S.I. No. 276/1994 - European Communities (Supervision and Control of Certain Shipments of Radioactive Waste) Regulations, 1994.
S.I. No. 276 of 1994. | ||
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF CERTAIN SHIPMENTS OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE) REGULATIONS, 1994. | ||
I, BRIAN COWEN, Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 92/3/Euratom of 3 February, 1992(1), hereby make the following Regulations: | ||
(1)OJ No. L35, 12.2.92, p.24. | ||
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1 Preliminary and General. | 1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Supervision and Control of Certain Shipments of Radioactive Waste) Regulations, 1994. | |
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 15th day of September, 1994. | ||
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2 Interpretation. | 2. (1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires— | |
"Competent Authority" means any authority which, under the law or regulations of the country of origin, transit or destination, is empowered to implement the system of supervision and control defined in Titles I to IV of the Directive; | ||
"consignee", in relation to radioactive waste, means any natural or legal person to whom such material is shipped; | ||
"the Directive" means Council Directive No. 92/3/Euratom of 3 February, 1992; | ||
"holder", in relation to radioactive waste, means any natural or legal person who, before carrying out a shipment, has the legal responsibility for such materials and intends to carry out shipment to a consignee; | ||
"the Institute" means the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland; | ||
"Member State" means a Member State of the Community; | ||
"the Minister" means the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications; | ||
"the Order of 1993" means the Radiological Protection Act, 1991 (General Control of Radioactive Substances, Nuclear Devices and Irradiating Apparatus) Order, 1993, ( S.I. No. 151 of 1993 ); | ||
"place of origin" and "place of destination" mean places situated in two different countries, either Member States or third countries and "country of origin" and "country of destination" shall be construed accordingly; | ||
"radioactive waste" means any material which contains or is contaminated by radionuclides (being material to which the Order of 1993 applies) and for which no use is foreseen; | ||
"sealed source" means a source consisting of radioactive substances firmly incorporated in solid and effectively inactive materials, or sealed in an inactive container of sufficient strength to prevent, under normal conditions of use, any dispersion of radioactive substance; | ||
"shipment" means transport operations from the place of origin to the place of destination, including loading and unloading, of radioactive waste and "reshipment" means a second or further transport operation involving the same material; | ||
"standard document" means the document prepared by the Commission and published in Commission Decision of 1 October, 1993(2); | ||
(2)O.J No. L268, 29.10.93, p.83. | ||
"third country" means a State other than a Member State. | ||
(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive. | ||
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3 Application. | 3. (1) Subject to Regulation 11 of these Regulations, these Regulations shall apply to shipments of radioactive waste in transit through the State, between the State and other Member States and between the State and third countries whenever the quantities and concentration exceed the levels laid down in the Order of 1993. | |
(2) Transport operations under these Regulations shall comply with the provisions of the law of the State, acts adopted by the institutions of the Community and international agreements on the transport of radioactive materials. | ||
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4 Shipments between the State and other Member States. | 4. (1) A holder of radioactive waste who intends to carry out a shipment from the State to other Member States of the waste or to arrange for such a shipment to be carried out shall submit an application in writing to the Institute, using the standard document, requesting the approval of the shipment in accordance with Article 4 of the Directive. | |
(2) The Institute on receipt of an application aforesaid shall transmit the application to the Competent Authorities of the country of destination and of the country or countries of transit, if any. | ||
(3) An application under paragraph (1) of this Regulation may be submitted in respect of more than one shipment, provided that: | ||
( a ) the radioactive waste to which each shipment relates has essentially the same physical, chemical and radioactive characteristics, | ||
( b ) the shipments are to be made from the same holder to the same consignee and involve the same Competent Authorities, and | ||
( c ) where shipments involve third countries, such transit is via the same frontier post of entry to or exit from the Community and via the same frontier post of the third country or countries concerned, unless otherwise agreed between the Competent Authorities concerned. | ||
(4) Where the approval or approvals of the Competent Authorities of the country of destination and of the country or countries of transit, if any, necessary for the shipment referred to in this Regulation have been granted, the Institute shall be entitled to authorise the holder of the radioactive waste to ship the waste, subject to the conditions, if any, specified by the said approval or approvals, and inform the Competent Authorities of the said country or countries in the form set out in the standard document. | ||
(5) The said authorisation shall not in any way affect the responsibility of the holder, the transporter, the owner, the consignee or any other natural or legal person involved in the shipment. | ||
(6) The said authorisation shall remain in force for whichever of the following periods expires first, namely— | ||
( a ) the period of 3 years, | ||
( b ) the period that the approval as respects the shipment to which the authorisation relates states that the approval shall have effect for, | ||
( c ) if more than one such approval is given and— | ||
(i) one only of the approvals states the period that it shall have effect for, that period, or | ||
(ii) two or more of the approvals state the periods that they shall have effect for, whichever of those periods is of the least duration. | ||
(7) Without prejudice to Regulation 3 (2) of this Regulation, an authorisation of a shipment under this Regulation shall be deemed sufficient to comply with the requirement for the issue of a licence under Article 4 of the Order of 1993 as respects the shipment. | ||
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5 .. | 5. (1) Where the State is the country of destination or of transit of shipments of radioactive waste then not later than two months after receipt of the duly completed application, the Institute shall notify the Competent Authority of the country of origin of its decision to approve the shipment, to refuse the shipment, to refuse to approve the shipment or to approve the shipment subject to such conditions as it deems necessary and any such conditions shall be specified in the notification. This information shall be provided in the form set out in the standard document. | |
(2) ( a ) Any conditions which the Institute attaches to an approval by it under paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall not be more stringent than those that would be provided for under the law of the State in relation to a shipment similar to the shipment to which the approval relates and shall comply with existing international agreements. | ||
( b ) Reasons shall be given by the Institute for any decision by it to refuse to grant an approval under paragraph (1) of this Regulation or to attach any conditions to such an approval. | ||
(3) The Institute may request a further period of not more than one month in addition to the period referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation to notify the Competent Authority concerned of the matters referred to in that paragraph. | ||
(4) If the Institute has not notified the Competent Authority concerned of the matters referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation within the period referred to in that paragraph or, as appropriate, the period referred to in paragraph (3) of this Regulation it shall be deemed to have given its approval for the shipment requested. | ||
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6 .. | 6. (1) Where the State is the country of destination— | |
( a ) within 15 days of receipt, the consignee of the radioactive waste shall send the Institute an acknowledgement of receipt, using the standard document, | ||
( b ) the Institute shall send copies of the acknowledgement to the other countries concerned. | ||
(2) Where the State is the country of origin, the Institute shall send a copy of the acknowledgement to the original holder. | ||
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7 Imports into and Exports out of the Community. | 7. (1) Where radioactive waste enters the Community from a third country and the State is the country of destination the consignee shall submit an application for authorisation to the Institute in writing using the standard document. The consignee shall act as the holder and the Institute shall act as if it were the Competent Authority of the country of origin referred to in Regulation 4 of these Regulations in respect of the country or countries of transit. | |
(2) Where radioactive waste enters the Community from a third country, the country of destination is not a Member State and the State is the Member State in whose territory the waste is first to enter the Community, then the State shall be deemed to be the country of origin for the purposes of that shipment. The person who has responsibility for managing the shipment within the State shall inform the Institute in order to initiate the appropriate procedures. | ||
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8 .. | 8. The Institute shall not authorise shipments to— | |
( a ) a destination south of latitude 60° south, | ||
( b ) subject to Regulation 11 (2) of these Regulations, a state (other than a Member State) that is a party to the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention, or | ||
( c ) a third contry which, in the opinion of the Competent Authority of the country of origin, in accordance with the criteria laid down by the Commission, does not have the technical, legal or administrative resources to manage the radioactive waste safely. | ||
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9 .. | 9. (1) Where radioactive waste is to be exported from the State to a third country, the Institute shall contact the authorities of the country of destination regarding such a shipment. | |
(2) If all the conditions for shipment are fulfilled, the Institute shall authorise the holder of radioactive waste to ship the waste and shall inform the authorities of the country of destination of the shipment in the form set out in the standard document. | ||
(3) The said authorisation shall not in any way affect the responsibility of the holder, the transporter, the owner, the consignee or any other natural or legal person involved in the shipment. | ||
(4) ( a ) The holder of the radioactive waste in the State shall notify the Institute that the waste has reached its destination in the third country within two weeks of the date of arrival and shall indicate the last customs post in the Community through which the shipment passed. | ||
( b ) The said notification shall be substantiated by a declaration or certification of the consignee of the radioactive waste stating that the waste has reached its proper destination and indicating the customs post of entry in the third country. | ||
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10 Documents to Accompany Every Shipment. | 10. (1) Without prejudice to any other accompanying documents required under the law of the State, acts adopted by institutions of the Community or international agreements, the documents referred to in Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations shall accompany each shipment to which these Regulations apply, including each shipment that has been the subject of the one application under Regulation 4 (3) of these Regulations. | |
(2) Where shipments to which these Regulations apply are made by rail, the said documents shall be available to the Competent Authorities of all the countries concerned. | ||
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11 Exemptions. | 11. (1) These Regulations do not apply to reshipment from the State of sealed sources, except where they contain fissile material, by a user to the supplier (including his agent or his successor) of the source in another country. | |
(2) These Regulations shall not affect— | ||
( a ) the right of the State or an undertaking in the State to which waste is to be exported for processing to return the waste after treatment to its country of origin, or | ||
( b ) the right of the State or an undertaking in the State to which irradiated nuclear fuel is to be exported for reprocessing to return to its country of origin waste or other products of the reprocessing operation. | ||
(3) Where the State is the country of origin of a shipment of radioactive waste and where the shipment cannot be completed or if the conditions subject to which approval for the shipment has been given are not complied with, the Institute shall ensure that the radioactive waste in question is taken back by the holder of that waste. | ||
(4) In case of shipments of radioactive waste from a third country to the State, the Institute shall ensure that the consignee of that waste enters into a legally-binding agreement with the holder of the waste established in the third country obliging the holder to take back the waste where a shipment cannot be completed. | ||
(5) Where the Institute has approved transit for an initial shipment of radioactive waste it shall not refuse to approve reshipment of the waste— | ||
( a ) in the case of a shipment referred to in paragraph (2) of this Regulation, if the reshipment concerns the same material after treatment and all the relevant provisions of the law of the State, acts adopted by the institutions of the Community and international agreements on the transport of radioactive materials are complied with, | ||
( b ) in the case of a shipment referred to in paragraph (3) or (4) of this Regulation, if the reshipment is undertaken on the same conditions and with the same specifications. | ||
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12 Offences and Penalties. | 12. (1) A holder of radioactive waste or a consignee of such waste, as the case may be, who contravenes Regulation 4 (1), 6 (1) (a), 7 (1), 9 (4) or 10 of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence. | |
(2) A holder of radioactive waste or a consignee of such waste who fails to comply with any conditions subject to which an approval has been given by the Institute or the Competent Authority of another country for a shipment of the waste shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(3) A person who fails to comply with Regulation 7 (2) of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(4) A consignee who, without reasonable excuse, fails to enter into an agreement such as is referred to in Regulation 11 (4) of these Regulations when requested by the Institute to do so shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(5) A person who is guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment. | ||
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13 Prosecution of Offences. | 13. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister or the Institute. | |
GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 8th day of September, 1994. | ||
BRIAN COWEN, | ||
Minister for Transport, Energy | ||
and Communications. | ||
EXPLANATORY NOTE. | ||
These Regulations provide for the implementation of Council Directive 92/3/Euratom of 3 February, 1992 laying down conditions for the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Members States and into and out of the Community, whenever quantities and concentrations of such waste exceed certain levels. These conditions supplement the existing Council Directives on basic safety standards for the health protection of workers and the general public against the dangers of ionising radiation. | ||
The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has been deemed the Competent Authority for the purpose of implementation of these Regulations in this country and application should be made to that body for all authorisations required under the Regulations. |