The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017
| Year | 2017 |
2017 No. 1075
Health And Safety
The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017
Made 27th November 2017
Laid before Parliament 30th November 2017
Coming into force 1st January 2018
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 15(1), (2), (3)(a) and (c), (4)(a), (5)(b), (6)(b) and (9), 18(2)(za), 43(2), (4), (5) and (6), 52(2) and (3), 80(1) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 1(1) and (2), 3 to 9, 11, 13, 14, 15(1), 16, 20 and 21(a) and (b) of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19741(“the 1974 Act”).
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted by—
(a) the Health and Safety Executive under section 11(3)2of the 1974 Act after consulting in accordance with section 50(3)3of that Act; and
(b) the Office for Nuclear Regulation under section 81(1)(a)(iv) of the Energy Act 20134.
It appears to the Secretary of State that—
(a) the modifications set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17 of Schedule 9 are expedient pursuant to section 80(1) of the 1974 Act; and
(b) it is not appropriate to consult bodies in respect of such modifications in accordance with section 80(4) of that Act.
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017.
(2) They come into force on 1st January 2018.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1974 Act” means the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;
“accelerator” means an apparatus or installation in which particles are accelerated and which emits ionising radiation with an energy higher than 1MeV;
“appointed doctor” means a registered medical practitioner who meets such recognition criteria as may from time to time be specified in writing by the Executive5;
“approved” means approved for the time being in writing for the purposes of these Regulations by the Executive or the ONR (as the case may be) and published in such form as that body considers appropriate;
“approved dosimetry service” means a dosimetry service approved in accordance with regulation 36;
“authorised defence site” has the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 19986;
“calendar year” means a period of 12 months beginning with the 1st January;
“classified outside worker” means a classified person who carries out services in the controlled area of any employer (other than the controlled area of their own employer);
“classified person” means—
(a) a person designated as such pursuant to regulation 21(1); and
(b) in the case of a classified outside worker employed by an undertaking in Northern Ireland or in another member State, a person who has been designated as a category A exposed worker within the meaning of Article 40 of the Directive;
“carers and comforters” means individuals knowingly and willingly incurring an exposure to ionising radiation by helping, other than as part of their occupation, in the support and comfort of individuals undergoing or having undergone medical exposure;
“contamination” means the unintended or undesirable presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids or gases or on the human body, and “contaminated” is to be construed accordingly;
“controlled area” means—
(a) in the case of an area situated in Great Britain, an area which has been so designated in accordance with regulation 17(1); and
(b) in the case of an area situated in Northern Ireland or in another member State, an area subject to special rules for the purposes of protection against ionising radiation and to which access is controlled as specified in Article 37 of the Directive;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom7laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom8, 90/641/Euratom9, 96/29/Euratom10, 97/43/Euratom11and 2003/122/Euratom12;
“dose” means, in relation to ionising radiation, any dose quantity or sum of dose quantities mentioned in Schedule 3;
“dose assessment” means the dose assessment made and recorded by an approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 22;
“dose constraint” means a constraint set on the prospective doses of individuals which may result from a given radiation source;
“dose limit” means, in relation to persons of a specified class, the limit on effective dose or equivalent dose specified in Schedule 3 in relation to a person of that class;
“dose rate” means, in relation to a place, the rate at which a person or part of a person would receive a dose of ionising radiation from external radiation if that person were at that place, being a dose rate at that place averaged over one minute;
“dose record” means, in relation to a person, the record of the doses received by that person as a result of that person’s exposure to ionising radiation, being the record made and maintained on behalf of their employer by the approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 22;
“employment medical adviser” means an employment medical adviser appointed under section 56 of the 1974 Act;
“external radiation” means, in relation to a person, ionising radiation coming from outside the body of that person;
“extremities” means a person’s hands, forearms, feet and ankles;
“health record” means, in relation to an employee, the record of medical surveillance of that employee maintained by the employer in accordance with regulation 25(3);
“high-activity sealed source” means a sealed source for which the quantity of the radionuclide is equal to or exceeds the relevant quantity value set out in Part 4 of Schedule 7;
“industrial irradiation” means the use of ionising radiation to sterilise, process or alter the structure of products or materials;
“industrial radiography” means the use of ionising radiation for non-destructive testing purposes where an image of the item under test is formed (but excluding any such testing which is carried out in a cabinet which a person cannot enter);
“internal radiation” means, in relation to a person, ionising radiation coming from inside the body of that person;
“ionising radiation” means the transfer of energy 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;
“local rules” means rules made pursuant to regulation 18(1);
“maintained”, where the reference is to maintaining plant, apparatus, equipment or facilities, means maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and good repair;
“medical exposure” means the exposure to ionising radiation of—
(a) patients and asymptomatic individuals as part of their own medical diagnosis or treatment;
(b) individuals as part of health screening programmes;
(c) patients or other persons voluntarily participating in medical or biomedical, diagnostic or therapeutic, research programmes;
(d) individuals undergoing non-medical imaging using medical radiological equipment;
“member State” means a member State of the European Union;
“new nuclear build site” has the meaning given by regulation 2A of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998;
“non-classified outside worker” means a person who is not a classified person who carries out services in the supervised or, pursuant to regulation 19(3)(c), controlled area of any employer (other than the supervised or controlled area of their own employer);
“nuclear premises” means premises which are or are on—
(a) a GB nuclear site (within the meaning given by section 68 of the Energy Act 201313);
(b) an authorised defence site;
(c) a new nuclear build site; or
(d) a nuclear warship site;
“nuclear warship site” has the meaning given by regulation 2B of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998;
“the ONR” means the Office for Nuclear Regulation;
“outside worker” means a classified outside worker and a non-classified outside worker;
“overexposure” means any exposure of a person to ionising radiation to the extent that the dose received by that person causes a dose limit relevant to that person to be exceeded or, in relation to regulation 27(2), causes a proportion of a dose limit relevant to any employee to be exceeded;
“practice” means work involving—
(a) the production, processing, handling, disposal, use, storage, holding or transport of radioactive substances; or
(b) the operation of any electrical equipment emitting ionising radiation and containing components operating at a potential difference of more than 5kV,
which can increase the exposure of individuals to ionising radiation;
“radiation accident” means an accident where immediate action would be required to prevent or reduce the exposure to ionising radiation of employees or any other persons;
“radiation generator” means a device capable of generating ionising radiation such as x-rays, neutrons, electrons or other charged particles;
“radiation passbook” means—
(a) in the case of a classified outside worker employed by an employer in Great Britain—
(i) a passbook approved by the Executive for the purpose of these Regulations; or
(ii) a passbook to which paragraph 9 of Schedule 8 (transitional provisions) applies; and
(b) in the case of a classified outside worker employed by an employer in Northern Ireland or in another member State, a passbook authorised by the competent authority for Northern Ireland or that member State, as the case may be;
“radiation protection adviser” means an individual who, or a body which, meets such criteria of competence as may from time to time be specified in writing by the Executive;
“radioactive material” means material incorporating radioactive substances;
“radioactive source” means an entity incorporating a...
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