OAR 333-102-0015: Exemptions: Certain Items Containing Radioactive Material

(1) Except for persons who apply radioactive material to, or persons who incorporate radioactive material into the following products, any person is exempt from these rules to the extent that he or she receives, possesses, uses, transfers, owns or acquires the following products: NOTE: Authority to transfer possession or control by the manufacturer, processor, or producer of any equipment, device, commodity, or other product containing byproduct material whose subsequent possession, use, transfer, and disposal by all other persons are exempted from regulatory requirements may be obtained only from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555. (a) Timepieces or hands or dials containing not more than the following specified quantities of radioactive material and not exceeding the following specified levels of radiation: (A) 25 millicuries (925 MBq) of tritium per timepiece; (B) Five millicuries (185 MBq) of tritium per hand; (C) 15 millicuries (555 MBq) of tritium per dial (when used, bezels must be considered as part of the dial); (D) 100 microcuries (3.7 MBq) of promethium-147 per watch or 200 microcuries (7.4 MBq) of promethium-147 per any other timepiece; (E) 20 microcuries (0.74 MBq) of promethium-147 per watch hand or 40 microcuries (1.48 MBq) of promethium-147 per other timepiece hand; (F) 60 microcuries (2.22 MBq) of promethium-147 per watch dial or 120 microcuries (4.44 MBq) of promethium-147 per other timepiece dial (when used, bezels must be considered as part of the dial); (G) 0.15 microcurie (5.55 kBq) of radium per timepiece; (H) 0.03 microcurie (1.11 kBq) of radium per hand; (I) 0.09 microcurie (3.33 kBq) of radium per dial (when used, bezels must be considered as part of the dial); (J) The radiation dose rate from hands and dials containing promethium-147 will not exceed, when measured through 50 milligrams per square centimeter of absorber: (i) For wrist watches, 0.1 millirad (one microGy) per hour at 10 centimeters from any surface; (ii) For pocket watches, 0.1 millirad (one microGy) per hour at one centimeter from any surface; and (iii) For any other timepiece, 0.2 millirad (two microGy) per hour at 10 centimeters from any surface. (K) One microcurie (37 kBq) of radium-226 per timepiece in intact timepieces manufactured prior to November 30, 2007. (b) Precision balances containing not more than one millicurie (37 MBq) of tritium per balance or not more than 0.5 millicurie (18.5 MBq) of tritium per balance part manufactured before December 17, 2007; (c) Marine compasses containing not more than 750 millicuries (27.8 GBq) of tritium gas and other marine navigational instruments containing not more than 250 millicuries (9.25 GBq) of tritium gas manufactured before December 17, 2007; (d) Electron tubes: Provided, that each tube does not contain more than one of the following specified quantities of radioactive material: (A) 150 millicuries (5.55 GBq) of tritium per microwave receiver protector tube or 10 millicuries (370 MBq) of tritium per any other electron tube; (B) One microcurie (37 kBq) of cobalt-60; (C) Five microcuries (185 kBq) of nickel-63; (D) 30 microcuries (1.11 MBq) of krypton-85; (E) Five microcuries (185 kBq) of cesium-137; or (F) 30 microcuries (1.11 MBq) of promethium-147. (G) And provided further, that the radiation dose rate from each electron tube containing radioactive material will not exceed one millirad (10 Gy) per hour at one centimeter from any surface when measured through seven milligrams per square centimeter of absorber. NOTE: For purposes of, subsection (1)(d) of this rule "electron tubes" include spark gap tubes, power tubes, gas tubes including glow lamps, receiving tubes, microwave tubes, indicator tubes, pick-up tubes, radiation detection tubes and any other completely sealed tube that is designed to conduct or control electrical currents. (e) Ionizing radiation measuring instruments containing, for purposes of internal calibration or standardization, one or more sources of radioactive material, provided that: (A) Each source contains no more than one exempt quantity set forth in 10 CFR Part 30.71 Schedule B; and (B) Each instrument contains no more than 10 exempt quantities. For purposes of this requirement, an instrument's source(s) may contain either one or different types of radionuclides and an individual exempt quantity may be composed of fractional parts of one or more of the exempt quantities in 10 CFR Part 30.71 Schedule B provided that the sum of such fractions must not exceed unity. (C) For americium-241, 0.05 microcuries (1.85 kBq) is considered an exempt quantity under paragraph (1)(e)(A) of this rule. Ionization chamber smoke detectors containing not more than one microcurie (uCi) of americium-241 per detector in the form of a foil and designed to protect life and property from fires. (f) Static elimination devices that contain, as a sealed source or sources, byproduct material consisting of a total of not more than 500 microcuries (18.5 MBq) of polonium 210 per device. (g) Ion generating tubes designed for ionization of air that contain, as a sealed source or sources, byproduct material consisting of a total of not more than 500 millicuries (18.5 MBq) of polonium 210 per device or of a total of not more than 50 millicuries (1.85 GBq) of hydrogen 3 (tritium) per device. (h) Such devices authorized before October 23, 2012 for use under the general license then provided in 10 CFR Part 31.3 and equivalent regulations of Agreement States and manufactured, tested, and labeled by the manufacturer in accordance with the specifications contained in a specific license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2) The exemptions contained in this rule must not authorize any of the following: (a) The manufacture of any product listed; (b) The application or removal of radioactive luminous material to or from meters and timepieces or hands and dials therefore; (c) The installation into automobile locks of illuminators containing tritium or promethium-147 or the application of tritium to balances of precision or parts thereof; (d) Human use, or the use in any device or article, except timepieces, which is intended to be placed on or in the human body; (e) As applied to radioactive material exempted under section (1) of this rule, the production, packaging, repackaging or transfer of radioactive material for purposes of commercial distribution or the incorporation of radioactive material into products intended for commercial distribution.