345 CMR 1.02
Definitions
For the purpose of 345 CMR 1.00 and 345 CMR 3.00, the following definitions shall apply unless
the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation:
Activity, the rate of decay of radioactive material.
1.02: continued
Affected Community, a community, other than a site community, which is identified in an environmental
impact report prepared pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 30, and can be expected to experience
significant impacts as a result ofthe location, development, operation, closure, post-closure observation
and maintenance, or institutional control of a facility.
Board, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Board established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 2,
which is responsible for planning and effecting the management of low-level radioactive waste in the
Commonwealth.
Broker, a person engaged in the business of arranging for the collection, transportation, treatment,
storage or disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
Candidate Site, a site, identified in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L. c. 111H,
§ 20 which will be the subject of detailed site characterization as part of the process to select any
superior site.
Candidate Site Community, a community in which is located all or any part of a candidate site.
ChelatingAgentmeans certain organic compounds capable of forming(multiple) coordinatebondswith
metals through two or more atoms of the organic compound, typically resulting in enhanced
thermodynamic stability in solution and greatly altered behavior of the metal ions. Examples include
amine polycarboxylic acids (e.g., EDTA, DTPA), and polycarboxylic acids (e.g., citric acid, carbolic
acid and glucinic acid).
Chief Elected Official, the mayor of any city, the chairman of the board of selectmen in any town.
Chief Executive Officer, the city manager in any city having a city manager, the mayor in any other city,
the town manager in any town having a town manager, the chairmanof the board of selectmen in any
other town.
Closure, the permanent termination of low-level radioactive waste acceptance at a facility, including
closure prior to the scheduled closing date, and the implementation of a closure plan.
Community, a city or town of the Commonwealth.
Community Compensation, any money, thingof value, or economic benefit conferred by an operator
or the Board on any site or neighboring community under the terms and conditions specified in a
comprehensive operating contract executed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 33.
Community Supervisory Committee, a committee, established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 21 to
facilitate the participation of a community, in which a candidate site is located, in the activities
established by 345 CMR 1.00.
Comprehensive Operating Contract, a contract entered into by an operator and the Board pursuant
to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 33 which specifies the community compensation to be provided by the operator
or the Board.
Container means the primary vessel, exclusive of other reusable shielding or other packaging materials,
inwhichwaste is placed and received for treatment, storage, or disposal; or the vessel into whichwaste
is repackaged for storage or disposal and potential retrieval.
Contingent Liability Account, an account within the Low Level Radioactive Waste Trust Fund
established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 41 for the purpose of compensating for injuries to persons,
land or property, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 9, if no other funds, insurance, tort compensationor
other means of satisfying a damage judgment or settlement are available.
1.02: continued
Curie, a unit of activity which represents the quantity of any radionuclide that undergoes 37 billion
disintegrations per second (3.7 x 1010 d/s).
Days, calendar days; provided that in computing time periods such periods shall exclude the day of the
event which starts the period running, and further provided that if the last day of a period falls on a
Sunday, legal holiday or declared state of emergency day, such period shall be extended to the close
of business on the next business day.
Decommissioning, the safe removal from service of an activity involving radioactive materials or waste,
and the reduction of residual radioactivity to a level that permits release of the property for unrestricted
use and termination of the license.
DEP, the Department of Environmental Protection.
Detailed Site Characterization, the on-site investigatory and analytical step of site selection established
in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 23, and conducted prior to the selection of any superior site.
Determinable Property Interest, an interest in property created with a special limitation that delimits the
duration of the interest.
Development, all activities undertaken with respect to a low-level radioactive waste facility during the
period commencing with the selection of any superior site pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 23 and
continuing until the commencement of facility operation pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 39.
Disposal, the isolation of low-level radioactive waste from the biosphere inhabited by human beings
and their food chains.
DPH, the Department of Public Health.
Environmental Monitoring Program, a monitoring program established by DPH, after consultation with
DEP and the board of health of each site community, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 36 for the
purpose of collecting and analyzing environmental data prior to construction and throughout the
construction, operation, closure, post-closure observation and maintenance, and institutional control
of a facility.
Facility, a parcel of land, together with the structures, equipment and improvements thereon or
appurtenant thereto, which, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, isbeingdeveloped, is used, or has been used
for the treatment, storage or disposal of low-level radioactive waste. A "facility"does not include any
property used for temporary storage oflow-levelradioactive waste in sealed containers by a broker.
Facility License, a license to operate a facility issued by DPH pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 31, or
a license issued for a facility by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Financial Risk Assessment, a comprehensive evaluation of the potential hazards associated with the
operation, closure, post-closure observation and maintenance, and institutional control of a storage,
treatment or disposal facility, the financial risks associated with these potential hazards and the financial
mechanisms necessary to indemnify or insure against such risks.
Generator, a person, including a broker, who produces low level radioactive waste.
Half-Life, the time inwhichhalfthe atoms of a particular radioactive substance disintegrate to another
nuclear form.
Hazardous Waste, a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or
physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantlycontribute to an increase in
mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness or pose a substantial
present or potential hazard to human health, safety, or welfare or to the environment when improperly
treated, stored, transported, used or disposed
1.02: continued
of, or otherwise managed, however, not to include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or
solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources
subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1967 as amended,
or source, special nuclear, or by product materials as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
High Volume, Low Activity Waste, soils or demolition rubble that have average concentrations of
radioactive materialless thanor equal to the concentrations set forth in 345 CMR 1.13, Table 1.13B
and that have been accepted for disposal at a licensed LLRW disposal facility.
Institutional Control, the continued observation, monitoring and care of a facility following transfer of
the facility license from the operator to the Board.
Institutional Control Account, an account within the Low Level Radioactive Waste Trust Fund
established in M.G.L. c. 111H, § 41 for the purpose of paying institutional control costs pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 111H, §§ 9 and 47.
Interim Storage, storage of low-level radioactive waste for a period of five years or less, or as
determined by the licensing agency.
Isotopes, nuclides with the same number of protons but differing numbers of neutrons in the nucleus.
Licensee, a person holding a license issued pursuant to Part C of 105 CMR 120.000 by DPH or a
license issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer, acquire, own, possess or use
quantities of, or devices or equipment utilizing, radioactive material.
Low-Level Radioactive Waste ('LLRW') or waste, radioactive material that (1) is neither high-level
waste, nor spent nuclear fuel, nor byproduct material as defined in § 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e); and (2) is classified by the Federal Government as
low-level radioactive waste, but not including waste which remains a Federal responsibility, as
designated in § 3(b) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C.
§ 2021c(b), as in effect as of December 8, 1987.
Low-LevelRadioactive Waste Trust Fund, a trust fund established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 10, § 35H
which shall consist of surcharges collected from users of the low-level radioactive waste facility in an
amount determined by the Board on an annual basis, which shall be used to meet the obligations set
forth in M.G.L. c. 111H, §§ 9 and 47.
Management, the storage, packaging, treatment, transportation,or disposal, where applicable, of low-
level radioactive waste.
Management Plan, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Plan adopted by the Board
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, § 12 to provide for the safe and efficient management of low-level
radioactive waste.
Manifest, a detailed record of the characteristics and quantities of packaged waste as presented for
transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal which usually accompanies waste transfers for these
purposes.
Mixed Waste, low-level radioactive waste containing material that either
(a) is listed in 310 CMR 30.131 through 30.136; or
(b) causes the waste to exhibit any of the characteristics identified in 310 CMR 30.120.
Monitoring, observing and making measurements to provide data ona facility, its site, its surrounding
environment, and its health and environmental impacts.
1.02: continued
Neighboring Community, a community, other than a site community, which, according to the most
recent decennial census conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 9, § 7, has at least 20% of its population
residing within three miles of any superior site.
Nuclide, atoms characterized by their atomic number (number of protons) and their mass.
Operation, the control, supervision or implementation of the actual physical activities involved in the
acceptance, storage, treatment, disposal or monitoringoflow-level radioactive waste at a facility and
the maintenance of the facility and any other responsibilities of the operation pertaining to the facility.
Operator, a person designated in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L. c. 111H,
§§ 22 and 27 to develop and operate a low-level radioactive waste facility.
Performance assessment, the process of analyzing the performance of a facility, usually using computer
modeling, in order to evaluate its ability to meet the requirements of 105 CMR 120.811 through
120.816.
Person, any agency or political subdivision of the Federal Government or the Commonwealth, or of
any state, any public or private corporation or authority, individual, firm, joint stock company,
partnership, association, trust, estate, institution or other entity, and any officer, employee or agent of
such person, and any group of such persons.
Possible Location, a location, identified in accordance with the procedures established in M.G.L.
c. 111H, § 20, which will be the subject of preliminary characterization.
Post-closure Observation and Maintenance, the active monitoringand maintenance of a facility which
has been closed in preparation for transfer of the facility's license from the operator to the Board.
Preliminary Characterization, the investigatory and analytical step established inM.G.L. c. 111H, § 20,
and conducted prior to the identification of candidate sites.
Professional Training, the level of academic or on-the-job training generally recognized as adequate
to qualify a person to be employed in a discipline.
Property Value Protection District, an area of land, identified by the Board, after consultation with the
community supervisory committee, which includes all land within ½ mile of the waste management area
of a facility and may include other land not more than one mile from the waste management area of the
facility.
Public Interest, the common welfare, convenience, benefit, and necessity of the people of the
Commonwealth, including public health, safety, and the environment.
Public Meeting, a public hearing, satisfying the requirements of M.G.L. c. 30A, § 2, in which an agency
presents information, responds to inquiries, and hears testimony of interested persons.
Public Participation Coordinator, the person appointed pursuantto M.G.L. c. 111H, § 6 to encourage
and facilitate the participation of interested persons in all of the processes established in or pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 111H, and to carry out the other duties prescribed in M.G.L. c. 111H.
Radioactive Materials, any solid, liquid, or gas which emits radiation spontaneously.
Radioactivity, the transformation of unstable atomic nuclei by the emission of radiation.
1.02: continued
Radionuclide, an isotope that eventually undergoes spontaneous disintegration, with the emission of
radiation.
Remediation, the planning, design, and implementationofappropriate means of assessment and solution
of a contamination problem.
Retrievable, able to recover waste in an intact container without substantial destruction of the
engineered barriers surrounding the waste containers.
Retrieval, the recovery of waste in an intact container.
Secretary, the Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
Shallow Land Burial, a land disposal method that relies on the site's natural characteristics as the
primary barrier for isolation of the waste.
Site, a parcel of land which, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111H, is being considered, developed or used or
has been used as a location for a facility.
Site Community, the community in which is located all or any part of any superior site.
Source Minimization, minimizing the volume or radioactivity of low-level radioactive waste prior to its
generation by such methods as: (1) avoiding unnecessary contamination of items during the use of
radioactive materials; (2) carefully segregating radioactive waste from non-radioactive trash; or (3)
substituting non-radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes with shorter half-lives where practicable.
Storage, the holding of low-level radioactive waste for treatment or disposal.
Storage for Decay, a procedure in which low-level radioactive waste witha relativelyshort half-life is
held for natural radioactive decay in compliance with applicable federal and state regulations.
Superior Site, any site selected by the Board, after detailed site characterization, pursuant to M.G.L.
c. 111H, § 23.
Treatment, any method, technique, or process, including source minimization, volume minimization and
storage for decay, designed to change the physical, radioactive, chemicalor biological characteristics
or composition of low-level radioactive waste in order to render such waste safer for management,
amenable for recovery, convertible to another usable material or reduced in volume.
Volume Minimization, treatment of low-level radioactive waste after its generation in order to minimize
the physical dimensions of the waste and the space required for storage or disposal.
Waste Form, those physicaland chemicalcharacteristics of LLRW of primary importance in influencing
its stability in a storage or disposal environment.