Circular No. 12/2007/TT-BKHCN guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 51/2006/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2006 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control.

 CIRCULAR

Guidelines for some Articles of Decree No. 51/2006/NĐ-CPdated May 19, 2006, of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control trong lĩnh vực an toàn và kiểm soát bức xạ

Pursuant to Decree No. 54/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2003, of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Decree No. 28/2004/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2004, of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 54/2003/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 28, 2006, of the Government on the organization and operation of the Science and Technology Inspectorate;

Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2006/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2006, of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control;

The Ministry of Science and Technology guides administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Scope of Application

1.1. This Circular guides administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control against organizations and individuals who commit any of the violations stipulated in Chapter II of Decree No. 51/2006/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2006, of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control (hereinafter referred to as Decree 51).

1.2. This Circular does not apply to: radioactive sources and radioactive waste with unknown ownership; activities related to radiation exempted from declaration, registration, and licensing according to Technical Standard TCVN 6870:2001 "Radiation Safety - Exemption from Declaration, Registration, and Licensing" and other relevant laws.

2. Principles of Administrative Penalties

Administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control shall be carried out in accordance with the principles set forth in Article 3 of Decree 51. When applying these principles, the following issues should be noted:

2.1. Principle of Competence

Only those persons authorized under Article 23, Article 24, and Article 25 of Chapter III of Decree 51 may issue decisions on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control within their jurisdictional authority. It is not permitted to divide one violation into several smaller ones or combine several smaller violations into a larger one for the purpose of changing the authority to impose penalties.

2.2. Principle of Correct Object

All organizations and individuals committing acts specified in Point 1.1 of this Circular shall be subject to administrative penalties in accordance with Decree 51.

A single act of violation shall only be penalized once. Organizations and individuals committing multiple acts of violation shall be penalized separately for each act. Multiple subjects jointly committing a single act of violation shall each be penalized.

2.3. Principle of Appropriate Severity

The principle of appropriate severity when imposing administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control must be based on Clause 5 of Article 3 of Decree 51.

2.4. Principle of Timeliness and Thoroughness

Upon discovering organizations or individuals committing acts of administrative violations in the field of radiation safety and control, the persons authorized to impose penalties as stipulated in Article 23, Article 24, and Article 25 of Decree 51 must immediately issue a decision to stop the violation and impose penalties as prescribed. The decision to stop can be made in writing, orally, or in other forms depending on specific circumstances.

In cases where the person who discovers the violation does not have the authority to impose penalties, they must not handle the violation themselves but must report it immediately to the person authorized to impose penalties as stipulated in Article 23, Article 24, and Article 25 of Decree 51 to impose penalties in accordance with the law.

2.5. Principle of Proper Procedure

Administrative penalties in the field of radiation safety and control shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures stipulated in Articles 28 to 32 of Decree 51. When applying the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 28 of Decree 51, the following should be noted:

If the violation requires a fine exceeding 100,000 dong, the person authorized to impose penalties must prepare and sign an administrative violation record. This is a mandatory requirement for the person authorized to issue a decision on administrative penalties for violations in the field of radiation safety and control.

If the person preparing the administrative violation record does not have the authority to impose penalties, the head of that person, who has the authority to impose penalties, must sign the administrative violation record.

II. GUIDANCE ON DETERMINING CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES IN THE FIELD OF RADIATION SAFETY AND CONTROL

3. Violations concerning declaration (Article 6 of Decree 51)

Deceptive declaration is understood as: organizations or individuals who are the owners of radiation facilities, manage radioactive sources or radiation equipment or radioactive waste, or conduct radiation work but declare inaccurately about the contents required to be declared according to regulations.

Radiation facilities eligible for exemption from declaration are: radiation facilities whose parameters related to radiation safety meet or comply with the standards prescribed by Vietnamese technical standards on radiation safety, exemption from declaration, registration, and licensing.

4. Violations concerning registration (Article 7 of Decree 51)

Deceptive registration is understood as: organizations or individuals with radioactive sources, radiation equipment, storage sites for radioactive waste, when conducting registration procedures with competent authorities, have declared inaccurately the information contained in the application for registration certificate according to the law.

5. Violations concerning permits (Article 8 of Decree 51)

When applying Article 8, the following points should be noted:

5.1. Deceptive behavior during the permit application process is understood as: organizations or individuals, when conducting permit application procedures, have declared inaccurately the information contained in the permit application dossier or provided false documents accompanying the permit application dossier.

5.2. Special radiation work refers to the types of work specified in Clause 2 of Article 26 of Decree No. 50/1998/NĐ-CP dated July 16, 1998, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Radiation Safety and Control (hereinafter referred to as Decree 50), specifically including the following works:

a) Installation, operation, repair, and maintenance of radiation sources, reactor repairs, accelerator machines, radiation therapy machines, semi-industrial and industrial irradiation equipment, and industrial radiography equipment;

b) Production of radioactive isotopes;

c) "Decontamination and remediation of radiation incidents from level 2 upwards," as stipulated in Article 18 of Decree No. 50.

5.3. "Radioactive-containing products and consumer goods" as defined in point c, Clause 4, Article 8 means products and goods (such as smoke detectors, luminous products, or ionization tubes...) containing small amounts of radioactive materials.

5.4. When applying the provisions of Clause 6, Article 8, it is necessary to note that:

a) Implementing radiation safety measures involves administrative and technical measures aimed at minimizing radiation risks caused by radiation work and radiation sources that affect the environment and human health.

b) The disposal and burial of radioactive-containing products and goods exceeding permissible levels according to the law refers to the burial of such products and goods following the collection, sorting, transportation, and burial procedures for radioactive waste.

The disposal and burial of such products and goods must be approved by the competent state management agency for radiation safety and control.

c) For individuals or organizations violating Clause 3; point a, point b, Clause 4; point a, point b, Clause 5, Article 8, the authorized person must immediately take measures to temporarily seize radioactive sources or seal radiation equipment to prevent the violation. Sealing or temporary seizure must ensure radiation safety and security conditions for radioactive sources.

Sealing radiation equipment must be recorded in a protocol. Unsealing radiation equipment shall be carried out when the violator presents the permit to the person who sealed the equipment.

Temporary seizure of radioactive sources must be implemented in accordance with Article 46 of the Administrative Violations Handling Ordinance 2002.

6. Violations concerning the import and export of radiation equipment, radioactive sources, and radioactive waste (Article 12 of Decree No. 51)) is understood as follows:

Organizations and individuals engaging in violations related to importing radiation equipment, radioactive sources, and radioactive waste listed in the Prohibited Import Goods Catalogue issued together with Decree No. 12/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 23, 2006, detailing the implementation of the Law on Trade regarding international trade activities and foreign intermediary, purchase, sale, processing, and transit goods will be subject to penalties under Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 51.

7. Violations concerning the storage, retention, transfer of radioactive sources, radiation equipment, and radioactive waste (Article 13 of Decree No. 51).

When applying this provision, the following issues should be noted:

7.1. Organizations and individuals losing, misplacing, or spilling radioactive sources or radiation equipment due to negligence during management and use are understood as: individuals or heads of organizations using radioactive sources or equipment containing radioactive sources who have fully established regulations on responsibility, management, preservation, and security of radioactive sources but failed to implement strict management measures leading to loss, misplacement, or spillage, shall be penalized under Clause 2, Article 13.

7.2. Organizations and individuals violating Clause 2, Article 13 but deliberately failing to report to the state management agency for radiation safety and control are understood as: from the day of discovering the loss, misplacement, or spillage of radioactive sources or equipment containing radioactive sources, if the individual or organization does not promptly report the incident to the Department of Science and Technology or the Radiation Control and Safety Agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology, they shall be penalized under Clause 3, Article 13.

8. Violations concerning the transport of radioactive sources and radioactive waste (Article 14 of Decree No. 51) is understood as follows:

Organizations and individuals violating radiation safety regulations during the transport of radioactive sources and radioactive waste refer to violations of the contents of radiation safety as specified in Circular No. 14/2006/TT-BKHCN dated July 11, 2003, of the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the safe transport of radioactive materials, Vietnam Standard TCVN 4985-89 "Regulations for Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials," and TCVN 6867-2001 "Radiation Safety - Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials - Part 1: General Provisions."

9. Violations concerning the performance of service work related to radiation safety (Article 15 of Decree No. 51)

9.1. Violations stipulated in Clause 1, Article 15 are understood as follows:

Organizations and individuals performing service work related to radiation safety but violating radiation safety requirements or violating any of the contents specified in the permit, or organizations and individuals failing to periodically report personal dose measurement results shall be penalized under Clause 1, Article 15.

9.2. Violations stipulated in Clause 2, Article 15 are understood as follows:

Organizations and individuals engaged in medical practice managing and using radioactive sources and radiation equipment for diagnosis and treatment of diseases but the radioactive sources and radiation equipment do not meet quality standards are understood as: when using radioactive sources and radiation equipment for diagnosis and treatment of diseases, if there is a violation of radiation safety causing excessive doses to radiation workers and the public, or if there is no loss of safety but without certification, calibration, or quality certificates from authorized agencies, they shall be penalized under Clause 2, Article 15.

In cases where organizations and individuals violate Clause 2, Article 15 and cause harm to human health, increased fines shall apply. If serious consequences result, the case shall be referred to the police for handling within their jurisdiction.

10. Violations concerning shielding and room size regulations for conducting radiation work (Article 18 of Decree No. 51).

When applying this provision, it should be noted that allowing radiation exposure beyond the permitted dose limit is exceeding the dose limits specified in Vietnam Standard TCVN 6866-2001 "Radiation Safety - Dose Limits for Radiation Workers and the Public.".

11. Acts violating waste management and environmental protection regulations shall be subject to the provisions of Article 16 and Article 19 of Decree No. 51, or shall be penalized according to the laws on administrative penalties for violations in the field of environmental protection.

III. GUIDANCE ON PENALTY AUTHORITY

12. The penalty authority of specialized inspection agencies for safety and radiation control (Article 24 of Decree No. 51).

When applying this provision, note the following issues:

12.1. Specialized inspectors for safety and radiation control (Clause 1 of Article 24) include: Inspectors working at the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Inspectorate of the Radiation Control and Safety Department, and the Inspectorate of the Provincial Science and Technology Departments.

12.2. The authority to impose administrative penalties in the field of safety and radiation control includes: Specialized inspectors for safety and radiation control, the Chief Inspector of the Provincial Science and Technology Inspectorate, and the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology Inspectorate.

The Chief Inspector of the Radiation Control and Safety Department does not have the authority to impose penalties for violations in this field.

13. Administrative penalty procedures (Article 28 of Decree No. 51)

When applying this provision, note the authority to issue administrative violation records:

According to Article 50 of the Inspection Law and Article 55 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002, the following individuals have the authority to issue administrative violation records in the field of safety and radiation control: specialized inspectors for safety and radiation control, the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chief Inspector of the Provincial Science and Technology Inspectorate, and the Head of the specialized inspection team for safety and radiation control.

According to Clause 2 of Article 20 of Decree No. 134/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003, detailing certain provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002, if the person issuing the record does not have the authority to impose penalties, the principle of correct procedure as stipulated in Point 2.5 of this Circular must be applied.

14. Procedures for temporarily seizing items and means of transportation involved in administrative violations (Article 30 of Decree No. 51)

The authority and procedures for applying temporary seizure measures for items and means of transportation involved in administrative violations follow the provisions of Article 46 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002. The management of seized items and means of transportation under administrative procedures is carried out according to the provisions of Decree No. 70/2006/NĐ-CP dated July 24, 2006, on the management of items and means of transportation temporarily seized under administrative procedures.

15. Procedures for handling items and means of transportation confiscated due to administrative violations (Article 32 of Decree No. 51)

The procedures for handling items and means of transportation confiscated due to administrative violations in the field of safety and radiation control follow the provisions of Article 61 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002 and Circular No. 72/2004/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2004, guiding the management and handling of items and means of transportation confiscated for state funds due to administrative violations, and Circular No. 04/2006/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 72/2004/TT-BTC issued by the Ministry of Finance.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, please report them to the Ministry of Science and Technology for coordination and resolution./.