RADIATION SAFETY (GENERAL) REGULATIONS 1983 - REG 3

RADIATION SAFETY (GENERAL) REGULATIONS 1983 - REG 3

3 .         Terms used

        (1)         In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears —

        absorbed dose means quotient of dĒ by dm, where dĒ is the mean energy imparted by ionising radiation to matter of mass dm;

        approved means approved in writing by the Council;

        becquerel means SI unit of activity corresponding to one nuclear transition per second;

        chest screening means plain radiography of the chest authorised under a written law for occupational or public health reasons;

        chiropractor means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the chiropractic profession;

        class 1 laser means a class 1 laser product as defined by section 3.17 of the laser safety standard;

        class 2 laser means a class 2 laser product as defined by section 3.19 of the laser safety standard;

        class 3B laser means a class 3B laser product as defined by section 3.21 of the laser safety standard;

        class 3R laser means a class 3R laser product as defined by section 3.21 of the laser safety standard;

        class 4 laser means a class 4 laser product as defined by section 3.22 of the laser safety standard;

        condition includes restriction and limitation;

        cooling curve means graphical relationship between energy stored as heat and cooling time;

        dentist means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the dental profession whose name is entered on the Dentists Division of the Register of Dental Practitioners kept under that Law;

        designated radiation worker means radiation worker designated by a registrant, a radiation safety officer or the Council as having an occupational radiation exposure with the potential to exceed the effective or equivalent dose limits;

        disposal permit means disposal permit granted under section 34;

        effective dose means sum of the weighted equivalent doses in all organs and tissues of the body calculated using the formula —

        where —

        E         is the effective dose;

        W _T         is the tissue weighting factor for the organ or tissue T;

        H _T         is the equivalent dose in the organ or tissue T;

        effective dose limit means dose limit specified in item 1(1), (3) or (4) of Schedule I;

        equivalent dose means the sum of the weighted absorbed doses in an organ or tissue calculated using the formula —

        where —

        H _T         is the equivalent dose in the organ or tissue T;

        W _R         is the radiation weighting factor for the radiation R;

        D _T.R         is the absorbed dose from the radiation R averaged over the organ or tissue T;

        equivalent dose limit means dose limit specified in item 1(2)(a) of Schedule I;

        exemption means exemption referred to in section 6 and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

        field site means any place —

            (a)         which is not a premises; and

            (b)         which is used by the registrant of a premises in connection with the premises; and

            (c)         at which radiation workers operate or use irradiating apparatus or radioactive substances that have been taken temporarily to that site;

        filtration means modification of the characteristics of ionising radiation in passing through matter;

        fluoroscopy means the use of a continuous or pulsed x‑ray beam to produce a dynamic real time image, the duration of which is not predetermined before the exposure is initiated;

        form means form specified in Schedule II;

        general supervision means the exercise of control over radiation safety without the person exercising such control necessarily being present at the registered premises or field site;

        gray means SI unit of absorbed dose in matter corresponding to the absorption of one joule per kilogram of matter;

        half value layer means thickness of a specified material that attenuates a beam of radiation so that the absorbed dose rate in air or exposure rate at a given point is reduced by half;

        image receptor means x‑ray film, fluorescent screen, image intensifier input phosphor or electronic device in or from which an image is created following exposure to x‑rays;

        industrial radiographer means a licensee who holds a licence which specifies that the purpose of the licence is industrial radiography;

        ionisation means process by which one or more electrons are liberated from a parent atom or molecule or other bound state;

        ionising radiation means radiation capable of causing ionisation by primary and secondary processes;

        item means item of the Schedule in which the term appears;

        keep includes cause to be kept;

        laser means electronic product which can be made to produce or amplify electromagnetic radiation primarily by the process of controlled stimulated emission;

        laser safety standard means the publication entitled “Safety of laser products”, being AS/NZS 2211.1:2004, published by Standards Australia in March 2004;

        leakage radiation means ionising radiation emerging after transmission through the protective shielding of the source of the ionising radiation;

        licence means licence granted under the Act;

        licence card means a card issued in the form set out in Form RS16 of Schedule II;

        licensed , in relation to a person, means that the person is the holder of a relevant licence under the Act;

        licensee means holder of a licence;

        low powered irradiating apparatus means irradiating apparatus registered for the purpose of medical radiography (other than mammography or dental radiography) that has a maximum rating of 100 kV(peak) at 100 mA or 100 kV(peak) and 1 microfarad;

        lux means SI unit of illuminance corresponding to one lumen per square metre;

        mammography screening means mammography conducted without a referral from a medical practitioner;

        maximum permissible exposure level means maximum permissible exposure level specified in item 2 of Schedule I;

        medical practitioner means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession;

        microwave oven means electronic product which is a microwave cooking appliance designed to heat food by the use of microwave energy in the frequency range between 300 MHz and 30 000 MHz;

        microwave oven standard means the publication entitled “Approval and Test Specification ‑ Particular Requirements for Microwave Ovens”, being AS 3301 ‑ 1992, published by the Standards Association of Australia ² ;

        NHMRC means the National Health and Medical Research Council established under the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (Commonwealth) section 5B;

        non‑ionising radiation means radiation other than ionising radiation;

        nuclide means species of atom having specified numbers of neutrons and protons in its nucleus;

        permit means disposal permit or temporary permit;

        personal file means personal file kept under regulation 11;

        personal monitoring device means device designed to detect and measure the radiation dose received by a person;

        personal supervision means the exercise of control over radiation safety by the person exercising such control being present on the registered premises or field site;

        physiotherapist means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the physiotherapy profession;

        plain radiography means an x‑ray examination during the course of which —

            (a)         the x‑ray tube and film remain stationary; and

            (b)         no contrast medium is introduced into the patient;

        podiatrist means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the podiatry profession;

        premises means premises referred to in section 28(1)(a);

        publication means standard, rule, code or specification referred to in section 58(2)(e);

        qualified expert means expert whose qualifications are approved;

        quality factor , in relation to radiation, means factor which is a function of the linear collision stopping power in water of the radiation at the point of interest;

        radiation means energy propagated through space or through a material medium in the form of waves or of kinetic energy of particles;

        radiation oncologist means a medical practitioner with qualifications in radiation oncology that are recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists;

        radiation safety committee means radiation safety committee appointed under regulation 18;

        radiation safety officer means radiation safety officer appointed under regulation 18;

        radiation therapist means a person with qualifications in the application of radiation for therapeutic purposes who is eligible for ordinary membership of the Australian Institute of Radiography;

        radiation warning symbol means radiation warning symbol described and depicted in Schedule IV;

        radiation weighting factor means factor set out in Table 1 of the publication entitled “Recommendations for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation (1995)”, approved by the NHMRC in June 1995, which modifies the absorbed dose in an organ or tissue to yield the equivalent dose in that organ or tissue;

        radiation worker means person who in the course of his employment may be exposed to radiation arising from his direct involvement with sources of radiation;

        radioactive material means material which spontaneously emits ionising radiation;

        radiographer means a person with qualifications in diagnostic radiography who is eligible for ordinary membership of the Australian Institute of Radiography;

        radiologist means a medical practitioner with qualifications in diagnostic radiology that are recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists;

        registered means registered under the Act and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

        registrant means person in whose name premises are registered;

        sealed source means radioactive material sealed in a container, or having a bonded cover, strong enough to prevent contact with and dispersal of the radioactive material under the conditions of use and wear for which that container or cover was designed;

        section means section of the Act;

        sievert means SI unit of effective dose or equivalent dose;

        sun‑tanning unit means an electronic product that —

            (a)         is capable of producing ultraviolet radiation between 100 nm and 400 nm wavelength; and

            (b)         is designed to produce tanning of human skin; and

            (c)         is provided for tanning the skin of a person —

                  (i)         for a fee or reward; or

                  (ii)         as part of providing a service for a fee or reward;

        temporary permit means temporary permit granted under section 35;

        tissue weighting factor means factor set out in Table 2 of the publication entitled “Recommendations for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation (1995)”, approved by the NHMRC in June 1995, by which the equivalent dose in an organ or tissue is modified to yield a component of effective dose;

        transilluminator means electronic product which is —

            (a)         capable of producing ultraviolet radiation between 240 nm and 400 nm wavelength from a mercury or other vapour lamp; and

            (b)         designed for use in laboratory or industrial applications for back illumination of transparent fluorescent materials;

        veterinarian has the meaning given in the Veterinary Practice Act 2021 section 3;

        x‑ray operator means a person who has attended an approved course of training and has passed an examination in radiation safety and radiographic techniques for plain radiography of the chest and extremities;

        x‑rays means electromagnetic radiation which is produced by —

            (a)         the transitions of electrons between the various electron shells of an atom; or

            (b)         the deceleration of electrons in the vicinity of nuclei.

        (2)         In these regulations, a reference to the name of a SI unit preceded by the prefix —

            (a)         “tera” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ¹² ; and

            (b)         “giga” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ⁹ ; and

            (c)         “mega” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ⁶ ; and

            (d)         “kilo” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ³ ; and

            (e)         “milli” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ^‑3 ; and

            (f)         “micro” is a reference to the SI unit multiplied by 10 ^‑6 .

        (3)         Copies of publications referred to in these regulations can be consulted free of charge at the library of the Radiation Health Section of the Environmental Health Service of the Health Department of Western Australia  ³ .

        [Regulation 3 amended: Gazette 29 Jun 1984 p. 1784; 10 Oct 1986 p. 3844; 5 Dec 1986 p. 4468; 6 Sep 1991 p. 4631; 29 Nov 1991 p. 5989; 4 May 1993 p. 2300‑01 and 2299‑2300; 11 Jun 1993 p. 2870‑1; 15 Oct 1996 p. 5448‑9; 22 Jul 1997 p. 3813‑15; 19 Aug 1997 p. 4721; 11 Nov 1997 p. 6209‑10; 31 Dec 1999 p. 7060; 2 Sep 2008 p. 4117‑18; 17 Aug 2010 p. 4045‑6; 1 Apr 2011 p. 1183-4; 9 Oct 2015 p. 3982; 20 Sep 2016 p. 3967; SL 2022/93 r. 7.]