§35.75. Release of individuals containing unsealed byproduct material or implants containing byproduct material. — Inbound Citations

The regulations in this part apply to persons licensed by the Commission to receive, possess, use, transfer, or dispose of byproduct, source, or special nuclear material or to operate a production or utilization facility under parts 30 through 36 or part 39, 40, 50, 52, 53, 60, 61, 63, 70, or 72 of this chapter, and in accordance with 10 CFR 76.60 to persons required to obtain a certificate of compliance or an approved compliance plan under part 76 of this chapter. The limits in this part do not apply to doses due to background radiation, to exposure of patients to radiation for the purpose of medical diagnosis or therapy, to exposure from individuals administered radioactive material and released under § 35.75, or to exposure from voluntary participation in medical research programs.

(2) To such a degree that an individual present in the area without respiratory protective equipment could exceed, during the hours an individual is present in a week, an intake of 0.6 percent of the annual limit on intake (ALI) or 12 DAC-hours.

Air-purifying respirator means a respirator with an air-purifying filter, cartridge, or canister that removes specific air contaminants by passing ambient air through the air-purifying element.

ALARA (acronym for “as low as is reasonably achievable”) means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits in this part as is practical consistent with the purpose for which the licensed activity is undertaken, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to utilization of nuclear energy and licensed materials in the public interest.

Annual limit on intake (ALI) means the derived limit for the amount of radioactive material taken into the body of an adult worker by inhalation or ingestion in a year. ALI is the smaller value of intake of a given radionuclide in a year by the reference man that would result in a committed effective dose equivalent of 5 rems (0.05 Sv) or a committed dose equivalent of 50 rems (0.5 Sv) to any individual organ or tissue. (ALI values for intake by ingestion and by inhalation of selected radionuclides are given in table 1, columns 1 and 2, of appendix B to §§ 20.1001-20.2401).

Assigned protection factor (APF) means the expected workplace level of respiratory protection that would be provided by a properly functioning respirator or a class of respirators to properly fitted and trained users. Operationally, the inhaled concentration can be estimated by dividing the ambient airborne concentration by the APF.

Atmosphere-supplying respirator means a respirator that supplies the respirator user with breathing air from a source independent of the ambient atmosphere, and includes supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units.

Background radiation means radiation from cosmic sources; naturally occurring radioactive material, including radon (except as a decay product of source or special nuclear material); and global fallout as it exists in the environment from the testing of nuclear explosive devices or from past nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl that contribute to background radiation and are not under the control of the licensee. “Background radiation” does not include radiation from source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials regulated by the Commission.

Bioassay (radiobioassay) means the determination of kinds, quantities or concentrations, and, in some cases, the locations of radioactive material in the human body, whether by direct measurement (in vivo counting) or by analysis and evaluation of materials excreted or removed from the human body.

Byproduct material means—

(1) The total effective dose equivalent to individual members of the public from the licensed operation does not exceed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in a year, exclusive of the dose contributions from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released under § 35.75, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, and from the licensee's disposal of radioactive material into sanitary sewerage in accordance with § 20.2003, and

(b) Rooms or other areas in hospitals that are occupied by patients are not required to be posted with caution signs pursuant to § 20.1902 provided that the patient could be released from licensee control pursuant to § 35.75 of this chapter.

(2) Assures that individuals or human research subjects to whom unsealed byproduct material or radiation from implants containing byproduct material will be administered may be released following treatment in accordance with § 35.75.

(a) A licensee shall retain a record of the basis for authorizing the release of an individual in accordance with § 35.75, if the total effective dose equivalent is calculated by—

(1) Using the retained activity rather than the activity administered;

(2) Using an occupancy factor less than 0.25 at 1 meter;

(3) Using the biological or effective half-life; or

(a) A licensee shall provide radiation safety instruction, initially and at least annually, to personnel caring for patients or human research subjects who cannot be released under § 35.75. To satisfy this requirement, the instruction must be commensurate with the duties of the personnel and include—

(1) Patient or human research subject control;

(i) Routine visitation to hospitalized individuals in accordance with § 20.1301(a)(1) of this chapter; and

(ii) Visitation authorized in accordance with § 20.1301(c) of this chapter;

(3) Contamination control;

(4) Waste control; and

(5) Notification of the Radiation Safety Officer, or his or her designee, and an authorized user if the patient or the human research subject has a medical emergency or dies.

(a) For each patient or human research subject who cannot be released under § 35.75, a licensee shall—

(i) A private room with a private sanitary facility; or

(ii) A room, with a private sanitary facility, with another individual who also has received therapy with unsealed byproduct material and who also cannot be released under § 35.75;

(3) Note on the door or in the patient's or human research subject's chart where and how long visitors may stay in the patient's or the human research subject's room; and

(4) Either monitor material and items removed from the patient's or the human research subject's room to determine that their radioactivity cannot be distinguished from the natural background radiation level with a radiation detection survey instrument set on its most sensitive scale and with no interposed shielding, or handle the material and items as radioactive waste.

(a) The licensee shall provide radiation safety instruction, initially and at least annually, to personnel caring for patients or human research subjects who are receiving brachytherapy and cannot be released under § 35.75. To satisfy this requirement, the instruction must be commensurate with the duties of the personnel and include the—

(1) Size and appearance of the brachytherapy sources;

(2) Safe handling and shielding instructions;

(3) Patient or human research subject control;

(i) Routine visitation of hospitalized individuals in accordance with § 20.1301(a)(1) of this chapter; and

(ii) Visitation authorized in accordance with § 20.1301(c) of this chapter; and

(5) Notification of the Radiation Safety Officer, or his or her designee, and an authorized user if the patient or the human research subject has a medical emergency or dies.

(a) For each patient or human research subject who is receiving brachytherapy and cannot be released under § 35.75, a licensee shall—

(1) Not quarter the patient or the human research subject in the same room as an individual who is not receiving brachytherapy;

(2) Visibly post the patient's or human research subject's room with a “Radioactive Materials” sign; and

(3) Note on the door or in the patient's or human research subject's chart where and how long visitors may stay in the patient's or human research subject's room.

(b) A licensee does not need to perform the surveys required by paragraph (a) of this section in an area(s) where patients or human research subjects are confined when they cannot be released under § 35.75.

(b) The approved information collection requirements contained in this part appear in §§ 35.6, 35.12, 35.13, 35.14, 35.19, 35.24, 35.26, 35.27, 35.40, 35.41, 35.50, 35.51, 35.55, 35.60, 35.61, 35.63, 35.67, 35.69, 35.70, 35.75, 35.80, 35.92, 35.190, 35.204, 35.290, 35.310, 35.315, 35.390, 35.392, 35.394, 35.396, 35.404, 35.406, 35.410, 35.415, 35.432, 35.433, 35.490, 35.491, 35.590, 35.604, 35.605, 35.610, 35.615, 35.630, 35.632, 35.633, 35.635, 35.642, 35.643, 35.645, 35.647, 35.652, 35.655, 35.690, 35.1000, 35.2024, 35.2026, 35.2040, 35.2041, 35.2060, 35.2061, 35.2063, 35.2067, 35.2070, 35.2075, 35.2080, 35.2092, 35.2204, 35.2310, 35.2404, 35.2406, 35.2432, 35.2433, 35.2605, 35.2610, 35.2630, 35.2632, 35.2642, 35.2643, 35.2645, 35.2647, 35.2652, 35.2655, 35.3045, 35.3047, 35.3067, and 35.3204.

(b) A licensee shall retain a record that the instructions required by § 35.75(b) were provided to a breast-feeding female if the radiation dose to the infant or child from continued breast-feeding could result in a total effective dose equivalent exceeding 5 mSv (0.5 rem).