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HomeHealth and Safety CodeDiv. 104Pt. 9Ch. 8Art. 1§ 114985 Radiation And Responsible Parties

§ 114985 Radiation And Responsible Parties

Health and Safety Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryReview recommended

§ 114985 Radiation And Responsible Parties

Key Takeaways

  • •This law defines special words used when talking about radiation and nuclear stuff in California.
  • •It explains what things like 'ionizing radiation,' 'byproduct material,' and 'low-level waste' mean in simple terms.
  • •It tells who is in charge, like the 'Secretary' (a big boss in the Resources Agency) and the 'Department' (the State Department of Health Services).
  • •It talks about different types of licenses (like permission slips) for using or having radioactive materials.

Example

If a hospital wants to use an X-ray machine to take pictures of bones, they need to follow rules about radiation.

The hospital has to make sure they have the right license (permission) to use the X-ray machine. The law says what kind of license they need and who gives it to them.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 114985 Radiation And Responsible Parties

As used in this chapter: (a)  “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Resources Agency. (b)  “Ionizing radiation” means gamma rays and X-rays; alpha and beta particles, high-speed electrons, neutrons, protons, and other nuclear particles; but not sound or radio waves, or visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light. (c)  “Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency, political subdivision of this state, any other state or political subdivision or agency thereof, and any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing, other than the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Department of Energy, or any successor thereto, and other than federal government agencies licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, under prime contract to the United States Department of Energy, or any successor thereto. (d)  “Byproduct material” means any radioactive material, except special nuclear material, yielded in, or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to, the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear material. (e)  “Source material” means (1) uranium, thorium, or any other material which the department declares by rule to be source material after the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or any successor thereto, has determined the material to be such; or (2) ores containing one or more of the foregoing materials, in such concentration as the department declares by rule to be source material after the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or any successor thereto, has determined the material in such concentration to be source material. (f)  “Special nuclear material” means (1) plutonium, uranium 233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the department declares by rule to be special nuclear material after the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or any successor thereto, has determined the material to be such, but does not include source material; or (2) any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing, but does not include source material. (g)  “General license” means a license, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department, effective without the filing of an application, to transfer, acquire, own, possess or use quantities of, or devices or equipment utilizing, byproduct, source, or special nuclear materials or other radioactive material occurring naturally or produced artificially. (h)  “Specific license” means a license, issued after application, to use, manufacture, produce, transfer, receive, acquire, own, or possess quantities of, or devices or equipment utilizing, byproduct, source, or special nuclear materials or other radioactive material occurring naturally or produced artificially. (i)  “Registration” means the reporting of possession of a source of radiation and the furnishing of information with respect thereto, in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 115060. (j)  “Department” means the State Department of Health Services. (k)  “Director” means the State Director of Health Services. ( l)  “Federal research and development activity” means any activity of the Secretary of Energy conducted at any research facility owned or operated by the United States Department of Energy. (m)  “Low-level waste” means radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or the byproduct material defined in Section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2014 (e)(2)). For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions shall apply: (1)  “High-level radioactive waste” means either of the following: (A)  The highly radioactive material resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid material derived from this liquid waste that contains fission products in sufficient concentrations. (B)  Other highly radioactive material that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consistent with existing law, determines by rule requires permanent isolation. (2)  “Spent nuclear fuel” means fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not been separated by reprocessing. (3)  “Transuranic waste” means any waste containing more than 100 nanocuries of alpha emitting transuranic nuclides with half-life greater than five years per gram of waste material. (n)  “Mammogram” means an X-ray image of the human breast. (o)  “Mammography” means the procedure for creating a mammogram. (p)  “Mammography quality assurance” means the detection of a change in X-ray and ancillary equipment that adversely affects the quality of films and the glandular radiation dose, and the correction of this change. (q)  “Mammogram certification” means a certification, issued by the department after registration, that the equipment dedicated to or used for mammography meets the standards prescribed pursuant to this chapter. (Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

secretaryionizing radiationbyproduct materialsource materialspecial nuclear materialgeneral licensespecific licenselow-level waste

Related Statutes

  • § 114965 Ionizing Radiation Regulation Policy
  • § 114970 Radiation Safety Regulation Programs
  • § 105440 Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring
  • § 105441 Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program
  • § 105443 Biomonitoring Results And Follow-Up

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Health and Safety Code. Section 114985.
View Official Source