The Radioactive Substances (Testing Instruments)(England and Wales) Exemption Order 2006

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“the Act” means the Radioactive Substances Act 1993;

“activity”, expressed in becquerels, means the number of spontaneous nuclear transformations occurring in a period of one second in a radioactive substance;

“Class 1 source” means—

(a)

a homogeneous source;

(b)

a laminated source;

(c)

a sealed source;

(d)

an electrodeposited source; or

(e)

a tritium foil source,

in which the total number of kilobecquerels of all the radionuclides present, including radionuclides which are decay products of other radionuclides present, does not exceed 200;

“Class 2 source” means—

(a)

a homogeneous source;

(b)

a laminated source;

(c)

a sealed source;

(d)

an electrodeposited source; or

(e)

a tritium foil source,

other than a Class 1 source, in which the total number of megabecquerels of activity of all the radionuclides present, including radionuclides which are decay products of other radionuclides present, does not exceed the number specified for that source in Schedule 1 to this Order;

“decay products” means, in relation to any radionuclide, the radionuclides succeeding it in the radioactive series in which it occurs;

“electrodeposited source” means an article which consists of iron or nickel electrodeposited on to a metal substrate and which is radioactive material solely due to the presence of iron 55 or nickel 63;

“exhibition” means an exhibition or display held for the purposes of any trade, business or profession, and includes any demonstration of the use or uses to which material included in such an exhibition or display may be put;

“homogeneous source” means an article which—

(a)

is made wholly from a substance which—

(i)

is solid, coherent, homogeneous and tough; and

(ii)

is radioactive material or a mixture of radioactive material and material which is not radioactive material,

being a substance in which the radionuclides present do not emit alpha particles; or

(b)

is made partly from or incorporates such a substance and is radioactive material solely because of the presence of that substance;

“laminated source” means an article consisting of a layer of coherent radioactive material sandwiched between and securely bonded to layers of coherent, inert and tough material which is not radioactive material;

“sealed source” means radioactive material—

(a)

sealed in a container (otherwise than solely for the purpose of storage, transport or disposal); or

(b)

bonded wholly within material,

the immediate container or the bonding being of adequate mechanical strength and not constructed of radioactive material, and includes the immediate container or the bonding;

“testing instrument” means any apparatus, equipment or appliance—

(a)

designed for testing, measuring or otherwise investigating any of the characteristics of a substance or article; and

(b)

which is radioactive material solely because it incorporates one or more Class 1 or Class 2 sources but which does not incorporate two or more sources of the same description with an aggregate number of megabecquerels of activity exceeding the number specified in Schedule 1 in relation to sources of that description;

“tritium foil source” means an article which consists of material which is not radioactive material and which has a mechanically tough surface into which tritium is incorporated, being an article which is radioactive material solely due to the presence of tritium;

“waste collection authority” means a local authority which is a waste collection authority within the meaning of section 30(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(1).

(1)

1990 c. 43.