Sec. 22a-148. (Formerly Sec. 19-24). Regulation of sources of ionizing radiation and radioactive materials.

(a) As used in this section, “ionizing radiation” includes gamma rays, x-rays, alpha and beta particles, neutrons, protons, high-speed electrons and other atomic or nuclear particles, but does not include sound or radio waves or light of wave lengths ranging from infrared to ultraviolet inclusive, and “radioactive materials” includes any materials, solid, liquid or gas, that emit ionizing radiation spontaneously.

(b) No person, firm, corporation, town, city or borough shall operate or cause to be operated any source of ionizing radiation or shall produce, transport, store, possess or dispose of radioactive materials except under conditions which comply with regulations or with orders imposed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection for the protection of the public health and preservation of the environment. Such regulations or orders shall be based to the extent deemed practicable by said department on the regulations of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, issued under authority granted to said commission by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and entitled “Standards for Protection against Radiation”, or, if such regulations should be deemed inappropriate by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, on the latest recommendations of the National Committee on Radiation, as published by the United States Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards. No regulation pertaining to radiation sources and radioactive materials proposed to be issued by the commissioner shall become effective until thirty days after it has been submitted to the Coordinator of Atomic Development Activities unless, upon a finding of emergency need, the governor by order waives all or any part of said thirty-day period. In no case shall any source of ionizing radiation be utilized otherwise than at the lowest practical level consistent with the best use of the radiation facilities or radioactive materials involved.

(c) (1) Except as hereinafter provided, each person, firm, corporation, town, city and borough conducting or planning to conduct any operation within the scope of this section shall register with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection on forms provided for the purpose and shall reregister annually in January. Such registration shall be accompanied by a fee of two hundred dollars. The commissioner may require registrants to state the type or types of sources of radiation involved, the maximum size or rating of each source, the qualifications of the supervisory personnel, the protective measures contemplated by the registrant and such other information as it determines to be necessary. After initial registration, reregistration shall be required for any radiation installation or mobile source of radiation at any other time when any increase is contemplated in the number of sources, the source strength, the output or the types of radiation energy involved. The act of registration shall not be interpreted to imply approval by the commissioner of the manner in which the activities requiring registration are carried out. (2) The activities described below are exempted from the registration requirements of this section: (A) The production, transportation, storage, use and disposal of naturally occurring radioactive materials of equivalent specific radioactivity not exceeding that of natural potassium; (B) the production, transportation, storage, use and disposal of other radioactive materials in quantities insufficient to involve risk of radiologic damage to a person; (C) the operation of equipment that is primarily not intended to produce radiation and that, by nature of design, does not produce radiation at the point of nearest approach in quantities sufficient to produce radiologic damage to a person; (D) the transportation of any radioactive material in conformity with regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission or other agency of the federal government having jurisdiction.

(1957, P.A. 154, S. 1–3; 1967, P.A. 550, S. 10; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 411, 412; P.A. 89-201, S. 1; P.A. 90-231, S. 3, 28; P.A. 91-369, S. 23, 36; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 122; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: 1967 act repealed this section effective as of effective date of agreement between governor and United States government in accordance with Sec. 19-25c; 1971 act replaced health department in Subsecs. (b) and (c) with commissioner of environmental protection and deleted reference to public health code, adding reference to orders for the preservation of the environment in Subsec. (b); Sec. 19-24 transferred to Sec. 22a-148 in 1983; P.A. 89-201 deleted Subsec. (c)(2)(A) re exemption from registration of devices emitting x-rays for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and relettered the remaining Subparas. accordingly; P.A. 90-231 amended Subsec. (c) to require a registration fee of $100 and provided that on and after July 1, 1992, the fee shall be prescribed by regulations; P.A. 91-369 amended Subsec. (c) to restate commissioner's authority to adopt regulations setting the fees required by this section; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (c) to increase annual registration fee from $100 to $200 and to delete provisions re regulations to prescribe amount of fees, effective August 20, 2003; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011.

Notation

See Sec. 22a-27i re exemption of municipality for one year.

See Sec. 22a-150 re registration of x-ray devices.