Definitions as used in this article:

A. "Carrier" means any person transporting radioactive wastes into or within the State for storage, disposal or delivery.

B. "Department" means the Department of Health and Environmental Control, including personnel authorized to act on behalf of the Department.

C. "Disposal facility" means any facility located within the State which accepts radioactive waste for storage or disposal.

D. "Emergency" means any condition existing outside the bounds of nuclear operating sites owned or licensed by a federal agency and any condition existing within or outside of the jurisdictional confines of a facility licensed by the Department arising out of the handling or the transportation of radioactive waste, as hereinabove defined, which is endangering or could reasonably be expected to endanger the health and safety of the public, or to contaminate the environment.

E. "Generation" means the act or process of producing radioactive wastes.

F. "Manifest" means the document used for identifying the quantity, composition, origin, and destination of radioactive waste during its transport to a disposal facility.

G. "Operator" means every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle transporting radioactive waste.

H. "Permit" means an authorization issued by the Department to any person to transport such radioactive wastes or offer such waste for transport.

I. "Person" means any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, partnership or any other entity whatsoever.

J. "Radioactive waste" means any and all equipment or materials which are radioactive or have radioactive contamination and which are required pursuant to any governing laws, regulations or licenses to be disposed of or stored as radioactive waste. Such waste may also be defined as:

(1) "High-level waste" means either irradiated nuclear reactor fuel or the portion of the material generated in the reprocessing of such irradiated fuel that contains virtually all of the fission products and most of the actinides not separated out during reprocessing.

(2) "Transuranic waste" means waste containing more than ten nanocuries of transuranic activity per gram of material.

(3) "Low-level radioactive waste" means all radioactive waste which contains less than ten nanocuries of transuranic activity per gram or which is free of any transuranic contaminants; provided, however, that as this subitem does not define "low-level radioactive waste" by its isotope and curie content except as to transuranic waste and does not define "low-level radioactive waste" as to its danger to the public, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is directed to contact the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Department of Energy and the National Academy of Science and seek their assistance in defining the term "low-level radioactive waste" as to its isotope and curie strength and as to its potential danger to the general public, and the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall further make a public report as to its findings by September 15, 1981, and shall make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than February 15, 1982, as to its suggestions for changes in the definition of the term "low-level radioactive waste."

K. "Shipper" means any person, whether a resident of South Carolina or a nonresident (1) who transports radioactive waste generated by him into or within the State; (2) who transports radioactive waste generated by another person into or within the State; or (3) who transfers radioactive waste to a carrier for transportation into or within the State; or (4) who transfers radioactive waste to another person if such wastes are transported into or within the State. Nothing contained herein shall relieve a person whose activities result in the generation of radioactive waste from primary responsibility under Section 13-7-140 unless provided by regulation of the Department.

L. "Transport" means the movement of radioactive wastes into or within South Carolina.

HISTORY: 1980 Act No. 429, Section 1, eff May 26, 1980; 1981 Act No. 127, Section 1, eff June 26, 1981.