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State
California
HSC Sec 114705-114780 Control of Radioactive Contamination of the Environment

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 114705-114780





114705. The Legislature finds and declares that radioactive
contamination of the environment may subject the people of the State
of California to unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation unless it
is properly controlled. It is therefore declared to be the policy
of this state that the department initiate and administer necessary
programs of surveillance and control of those activities that could
lead to the introduction of radioactive materials into the
environment.


114710. As used in this article the following terms have the
meanings described in this section.
(a) "Department" means the State Department of Health Services.
(b) "Environment" means all places outside the control of the
person responsible for the radioactive materials.
(c) "Field tracer study" is any project, experiment, or study that
includes provision for deliberate introduction of radioactive
material into the environment for experimental or test purposes.
(d) "Person" includes any association of persons, copartnership or
corporation.
(e) "Radiation," or "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.
(f) "Radioactive material" means any material or combination of
materials that spontaneously emits ionizing radiation.
(g) "Radioactive waste" means any radioactive material that is
discarded as nonusable.
(h) "Significant" or "significantly," as applied to radioactive
contamination, means concentrations or amounts of radioactive
material as are likely to expose persons to ionizing radiation equal
to or greater than the guide levels published by the Federal
Radiation Council.
(i) "Radiological monitoring" means the measurement of the amounts
and kinds of radioactive materials in the environment.



114715. No person shall bury, throw away, or in any manner dispose
of radioactive wastes within the state except in a manner and at
locations as will result in no significant radioactive contamination
of the environment.


114720. The department may, by written order, prohibit the disposal
of radioactive wastes by any person when, upon investigation, it has
determined that the disposal violates Section 114715.



114725. The department may, by written order, prohibit the storage,
packaging, transporting, or loading of radioactive wastes if there
is a reasonable likelihood that the activities will result in
significant radioactive contamination of the environment.




114730. The person to whom an order has been issued pursuant to
Section 114720 or 114725 may appeal the order of the department to
any court of competent jurisdiction.



114735. The department may bring an action in a court of competent
jurisdiction to enjoin the storage, packaging, transporting, loading,
or disposal of radioactive wastes in violation of any written order
issued by the department pursuant to Section 114720 or 114725. The
court may, if it appears necessary, enjoin any person from using
radioactive material who thereby produces radioactive waste that the
court finds is being disposed of in violation of this article.



114740. The department shall maintain surveillance over the
storage, packaging, transporting, and loading of radioactive material
within this state regardless of the material's ultimate destination.
In carrying out its duties under this section, the department may
enter into an agreement with the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health and other state and local agencies to conduct any appropriate
inspection and enforcement activities. Any agreement with state and
local agencies shall not duplicate work to be done pursuant to
agreement with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, nor
shall work done by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health
duplicate work agreed to be done by other state and local agencies.
Licensees of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the facilities of
the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense are exempt
from this section.



114745. No person shall operate a nuclear reactor, nuclear fuel
reprocessing plant, or other installation, as defined by the
department, that could, as a result of routine operations, accident,
or negligence, significantly contaminate the environment with
radioactive material, without first instituting and maintaining an
adequate program of radiological monitoring. The proposed program
shall be submitted to the department for review and acceptance as to
its adequacy.


114750. No person shall conduct any field tracer study unless
detailed plans of the study have been approved by the department. In
reviewing proposed field tracer studies, the department shall
consider at least the following elements:
(a) That there is shown to be a substantial public interest in the
information intended to be obtained by the study.
(b) That the study will be performed by persons or agencies
competent to handle and use the radioactive material safely and with
due regard for potential effects on public health.
(c) That the study is planned so as to impose the least possible
exposure to ionizing radiation consistent with achieving the study's
desired objectives.
(d) That there is no likelihood that any person will be exposed to
ionizing radiation in excess of guide levels published by the
Federal Radiation Council. The department may, as a condition to its
approval of a field tracer study, require a representative of the
department to be present during the study.



114755. The department shall monitor radioactive materials in the
environment, including radioactive materials in media such as air,
milk, food, and water in locations and with a frequency as the
department may deem necessary to determine radiation exposure to the
people of the state from the materials.



114760. The department shall, at least once per month, make public
to news media the results of its monitoring of radioactive materials.



114765. Any regulations relating to radioactive material cargo,
including, but not limited to, packing, marking, loading, handling,
and transportation, shall be reviewed and made compatible with the
federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Department of
Transportation Docket No. HM-164, Notice No. 80-1, within 60 days of
the date the federal regulations become effective.



114775. The department, utilizing available funds and in
cooperation with the Department of Fish and Game and the Joint
Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, shall do all of the
following:
(a) Cooperate with any federal agency that conducts monitoring of
marine life or ocean waters, or both, at the sites of radioactive
waste dumping off the California coast to determine the effects of
the dumping.
(b) Purchase and test samples of seafood taken in the vicinity of
the Farallon Islands radioactive waste dump site to determine whether
the seafood contains radioactivity beyond natural and artificial
background levels.
(c) Make annual reports to the Legislature on the implementation
of this section, including any recommendations for legislation it
deems necessary to protect the health of Californians.
(d) Take emergency action pursuant to the general authority
contained in the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Part 5
(commencing with Section 109875)) to prohibit the commercial sale of
seafood for human consumption if, in the judgment of the director,
samples analyzed pursuant to subdivision (b), are found to contain
radioactivity that poses a threat to human health.




114780. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the dumping of
radioactive waste, including the scuttling of radioactive nuclear
submarines, into the Pacific Ocean, could adversely affect the
California coastal zone.
(b) The California Coastal Commission, in cooperation when
appropriate with the department, the Department of Justice, the
Department of Fish and Game, and the Joint Committee on Fisheries and
Aquaculture, shall use any means available to the commission,
pursuant to law, to prevent any dumping of radioactive waste in the
Pacific Ocean by any public or private entity, unless the commission
finds that the dumping would be consistent with the goals and
policies of Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public
Resources Code.