(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 13(1) and (3) of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 require an authorisation for the disposal of radioactive waste on or from any premises used for the purposes of an undertaking. Section 14 of the Act requires an authorisation for the accumulation of radioactive waste on premises with a view to its disposal. Section 15 of the Act exempts certain radioactive waste from clocks and watches from those requirements.
These Regulations, which extend to England and Wales only and are made in order to implement in part article 5(1) of the Basic Safety Standards Directive (Council Directive 96/29 Euratom), amend section 15 so as to limit the exemption from authorisation for clocks and watches. It will now be confined to cases where only tritium, promethium or radium is present, and either the amount of radionuclides on premises does not exceed the limits in section 15(1B), or the waste is from no more than five clocks or watches none of which exceed the limits in section 15(1C).