§ 190.02 Definitions.

(a) Nuclear fuel cycle means the oper-
ations defined to be associated with the
production of electrical power for pub-
lic use by any fuel cycle through utili-
zation of nuclear energy.

(b) Uranium fuel cycle means the oper-
ations of milling of uranium ore, chem-
ical conversion of uranium, isotopic
enrichment of uranium, fabrication of
uranium fuel, generation of electricity
by a light-water-cooled nuclear power
plant using uranium fuel, and reproc-
essing of spent uranium fuel, to the ex-
tent that these directly support the
production of electrical power for pub-
lic use utilizing nuclear energy, but ex-
cludes mining operations, operations at
waste disposal sites, transportation of
any radioactive material in support of
these operations, and the reuse of
recovered non-uranium special nuclear

and by-product materials from the

cycle.

(c) General environment means the

total terrestrial, atmospheric and

aquatic environments outside sites

upon which any operation which is part
of a nuclear fuel cycle is conducted.

(d) Site means the area contained

within the boundary of a location

under the control of persons possessing

or using radioactive material on which

is conducted one or more operations

covered by this part.

(e) Radiation means any or all of the

following: Alpha, beta, gamma, or X-

rays; neutrons; and high-energy

electrons, protons, or other atomic

particles; but not sound or radio waves,

nor visible, infrared, or ultraviolet

light.

(f) Radioactive material means any

material which spontaneously emits

radiation.

(g) Curie (Ci) means that quantity of

radioactive material producing 37 bil-

lion nuclear transformations per sec-

ond. (One millicurie (mCi)=0.001 Ci.)

(h) Dose equivalent means the product

of absorbed dose and appropriate fac-

tors to account for differences in bio-

logical effectiveness due to the quality

of radiation and its spatial distribution

in the body. The unit of dose equiva-

lent is the "rem." (One millirem

(mrem)= 0.001 rem.)

(i) Organ means any human organ ex-
clusive of the dermis, the epidermis, or
the cornea.

(j) Gigawatt-year refers to the quan-
tity of electrical energy produced at
the busbar of a generating station. A
gigawatt is equal to one billion watts.
A gigawatt-year is equivalent to the
amount of energy output represented
by an average electric power level of
one gigawatt sustained for one year.

(k) Member of the public means any in-
dividual that can receive a radiation
dose in the general environment,
whether he may or may not also be ex-
posed to radiation in an occupation as-
sociated with a nuclear fuel cycle.
However, an individual is not consid-
ered a member of the public during any
period in which he is engaged in carry-

ing out any operation which is part of

a nuclear fuel cycle.

(1) Regulatory agency means the gov-

ernment agency responsible for issuing

regulations governing the use of

sources of radiation or radioactive ma-

terials or emissions therefrom and car-

rying out inspection and enforcement

activities to assure compliance with

such regulations.

Subpart B-Environmental Stand-

ards for the Uranium Fuel

Cycle

§ 190.10 Standards for normal oper-

ations.

Operations covered by this subpart

shall be conducted in such a manner as

to provide reasonable assurance that:

(a) The annual dose equivalent does

not exceed 25 millirems to the whole

body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and

25 millirems to any other organ of any

member of the public as the result of

exposures to planned discharges of ra-

dioactive materials, radon and its

daughters excepted, to the general en-

vironment from uranium fuel cycle op-

erations and to radiation from these

operations.

(b) The total quantity of radioactive

materials entering the general environ-

ment from the entire uranium fuel

cycle, per gigawatt-year of electrical

energy produced by the fuel cycle, con-

tains less than 50,000 curies of krypton-

85, 5 millicuries of iodine-129, and 0.5

millicuries combined of plutonium-239

and other alpha-emitting transuranic

radionuclides with half-lives greater

than one year.

§ 190.11 Variances for unusual oper-

ations.

The standards specified in §190.10

may be exceeded if:

(a) The regulatory agency has grant-

ed a variance based upon its determina-

tion that a temporary and unusual op-

erating condition exists and continued

operation is in the public interest, and

(b) Information is promptly made a

matter of public record delineating the

nature of unusual operating conditions,

the degree to which this operation is

expected to result in levels in excess of

the standards, the basis of the vari-

lations.

PART B