• “the chief inspector” means—

  (a)

  F6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  (b)

  F6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  (c)

  in relation to Northern Ireland, the chief inspector for Northern Ireland appointed under section 4(7),

• “disposal”, in relation to waste, includes its removal, deposit, destruction, discharge (whether into water or into the air or into a sewer or drain or otherwise) or burial (whether underground or otherwise) and “dispose of” shall be construed accordingly,

• [F7 [F8 “the HASS Directive” means Council Directive 2003/122/EURATOM on the control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources;]

• [F9 “high-activity source” has the same meaning as it has in the HASS Directive but excluding any such source once its activity level has fallen below the exemption levels specified in column 2 of Table A to Annex I to Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation,]]

• “local authority” (except where the reference is to a public or local authority) means—

  (a)

  in England F10 ..., the council of a county, district or London borough or the Common Council of the City of London or an authority established by the M1 Waste Regulation and Disposal (Authorities) Order 1985,

  (aa)

  [F11 in Wales, the council of a county or county borough;]

  (b)

  in Scotland, a [F12 council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994], and

  (c)

  in Northern Ireland, a district council,

• [F13 “m”, where it appears after a radionuclide, means a radionuclide in a metastable state of radioactive decay in which gamma photons are emitted;]

• [F13 “NORM industrial activity” means the industrial activities involving radionuclides of natural terrestrial or cosmic origin, which activities are listed in Table 1, but not including any such activity where radionuclides of natural terrestrial or cosmic origin are processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties;]

• “nuclear site” means—

  (a)

  any site in respect of which a nuclear site licence is for the time being in force, or

  (b)

  any site in respect of which, after the revocation or surrender of a nuclear site licence, the period of responsibility of the licensee has not yet come to an end,

• “nuclear site licence”, “licensee” and “period of responsibility” have the same meaning as in the M2 Nuclear Installations Act 1965,

• [F14 [F15 “orphan source” has the same meaning as it has in the HASS Directive,]] [F14 “orphan source” has the same meaning as in the Basic Safety Standards Directive;]

• “premises” includes any land, whether covered by buildings or not, including any place underground and any land covered by water,

• [F16 “prescribed”—

  (a)

  in relation to a charging scheme under section 41 of the Environment Act 1995, has the same meaning as in that section;

  (b)

  in relation to fees or charges payable in Northern Ireland in accordance with a scheme under section 43 of this Act, means prescribed under that scheme; and

  (c)

  in other contexts, means prescribed by regulations under this Act.]

• “the prescribed period for determinations”, in relation to any application under this Act, means, subject to subsection (2), the period of four months beginning with the day on which the application was received,

• “public or local authority”, in relation to England and Wales, includes a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker,

• [F13 “relevant liquid” means a liquid which—

  (a)

  is non-aqueous; or

  (b)

  is classified (or would be so classified in the absence of its radioactivity) under Council Regulation No. 1272/2008 as having any of the following hazard classes and hazard categories (as defined in that Regulation)—

  (i)

  acute toxicity: categories 1, 2 or 3;

  (ii)

  skin corrosion/irritation: category 1 corrosive, sub-categories: 1A, 1B or 1C; or

  (iii)

  hazardous to the aquatic environment: acute category 1 or chronic categories 1 or 2;]

• “relevant water body” means—

  (a)

  in England and Wales, F17 ..., a water undertaker, a sewerage undertaker [F18 or an inshore fisheries and conservation authority ] F19 ...,

  (b)

  in Scotland, F17 ..., a district salmon fishery board established under section 14 of the M3 Salmon Act 1986 or [F20 Scottish Water], and

  (c)

  in Northern Ireland, the Fisheries Conservation Board for Northern Ireland, [F21 or a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker within the meaning of the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 ]

• [F22 “SEPA” means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;]

• “substance” means any natural or artificial substance, whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour,

• “undertaking” includes any trade, business or profession and—

  (a)

  in relation to a public or local authority, includes any of the powers or duties of that authority, and

  (b)

  in relation to any other body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate, includes any of the activities of that body, and

• “waste” includes any substance which constitutes scrap material or an effluent or other unwanted surplus substance arising from the application of any process, and also includes any substance or article which requires to be disposed of as being broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoilt.

[F23 (1A) Any reference to “the HASS Directive” in this Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the Basic Safety Standards Directive.

(1B) Any reference to “high-activity source” in this Act shall be deemed to be a reference to “high-activity sealed source”.]

(2) The Secretary of State may by order substitute for the period for the time being specified in subsection (1) as the prescribed period for determinations such other period as he considers appropriate.

(3) In determining, for the purposes of this Act, whether any radioactive material is kept or used on any premises, no account shall be taken of any radioactive material kept or used in or on any railway vehicle, road vehicle, vessel or aircraft if either—

(a) the vehicle, vessel or aircraft is on those premises in the course of a journey, or

(b) in the case of a vessel which is on those premises otherwise than in the course of a journey, the material is used in propelling the vessel or is kept in or on the vessel for use in propelling it.

(4) Any substance or article which, in the course of the carrying on of any undertaking, is discharged, discarded or otherwise dealt with as if it were waste shall, for the purposes of this Act, be presumed to be waste unless the contrary is proved.

(5) Any reference in this Act to the contamination of a substance or article is a reference to its being so affected by either or both of the following, that is to say,—

(a) absorption, admixture or adhesion of radioactive material or radioactive waste, and

(b) the emission of neutrons or ionising radiations,

as to become radioactive or to possess increased radioactivity.

[F24 (5A) A reference in this Act to the keeping or use of radioactive material means, in relation to a high-activity source, any practice in relation to that source except the disposal or accumulation of the source: and “practice” must be construed in accordance with [F25 Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM] [F25 Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM] laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation.]

[F26 (5B) Where any radionuclide carries the suffix “+” or “sec” in this Act—

(a) that radionuclide represents the parent radionuclide in secular equilibrium with the corresponding daughter radionuclides which are identified in column 2 of Table 4 in Schedule 1A adjacent to the description of that parent radionuclide; and

(b) a concentration value given in a table in Schedule 1A in relation to such a parent radionuclide refers to the value for the parent radionuclide alone, but already takes into account the daughter radionuclides present.

(5C) Where any reference is made to a substance or article possessing a concentration of radioactivity which exceeds the value shown in a particular column of a table in Schedule 1A, that value is exceeded if—

(a) where only one radionuclide which is included in that table is present in the substance or article, the concentration of that radionuclide exceeds the concentration specified in the appropriate entry in the appropriate column of that table; or

(b) where more than one such radionuclide is present, the sum of the quotient values of all such radionuclides in the substance or article, as determined by the summation rule following that table as it applies to that column, is greater than one.]

[F27 (6) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, the reference in subsection (2) to the Secretary of State shall have effect as a reference to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Act repealed (except for ss. 49(1) for specified purposes and s. 51, Sch. 4 paras. 2, 5-9, 11) (E.W.) (1.10.2011) by The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2043), reg. 17 (with reg. 18(2)-(4), Sch. 3)

F2 Definition in s. 47(1) inserted (E.W.S.) (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 25, s. 120(1), Sch. 22 para. 227(2) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1996/186, art. 3

F3 Words in s. 47(1) substituted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(ii)

F4 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) after the definition of “the appropriate Minister” by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(v)

F5 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(i)

F6 In s. 47(1) in the definition of “the chief inspector” paras. (a)(b) repealed (E.W.S.) (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 25, s. 120(1)(3), Sch. 22 para. 227(4), Sch. 24 (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1996/186, art. 3

F7 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (20.10.2005) by High-activity Sealed Radioactive Sources and Orphan Sources Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2686), regs. 1(2), 17(1)(a)

F8 Words in s. 47(1) omitted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by virtue of The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(iii)

F9 Words in s. 47(1) omitted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by virtue of The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(iv)

F10 Words in s. 47(1) in the definition of “local authority” in para. (a) repealed (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(6)(8), Sch. 16 para. 102(a), Sch. 18 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

F11 S. 47(1) in the definition of “local authority” para. (aa) inserted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 66(6), Sch. 16 para. 102(b) (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 4, Sch. 2

F12 Words in s. 47(1) in the definition of “local authority” in para. (b) substituted (S.) (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 39, s. 180(1), Sch. 13 para. 181(a) (with s. 128(8)); S.I. 1996/323, art. 4

F13 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (S.) (1.10.2011) by The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (S.S.I. 2011/207), regs. 1(1), 5(1) and (N.I.) (1.10.2011) by The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/290), regs. 1, 5(1)

F14 Words in s. 47(1) substituted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(vi)

F15 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (20.10.2005) by High-activity Sealed Radioactive Sources and Orphan Sources Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2686), regs. 1(2), 17(1)(b)

F16 Words in s. 47(1) substituted (27.7.2004) by Energy Act 2004 (c. 20), s. 198(2), Sch. 15 para. 13; S.I. 2004/1973, art. 2, Sch.

F17 Words in s. 47(1) in the definition of “relevant water body” repealed (E.W.S.) (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 25, s. 120(1)(3), Sch. 22 para. 227(6), Sch. 24 (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1996/186, art. 3

F18 Words in s. 47(1) inserted (1.4.2011) by Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23), s. 324(3), Sch. 14 para. 17; S.I. 2011/556, art. 2(2)(k)

F19 Words in s. 47(1) repealed (1.4.2010 for W., 1.4.2011 for E.) by Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23), s. 324(3), Sch. 22 Pt. 4; S.I. 2010/630, art. 3(b) (with arts. 8 12); S.I. 2011/556, art. 2(2)(o) (with art. 2(3))

F20 Words in s. 47(1) substituted (14.7.2004) by Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 (Consequential Modifications) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1822), art. 1(1), Sch. para. 17

F21 Words in s. 47(1) added (1.4.2007 for specified purposes, 25.5.2007 in so far as not already in force) by The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3336), art. 1(2), Sch. 12 para. 32(1) (with arts. 8(8), 121(3), 307); S.R. 2007/194, art. 2(2), Sch. Pt. 2 (with Sch. 2); S.R. 2007/282, art. 2(2), Sch.

F22 Definition in s. 47(1) inserted (E.W.S.) (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 25, s. 120(1), Sch. 22 para. 227(7) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1996/186, art. 3

F23 S. 47(1A)(1B) inserted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(a)(vii)

F24 S. 47(5A) inserted (20.10.2005) by High-activity Sealed Radioactive Sources and Orphan Sources Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2686), regs. 1(2), 17(2)

F25 Words in s. 47(5A) substituted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(b)

F26 S. 47(5B)(5C) inserted (S.) (1.10.2011) by The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (S.S.I. 2011/207), regs. 1(1), 5(2) and (N.I.) (1.10.2011) by The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/290), regs. 1, 5(2)

F27 S. 47(6) substituted (N.I.) (1.6.2018) by The Radioactive Substances (Modification of Enactments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/116), regs. 1(1), 2(7)(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 S. I. 1985/1884.

M2 1965 c. 57.

M3 1986 c. 62.