Radiation Protection Act 2007

Radiation Protection Act 2007

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to control and regulate the import, export, manufacture, sale, disposal, transport, storage, possession and use of radioactive materials and irradiating apparatus, to make provision in relation to the non‑proliferation of nuclear weapons, to establish a system for the imposition and maintenance of nuclear safeguards, and to implement the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and to provide for matters connected therewith.

[20/2014]

[1 July 2007]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1.  This Act is the Radiation Protection Act 2007.

Interpretation

2.—(1)  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Agency” means the National Environment Agency established under the National Environment Agency Act 2002;

“authorised officer” means any person appointed as an authorised officer under section 4(2), and includes the Director‑General;

“Convention country” means a foreign country that is a Party to the Nuclear Material Convention;

“conveyance” includes any vessel, train, vehicle, aircraft or other mode of transport;

“country” includes a State or territory, as the case may be;

“Director-General” means the Director‑General of Environmental Protection appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999;

“disposal”, in relation to waste, includes —

(a) its removal, deposit or destruction;

(b) its discharge, whether onto land, into water or air, into a sewer or drain, or otherwise; and

(c) its burial, whether underground or otherwise,

and “dispose of” is to be construed accordingly;

“IAEA” means the International Atomic Energy Agency established by the IAEA Statute;

“IAEA inspector” means an individual designated as an inspector by the IAEA Board of Governors according to the procedures set out in the Safeguards Agreement to carry out an inspection or a visit in accordance with that Agreement;

“IAEA Statute” means the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, being the Statute ratified by Singapore on 5 January 1967, and includes any amendment to, or substitution of, the Statute that is binding on Singapore;

“ionising radiations” means electromagnetic radiations and corpuscular radiations which give rise to the formation of ion pairs on interaction with matter;

“irradiating apparatus” means —

(a) any apparatus that is capable of producing ionising radiation;

(b) any apparatus of a prescribed type that is capable of producing non-ionising radiation; and

(c) any component of or accessory to an apparatus described in paragraph (a) or (b);

“licence” means a licence granted under section 8;

“national inspector” means any person who is a national inspector by virtue of, or appointed under, section 20;

“non-ionising radiations” means electromagnetic radiations and fields with wavelengths greater than 100 nanometers and all acoustic radiations and fields with frequencies below 16 Hz and above 16 kHz;

“nuclear material” has the meaning given in the First Schedule;

“Nuclear Material Convention” means the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material adopted in Vienna on 26 October 1979, as amended by the amendments adopted in Vienna on 8 July 2005;

“nuclear offence” means —

(a) an offence under section 29, 31, 32, 33 or 34;

(b) an offence specified in the Second Schedule committed in relation to any nuclear material;

(c) an abetment of, or a conspiracy to commit, an offence mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b);

(d) an attempt to commit an offence under section 29, 32 or 33, or an offence mentioned in paragraph (b) except any offence under section 384, 385, 386, 387, 388 or 389 of the Penal Code 1871 committed in relation to nuclear material; or

(e) an act by a person which would make the person liable for an offence mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (d) by virtue of section 34, 35 or 37 of the Penal Code 1871;

“nuclear trafficking offence” means —

(a) an offence under section 35;

(b) an abetment of, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit, an offence under section 35; or

(c) an act by a person which would make the person liable for an offence under section 35 or an attempt to commit such an offence by virtue of section 34, 35 or 37 of the Penal Code 1871;

“owner”, in relation to any premises, includes —

(a) the person for the time being receiving the rent for the premises, whether on the person’s own account or as an agent or a trustee for any other person, or the person who would so receive the rent if the premises were let to a tenant; and

(b) the person whose name is entered in the Valuation List prepared under section 10 of the Property Tax Act 1960;

“premises” includes —

(a) messuages, houses, buildings and lands, whether open or enclosed, and whether public or private;

(b) any place underground and any land covered by water; and

(c) any structure or conveyance;

“radiation” means ionising radiation or non-ionising radiation;

“radioactive material” means any article containing a radioactive substance giving it a specific or total radioactivity exceeding the prescribed level, and includes any article containing any nuclear material;

“radioactive substance” means a radionuclide or mixture of radionuclides, either alone or in chemical combination with other elements;

“radioactive waste” means any waste which consists wholly or partly of —

(a) the substance or article which, if it were not waste, would be radioactive material; or

(b) a substance or an article which has been contaminated in the course of the production, keeping or use of radioactive material or by contact with, or proximity to other waste falling within paragraph (a);

“radionuclide” means an isotope of any element which spontaneously emits any ionising radiation;

“registered medical practitioner” means any person registered or deemed to be registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act 1997;

“Safeguards Agreement” means the Agreement between Singapore and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons signed on 18 October 1977, and includes —

(a) that Agreement as amended from time to time;

(b) the protocol to that Agreement signed on 18 October 1977, as amended from time to time; and

(c) the protocol additional to that Agreement for the application of safeguards, signed at Vienna on 22 September 2005;

“sell” includes —

(a) supplying or otherwise dealing in or disposing of, whether by way of sale, loan or gift;

(b) offering or attempting to sell, receiving for sale, exposing for sale, having in possession for sale, sending or delivering for sale, or causing to be sold, offered or exposed for sale; and

(c) barter,

and “sale” and “purchase” have corresponding meanings.

[20/2014]

(2)  Unless the context otherwise requires, any word or expression used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Safeguards Agreement has the same meaning as in the Safeguards Agreement.

Application of Act to Government

3.—(1)  Except as provided in subsection (2), Parts 3 to 8 and 10 and regulations made for the purposes of these Parts bind and apply to the Government.

[20/2014]

(2)  Nothing in this Act renders the Government liable to prosecution for an offence.

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[20/2014]

PART 2

ADMINISTRATION

Administration of Act and appointment of authorised officers

4.—(1)  The Director‑General is charged with the general administration of this Act and the exercise of the powers conferred and duties imposed upon the Director‑General by this Act.

(2)  The Director‑General may in writing appoint any public officer, or any officer of the Agency or any other statutory authority, to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.

(3)  Subject to any general or special directions of the Minister or the Director‑General, the powers conferred and duties imposed on the Director‑General by this Act may be exercised or performed by any authorised officer.

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Advisory and technical committees

5.—(1)  The Agency may appoint such advisory or technical committees as the Agency thinks necessary for the purpose of advising the Agency on any matter arising from the administration of this Act.

(2)  The composition of such committees and the terms of appointment of the members must be determined by the Agency.

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PART 3

CONTROL OF IMPORT, EXPORT, ETC., OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS AND IRRADIATING APPARATUS

Control of import, export, etc., of radioactive materials

6.—(1)  A person must not, except under and in accordance with a licence —

(a) import into, or export out of, Singapore any radioactive material;

(b) keep, have in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, or use any radioactive material;

(c) manufacture, sell or otherwise deal in any radioactive material; or

(d) transport any radioactive material.

(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

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[20/2014]

Control of import, export, etc., of irradiating apparatus

7.—(1)  A person must not, except under and in accordance with a licence —

(a) import into, or export out of, Singapore any irradiating apparatus;

(b) keep, have in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, or use any irradiating apparatus;

(c) manufacture, or otherwise produce, any irradiating apparatus; or

(d) sell, deal with or otherwise deal in any irradiating apparatus.

(2)  Every person who sells any irradiating apparatus must immediately give notice of the sale to the Director‑General, together with the name, address and prescribed particulars of the person to whom it was sold, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

(3)  Every person who purchases any irradiating apparatus must immediately give notice of the purchase to the Director‑General, together with the name, address and prescribed particulars of the person from whom it was purchased, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

(4)  A person must not dispose of any irradiating apparatus, whether in a working condition or otherwise, without the prior written approval of the Director‑General.

(5)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

[20/2014]

(6)  Any person who contravenes subsection (2), (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

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PART 4

LICENCES

Application for licences, etc.

8.—(1)  An application for the grant or renewal of a licence must be made to the Director‑General in such form and manner as the Director‑General may require and must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(2)  An applicant for a licence must provide such information and documents as the Director‑General may in any case require.

(3)  The Director‑General may —

(a) grant or renew a licence subject to such conditions, limitations and exceptions as the Director‑General may specify;

(b) during the currency of a licence, revoke or vary any condition, limitation or exception attached to the licence, or attach new conditions, limitations or exceptions to the licence;

(c) refuse any application for the grant or renewal of a licence; or

(d) suspend a licence for such period as he or she may determine, or cancel a licence.

(4)  A licence, unless earlier cancelled or suspended, remains in force for such period as may be specified in the licence.

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Register of licences

9.—(1)  The Director‑General must keep or cause to be kept such registers of licences as may be prescribed.

(2)  The contents of every such register may be evidenced in any proceedings by a certificate under the hand of the Director‑General, and every such certificate is prima facie evidence of the matters stated therein.

(3)  A certificate under the hand of the Director‑General stating that on a date specified in the certificate any person named in the certificate did or did not appear in any register as the holder of a licence or any specified class of licence is, until the contrary is proved, sufficient evidence of the matters specified in the certificate.

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PART 5

GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Duties of licensees to employees

10.—(1)  Every licensee must provide and maintain, so far as is practicable, for the licensee’s employees who are exposed or likely to be exposed to radiations a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.

(2)  Without limiting subsection (1), every licensee must —

(a) protect or cause to be protected all of the licensee’s employees from exposure to radiations;

(b) provide such information, instruction, training and supervision to such employees as are necessary to enable the employees to perform their work in a manner that is safe and without risks to health;

(c) submit such particulars as the Director‑General may require regarding each of the licensee’s employees who is likely to be exposed to any radiation;

(d) provide each of the licensee’s employees such monitoring equipment or devices as may be prescribed and require all such employees to wear these prescribed personnel monitoring equipment and devices; and

(e) provide all of the licensee’s employees with prescribed medical examinations by such registered medical practitioners as the Director‑General may approve.

(3)  The registered medical practitioners performing the medical examinations under subsection (2)(e) must give notice to the Director‑General, in such form and manner as the Director‑General may require, of all employees of a licensee whose health is affected, or is reasonably suspected to be affected, by radiations.

(4)  If the Director‑General is satisfied that it is detrimental to the health of any employee of a licensee if the employee continues to be exposed to radiations, the licensee must not permit or require that employee —

(a) to perform any duty which will or is likely to cause that employee to be further exposed to radiations; or

(b) to work in any place where that employee will be or is likely to be further exposed to radiations.

(5)  In this section —

(a) “employee”, in relation to a licensee, includes —

(i) an independent contractor engaged by the licensee; and

(ii) any employee of an independent contractor engaged by the licensee; and

(b) the duties of a licensee extend to any independent contractor engaged by the licensee and to the employees of the independent contractor, in relation to matters over which the licensee —

(i) has control; or

(ii) would have had control but for any agreement between the licensee and the independent contractor to the contrary.

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Duties of licensees to third parties

11.  Every licensee must ensure so far as is practicable that persons (other than the licensee’s employees) are not exposed to risks to their health or safety arising from the conduct of the undertaking or activities of the licensee.

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PART 6

DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Disposal of radioactive waste

12.—(1)  A person must not, except with the prior written approval of the Director‑General and in accordance with such conditions, limitations and exceptions as the Director‑General may specify, dispose of or cause to be disposed of any radioactive waste.

(2)  Any person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

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Accumulation of radioactive waste

13.—(1)  Subject to subsection (2), a person must not, except with the prior written approval of the Director‑General and in accordance with such conditions, limitations and exceptions as the Director‑General may specify, accumulate any radioactive waste on any premises.

(2)  Where the disposal of any radioactive waste has been approved by the Director‑General under section 12 and, in accordance with that approval, the radioactive waste is required or permitted to be accumulated with a view to its subsequent disposal, no further approval under subsection (1) is required to enable the radioactive waste to be accumulated in accordance with the approval granted under that section.

(3)  For the purposes of this section, where any radioactive material is produced, kept or used on any premises and any substance arising from the production, keeping or use of that radioactive material is —

(a) accumulated in any part of the premises appropriated for the purpose; and

(b) retained there for a period of 3 or more months,

that substance is, unless the contrary is proved, presumed —

(c) to be radioactive waste; and

(d) to be accumulated on the premises with a view to its subsequent disposal.

(4)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

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Director‑General may dispose of radioactive waste

14.—(1)  If there is radioactive waste on any premises and the Director‑General is of the opinion that the radioactive waste is unlikely to be lawfully disposed of, the Director‑General has the power —

(a) to dispose of that radioactive waste in any manner that the Director‑General thinks fit; and

(b) to recover from the occupier of the premises or, if the premises are unoccupied, from the owner of the premises any expenses reasonably incurred by the Director‑General in disposing of the radioactive waste.

(2)  Subject to section 46, the decision of the Director‑General is final.

(3)  For the exercise of the power mentioned in subsection (1)(a), the Director‑General or any other authorised officer may do anything necessary or expedient for carrying out the disposal of the radioactive waste, including entering the premises and taking the radioactive waste for disposal.

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Transport of radioactive waste

15.—(1)  A person must not, except with the prior written approval of the Director‑General and in accordance with such conditions, limitations and exceptions as the Director‑General may specify, transport any radioactive waste.

(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

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