Q.01

Do I need a permit for radioactive substances in England?

Yes, probably, unless an exemption applies. In England you need an environmental permit for a "radioactive substances activity" under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR 2016). The legal test is whether what you do falls within the definition and whether you meet one of the Schedule 23 Part 6 exemptions.

Approach: I read the latest revised text of EPR 2016 (regulations 2, 5, 8, 12 and 17, and Schedule 23). I did not check other radiation laws that may also apply to you, such as workplace radiation rules or transport rules.

1. What needs a permit

  • Regulation 12(1): a person "must not, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit... operate a regulated facility" [1].
  • Regulation 8(1)(e) lists a radioactive substances activity as a regulated facility [2].
  • In England the regulator is the Environment Agency [3].

Under Schedule 23 Part 2 paragraph 11, an activity is a radioactive substances activity if it is one of these [4]:

  • Para 11(2): using premises for an undertaking and, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the material is radioactive:
    • keeping or using radioactive material there;
    • disposing of radioactive waste on or from the premises; or
    • accumulating radioactive waste there. Waste held for 3 months or more is presumed to be radioactive waste unless the contrary is proved.
  • Para 11(4): receiving radioactive waste in order to dispose of it.
  • Para 11(5): keeping or using mobile radioactive apparatus, either for testing or measuring, or for releasing radioactive material into the environment or into organisms.
  • Para 11(6): investigation or construction work for underground disposal of radioactive waste.

2. Is your material "radioactive" in law? It depends on concentration thresholds in Schedule 23:

  • Artificial radionuclides, or natural ones processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties: solids and relevant liquids count only above the Table 2 Bq/g values. Other liquids and gases count at any level (paras 5 and 6).
  • NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material): material from type 1 NORM industrial activities (thorium or uranium), and waste from type 2 activities (for example oil and gas, titanium dioxide pigments, phosphate ore, drinking water treatment), counts above the Table 1 values (para 4).
  • Deliberate dilution: diluting material to get below a threshold does not work. It is still treated as above the threshold (para 6A).
  • Exclusions: material is not radioactive if every radionuclide in it has a half-life of 100 seconds or less. There are also exclusions for:
    • background fallout (para 8);
    • contamination that was not intended to be used for its radioactive properties, while it stays on the premises where it was contaminated (para 9);
    • historic radium contamination from before 13 May 2000 at 1 Bq/g or below for solids (para 9A);
    • material already lawfully disposed of (para 10).

3. Exemptions (no permit needed)

  • Regulation 12(3): the permit requirement does not apply to a person who has a radioactive substances exemption for that activity [1].
  • Schedule 23 Part 6 sets out exemptions for [4]:
    • keeping and using radioactive material up to the Table 4 and Table 5 limits, and material stored in transit;
    • accumulating waste, including NORM waste;
    • mobile radioactive apparatus within the Table 4 limits;
    • disposing of solid, NORM, aqueous and gaseous radioactive waste within the set limits and routes.
  • Key conditions and limits:
    • High-activity sources: you are not exempt for keeping and using a high-activity source once you take possession of it (para 3(2)).
    • Standard conditions ("must" duties):
      • keep adequate records and locations;
      • mark or label substances as radioactive where reasonably practicable;
      • do not modify sealed sources or their containers;
      • hold substances safely and securely;
      • give the regulator access to records and premises;
      • notify loss or theft as soon as reasonably practicable, unless the quantity is below a de minimis level;
      • for accumulated waste, dispose of it as soon as reasonably practicable. Waste sealed sources must go within 26 weeks unless the regulator agrees in writing to a longer period (paras 11 to 14).
  • Receiving from a permit holder: if you receive radioactive waste to dispose of from someone whose permit allows them to send it to you, you do not need your own permit for receiving it or for disposing of it in line with their permit (reg 12(4) and (5)).

4. Nuclear sites and transport

  • On a licensed nuclear site, the licensee's keeping or using of material, and its accumulation of waste, are not counted as radioactive substances activities. Disposal of waste still is (Sch 23 Part 2 para 13).
  • Radioactive material in a vehicle, vessel or aircraft that is on the premises during a journey is disregarded (para 14) [4].

5. Permit structure

  • Normally one permit covers one regulated facility. A single permit can cover several mobile-apparatus activities, or several regulated facilities on the same site.
  • If you carry on a groundwater activity as part of a radioactive substances activity on the same site, the regulator "must" put it on the same permit (reg 17) [5].

If you tell me which radionuclides, activities, quantities and disposal routes are involved, I can check them against the Table 2, 4, 5 and 6 limits.

Q.02

Does the Radioactive Substances Act still apply?

No, not in England (or Wales), apart from three small retained provisions. Regulation 72(1) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 states: "The 1993 Act, except for the provisions referred to in paragraph (2), is repealed" [6]. "The 1993 Act" is defined as the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 [3]. Instead, radioactive substances activities need an environmental permit under EPR 2016, as set out in my last answer.

Approach: I read the latest revised text of EPR 2016. I did not open the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 itself, and I did not check the current law in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

What is still in force (reg 72(2)) [6]:

  • paragraph 5 of Schedule 4;
  • section 49(1), but only as far as it relates to that paragraph;
  • section 51.

EPR 2016 does not reproduce what these provisions say, so I can't describe what they cover.

Territorial limit

  • Regulation 1(2) says EPR 2016 extends "to England and Wales only". It applies to England, the sea next to England out to the edge of the territorial sea, and Wales [7]. So the regulation 72 repeal is limited to England and Wales.
  • Schedule 23 to EPR 2016 still refers to the 1993 Act for premises in Scotland and Northern Ireland [4]:
    • a "disposal permit" includes "an authorisation under the 1993 Act to dispose of radioactive waste held in respect of premises situated in Northern Ireland or Scotland";
    • a "waste permitted person" includes someone who holds, for premises in Scotland or Northern Ireland, "an authorisation under section 13 or 14 of the 1993 Act".
  • Why this matters in practice: some exemptions in England work by reference to a disposal permit or a waste permitted person. A Scottish or Northern Irish authorisation under the 1993 Act can therefore count when you send waste across the border.

If you have operations in Scotland or Northern Ireland, I can look up which regime currently applies there.

Q.03