Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
GENERAL Sec.
240.1. Description of regulatory structure.
240.2. Scope.
240.3. Definitions.
GENERAL
§ 240.1. Description of regulatory structure.
(a) The act directs the Department to establish a Radon Certification Program. This chapter specifies the requirements to certify a person to test for and mitigate radon contamination of occupied buildings and to analyze radon samples. Persons exempt from certification are specified in § 240.2 (relating to scope).
(b) Subchapter B (relating to certification) specifies the requirement that a person shall be certified to conduct radon testing, and the requirements for obtaining certification. Subchapter B also contains the requirements for certification in mitigation and laboratory analysis.
(c) Subchapter C (relating to certification review procedures and standards) provides the standards and procedures for review of applications, renewal and modification of certification.
(d) Subchapter D (relating to operation requirements) contains operation requirements for certified persons who conduct radon-related activities. Subchapter D includes the requirements concerning advertising, notice to clients and disclosure of radon information to the Department. These operation requirements are in addition to specific requirements contained in a certification.
(e) Subchapter E (relating to enforcement and decertification) contains the enforcement provisions, including inspection, decertification and assessment of civil penalties. Other enforcement actions are available under sections 308 and 309 of the Radiation Protection Act (35 P.S. § § 7110.308 and 7110.309) and section 14 of the act (63 P.S. § 2014).
(f) This section is for descriptive purposes only. This section does not limit the authority of the Department under the acts or this chapter.
Authority The provisions of this § 240.1 amended under sections 12 and 13 of the Radon Certification Act (63 P.S. § § 2012 and 2013); section 302 of the Radiation Protection Act (35 P.S. § 7110.302); and section 1920-A of the Administrative Code (71 P.S. § 510.20).
Source The provisions of this § 240.1 amended October 26, 2018, effective January 24, 2019, 48 Pa.B. 6791. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (304601) to (304602).
§ 240.2. Scope.
(a) This chapter applies to a person except when the person is:
(1) Testing for or mitigating against radon contamination in a building that the person owns or in which the person resides.
(2) Using measures designed to prevent radon contamination in newly constructed buildings. This exemption does not apply to radon testing or installation of radon mitigating devices in these buildings following occupancy.
(3) Performing testing or mitigation in the course of the person’s normal duties as an employee or contractor of the Department or the Federal government.
(4) Performing scientific research if the person discloses the information obtained to the Department under § 240.303 (relating to reporting of information) and the person informs the owner or occupant of the affected building of all of the following:
(i) That the person is not certified by the Department to test for or mitigate against radon contamination.
(ii) That the test results are not valid.
(iii) That the mitigation methods are for experimental purposes and may be unsuccessful.
(5) Purveying secondary devices supplied by a certified laboratory, if radon concentrations determined by the laboratory are only reported directly to the owner or resident of the building tested.
(i) Test results may also be reported to the certified mitigator who installed a mitigation system at the property.
(ii) Purveying does not include the activities of either placing or retrieving activated charcoal, liquid scintillation, or alpha track radon testing devices.
(6) Employed by a local government or a school and performing testing for that local government or school if all of the following criteria are met:
(i) The practice is limited to the employee’s official duties and no fee is charged for the testing except for the employee’s salary.
(ii) Radon testing is limited to the buildings owned or occupied by the local government or school.
(iii) The radon testing is performed in accordance with the device manufacturer’s instructions.
(b) This chapter is in addition to, and not in substitution for, other applicable provisions of this article.
Authority The provisions of this § 240.2 amended under sections 301 and 302 of the Radiation Protection Act (35 P.S. § § 7110.301 and 7110.302); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-20); and sections 12 and 13 of the Radon Certification Act (63 P.S. § § 2012 and 2013).
Source The provisions of this § 240.2 amended July 16, 2004, effective July 17, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 3823; amended October 26, 2018, effective January 24, 2019, 48 Pa.B. 6791. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (304602) and (388451).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 240.1 (relating to description of regulatory structure).
§ 240.3. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
AC—Activated charcoal—A device used to measure radon by exposing activated charcoal to air in the area to be tested and analyzed by gamma ray spectroscopy.
AT—Alpha track—A device used to measure radon by recording alpha particle tracks on a plastic chip.
Act—The Radon Certification Act (63 P.S. § § 2001—2014).
Active radon mitigation system—A radon mitigation system with an electric vent fan.
Acts—The Radon Certification Act and the Radiation Protection Act (35 P.S. § § 7110.101—7110.703).
Alteration—A change to the original mitigation system design, including fan size, number or placement of suction points, or pipe diameter.
CRM—Continuous radon monitor—An active device used to measure radon with solid state silicon surface barrier detectors, scintillation cells or ion chambers, usually on an hourly basis.
CWLM—Continuous working level monitor—An active device used to measure radon decay products, usually on an hourly basis.
Calibration—The process of determining the response of an instrument (or measurement system) to a series of known values over the range of the instrument (or measurement system).
Certification year—Each 12-month period beginning with the most recent certification date of the certified individual.
Certified individual—An individual with a Department certification to perform radon testing, mitigation or laboratory analysis in this Commonwealth.
Client—A receiver of services that are regulated under the Act or this chapter.
Control limit—A QC value set at ±3 sigma.
Diagnostic test—A test performed to determine specific radon entry points and sources, the result of which is not reported to the Department or in writing to the client.
Duplicate measurements—Two measurements made concurrently, for the same time period and in the same location, approximately 4 inches from one another.
Electret ion chamber—A radon measurement device that consists of a small plastic container with an electrostatically charged disk inside to serve as a detector.
Electret reader—A radon measurement device that consists of a voltmeter used to measure the voltage on the electrostatically charged disk of an electret ion chamber testing device at the beginning and end of a test period.
Electret voltage drift—A QC process which evaluates the voltage drift of each new batch of electrets received from the manufacturer of the electrets.
Field blank—A QC measurement made by analyzing unexposed (closed) detectors that have been maintained in a low-radon environment to assess radon exposure to the detector from a source other than the concentration in the environment to be measured.
Firm—A Department-certified entity that has at least one certified individual in responsible charge of the entity’s testing, mitigation or laboratory radon activities. A business, such as a corporation or limited liability company, may contain more than one firm.
Firm employee—A Department-listed radon testing, mitigation or laboratory employee under the responsible charge of a certified individual.
Firm owner—A person or business entity which owns and is responsible for the radon firm.
LS—Liquid scintillation—A device used to measure radon by exposing a small amount of activated charcoal contained within a small vial and placed in the area to be sampled and analyzed in a liquid scintillation counter.
Laboratory—A Department-certified individual or firm.
Laboratory analysis—The act of analyzing a radon test device and calculating a radon concentration in air or water.
Lowest livable level—The lowest level of a building that may be used as a living space without requiring any major structural changes.
MV—Measured value—The radon concentration reported by the analyst, in units of picocuries per liter or WLs.
Measurement—A radon or radon decay product test result used for the performance of quality assurance, including a spike, blank, duplicate, intercomparison or cross check.
Mitigate—To repair or alter a building or building design for the purpose in whole or in part of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor atmosphere.
Mitigator—A Department-certified individual or a Department-listed mitigation employee of a Department-certified mitigation firm.
Multifamily building—A building with more than three attached dwellings.
Nonreported test—A test conducted for reasons other than reporting valid, written results to the client, such as a diagnostic test.
pCi/L—Picocurie per liter—2.22 disintegrations per minute of radioactive material per liter of air.
Passive radon mitigation system—A radon mitigation system without an electric vent fan.
Person—An individual, corporation, partnership, business entity, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, agency or political subdivision of this Commonwealth, another state or political subdivision or agency thereof, and a legal successor, representative, agency or agency of the entities in this definition.
Primary device—Continuous monitors or electret ion chambers, or both, read or analyzed, or both, by a primary tester.
Primary tester—A tester who reads or analyzes, or both, a primary device that the tester places or retrieves, or both.
QA—Quality assurance—The activities required to provide the evidences needed to establish confidence that radon test data are of the required precision and accuracy.
QC—Quality control—The process through which a person measures performance, compares performance with standards and acts on any differences.
RPD—Relative percent difference—The absolute value of the difference between two measurements divided by their average, multiplied by 100. The equation is:RPD={(|MV1-MV2|)/(MV1+MV2)/2} x 100.
RPE—Relative percent error—The measured value (pCi/L) minus the RV (pCi/L), divided by the RV, multiplied by 100. The equation is:RPE = {(MV—RV)/RV} x 100.
RV—Reference value—The known radon concentration value, in units of picocuries per liter or WL, to which a test device is exposed.
Radon—The radioactive noble gas radon-222 and the short-lived radionuclides which are products of radon-222 decay, including polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214 and polonium-214.
Secondary device—A radon test device that is analyzed by a Department-certified laboratory.
Secondary tester—A tester who places or retrieves, or both, a radon test device that is analyzed by a Department-certified laboratory.
Sigma level—A sample standard deviation around a mean, which is a measure of the scatter of data around a mean. The term is often described as 1, 2 or 3 sigma, corresponding to one, two or three standard deviations around the mean.
Spiked measurement or spike—A quality control measurement conducted in an approved chamber to evaluate accuracy by exposing the detector or device to a known concentration and submitted for analysis.
Test—The act of measuring for the presence of radon in a building’s air or water supply.
Tester—A Department-certified individual or a Department-listed testing employee of a Department-certified testing firm.
WL—Working level—Any combination of short-lived radon progeny (for radon-222: polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214 and polonium-214; and for radon-220: polonium-216, lead-212, bismuth-212 and polonium-212) in 1 liter of air that will result in the ultimate emission of 1.3 x 105 MeV of alpha particle energy.
WLM—Working level month—The cumulative exposure from breathing in an atmosphere at a concentration of 1 WL for a working month of 170 hours.
WLM/yr—Working level month per year—The cumulative exposure incurred over 1 year (2,040 hours) from breathing in an atmosphere at a concentration of 1 WL for a working month of 170 hours.
Warning level—A QC value set at ±2 sigma.
Authority The provisions of this § 240.3 amended under sections 301, 302 and 401 of the Radiation Protection Act (35 P.S. § § 7110.301, 7110.302 and 7110.401); section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-10); and sections 8, 12 and 13 of the Radon Certification Act (63 P.S. § § 2008, 2012 and 2013).
Source The provisions of this § 240.3 amended November 14, 2008, effective January 1, 2009, 38 Pa.B. 6275; amended October 20, 2017, effective October 21, 2017, 47 Pa.B. 6482; amended October 26, 2018, effective January 24, 2019, 48 Pa.B. 6791. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (388451) to (388452).
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