Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2001/2975 |
| Year | 2001 |
2001 No. 2975
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001
Made 27th August 2001
Laid before Parliament 29th August 2001
Coming into force 20th September 2001
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers (as respects regulations 1 to 16 and 18 to 22) conferred on him by sections 15(1), (2), (3)(a), (4)(b), (5)(a) and (b), 43(2) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 3(1), 6, 8(1), 11, 14, 15(1) and 16 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19741(“the 1974 Act”) and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, and (as respects regulations 17 and 21) under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722being the Minister designated3for the purposes of the said section 2(2) both in relation to measures relating to informing the public about health protection measures to be taken in the event of a radiological emergency and in relation to measures relating to the basic safety standards for the protection of the general public and workers against the dangers of ionising radiation, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 20th September 2001.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the 1996 Regulations” means the Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 19964;
“the 1999 Regulations” means the Ionising Radiations Regulations 19995;
“the Agency” in relation to premises or transport or a plan relating to premises or transport—
(a) in England and Wales, means the Environment Agency,
(b) in Scotland, means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency;
“approved dosimetry service” means an approved dosimetry service within the meaning of the 1999 Regulations and which is approved for the purpose of regulation 14 of these Regulations;
“carrier” shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (2);
“carrier’s emergency plan” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 8;
“consignor” means an employer carrying out work with ionising radiation who presents to a carrier for transport by rail a consignment of any radioactive substance;
“dose assessment” means the dose assessment made and recorded by an approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 21 of the 1999 Regulations;
“dose record” means the record made and maintained in respect of an employee by the approved dosimetry service in accordance with regulation 21 of the 1999 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 a large number of persons or save a valuable installation or goods, whereby one of the individual dose limits referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 of Part I of Schedule 4 to the 1999 Regulations could be exceeded;
“emergency services” means—
(a) those police, fire and ambulance services who are likely to be required to respond to a radiation emergency which has occurred at the premises of an operator or at the location of a radiation emergency during the course of the transport of a radioactive substance, and
(b) where appropriate, Her Majesty’s Coastguard;
“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive;
“health authority” means, in relation to England and Wales, a health authority established under section 8 of the National Health Service Act 19776and, in relation to Scotland, a health board established under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 19787;
“installation” means a unit in which the radioactive substances present are, or are intended to be, produced, used, handled or stored, and it includes—
(a) equipment, structures, pipework, machinery and tools,
(b) railway sidings, docks and unloading quays serving the unit, and
(c) jetties, warehouses or similar structures, whether floating or not,
which are necessary for the operation of the unit;
“intervention” means a human activity that prevents or decreases the exposure of persons to radiation from a radiation emergency or from an event which could lead to a radiation emergency, by acting on the sources of radiation, the paths by which such radiation may be transmitted to persons and on persons themselves;
“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;
“licensed site” means a site in respect of which a nuclear site licence has been granted and is in force;
“licensee” means the person to whom a nuclear site licence has been granted;
“local authority” means—
(a) subject to sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) below, in relation to—
(i) London, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority,
(ii) an area where there is a fire and civil defence authority, that authority,
(iii) the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isles of Scilly,
(iv) an area in the rest of England, the county council for that area or, where there is no county council for that area, the district council for that area,
(v) an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area, and
(vi) an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;
(b) for the purposes of regulation 16(2), in relation to—
(i) London, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and, in the City of London, the Common Council for the City of London, or, in an area in the rest of London, the London Borough Council for that area,
(ii) any other area where there is a fire and civil defence authority, that authority and the district council for that area,
(iii) the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isles of Scilly,
(iv) an area in the rest of England, the county council, if any, for that area and the district council, if any, for that area,
(v) an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area, and
(vi) an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;
(c) for the purposes of regulation 16(3), in relation to—
(i) the City of London, the Common Council for the City of London,
(ii) an area in the rest of London, the London Borough Council for that area,
(iii) the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isle of Scilly,
(iv) an area in the rest of England, the district council for that area or, where there is no district council for that area, the county council for that area,
(v) an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area, and
(vi) an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;
“medical surveillance” means medical surveillance carried out in accordance with regulation 24 of the 1999 Regulations;
“member of the public” means any person not being—
(a) a person for the time being present upon premises where a radiation emergency is reasonably foreseeable or where a radiation emergency has actually occurred, or
(b) a person engaged in an activity of or associated with the response to a radiation emergency;
“non-dispersible source” means a sealed source or a radioactive substance which in either case by virtue of its physical and chemical form cannot cause a radiation emergency in any reasonably foreseeable event but it does not include any radioactive substance inside a nuclear reactor or any nuclear fuel element;
“nuclear site licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 19658;
“off-site emergency plan” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 9;
“operator” shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (3);
“operator’s emergency plan” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 7;
“premises” means—
(a) the whole area under the control of the same person where radioactive substances are present in one or more installations, and for this purpose two or more areas under the control of the same person and separated only by a road, railway or inland waterway shall be treated as one whole area, or
(b) where radioactive substances are present on a licensed site, that licensed site,
and, where a radioactive substance forms an integral part of a vessel and is used in connection with the operation of that vessel, it includes that vessel when it is at fixed point moorings or alongside berths, save that such vessel shall be deemed to be separate premises only where such moorings or berths do not form part of a licensed site or part of premises under the control of the Secretary of State for Defence;
“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 and includes a radiation emergency;
“radiation emergency” means any event (other than a pre-existing situation) which is likely to result in any member of the public being exposed to ionising radiation arising from that event in excess of any of the doses set out in Schedule 1 and for this purpose any health protection measure to be taken during the 24 hours immediately following the event shall be disregarded;
“radioactive substance” means any substance which contains one or more radionuclides whose activity cannot be disregarded for the purposes of radiation protection;
“sealed source” means a source containing any radioactive substance whose structure is such as to prevent, under normal conditions of use, any dispersion of radioactive...
To continue reading
Request your trial