National Nuclear Regulator Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999) > Chapter 1 : Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

"action"

[Definition deleted by section 1(a) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"activity"

means—

(a)	the use, possession, production, storage, enrichment, processing, reprocessing, or disposal of radioactive material;

(b)	the import and export of radioactive material for industrial use, research, medical treatment and diagnosis;

(c)	the transporting, or causing to be transported, of radioactive material;

(d)	manufacturing of design packages intended for storage or transport of radioactive material;

(e)	the site evaluation, design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of facilities;

(f)	radioactive waste management activities and site rehabilitation; and

(g)	any other activity involving radioactive material;

[Definition inserted by section 1(b) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"administrative fine"

means a fine imposed by the Regulator as contemplated under section 47;

"aircrew"

means flight crew, cabin crew and any person employed by the aircraft operator to perform a function on board the aircraft while it is in flight;

"authorisation"

means a written permission in the form of—

(a)	a nuclear licence;

(b)	a nuclear site licence;

(c)	a nuclear vessel licence;

(d)	a certificate of registration;

(e)	a certificate of exemption;

(f)	an authorisation to manufacture; or

(g)	any other written permission granted by the Regulator;

"authorisation holder"

means the holder of an authorisation, granted by the Regulator;

"authorisation to manufacture"

means a written permission to manufacture component parts important to nuclear or radiation safety;

"board"

means the Board of Directors as referred to in section 8(1);

"certificate of exemption"

means a certificate referred to in section 22(1);

"certificate of registration"

means a certificate referred to in section 22(1);

"chief executive officer"

means the person appointed as such in terms of section 15(1);

"clearance"

means the removal of regulatory control over radioactive material or radioactive objects within authorised activities and facilities;

[Definition inserted by section 1(c) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"closure"

means the completion of all technical and administrative operations after the disposal of radioactive waste in a disposal facility;

[Definition substituted by section 1(d) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act"

means Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (Act No. 130 of 1993);

[Definition inserted by section 1(e) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"cosmic radiation"

means radiation that originates in outer space, and which is composed of subatomic particles and rays of energy such as gamma rays and X-rays;

"decommissioning"

means all processes and actions, including decontamination and dismantling, leading to the release or partial release of a facility other than that part of a disposal facility in which radioactive waste has been disposed from regulatory control;

"discharges"

means planned and controlled releases into the environment, as a legitimate practice, within limits authorised by the Regulator, of liquid or gaseous radioactive material that originates from regulated facilities during normal operation;

"disposal"

means the emplacement of radioactive waste in a disposal facility without the intention of retrieval;

"dose"

means a measure of the energy deposited by radiation in a target;

"Council for Nuclear Safety"

[Definition deleted by section 1(f) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"enrich"

means increase the ratio of an isotopic constituent of an element to the remaining isotopic constituents of that element relative to the naturally occurring ratio, and "enrichment" has a corresponding meaning;

"exemption"

means the determination by the Regulator that a source, facility or activity is not subject to some or all aspects of regulatory control, on the basis that the exposure (including potential exposure) due to the source, facility or activity is too small to warrant the application of those aspects, or that this is the optimum option for protection irrespective of the actual level of the doses or risks;

[Definition inserted by section 1(g) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"facility"

means nuclear facility, radiation facility, facilities where mining and processing of radioactive ores are carried out, radioactive waste management facility, and any other places where radioactive material is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or disposed of, on such a scale that protection and safety is required;

"financial year"

in relation to the Regulator, means the period contemplated in section 18;

"inspector"

means the person appointed as such in terms of section 41(1);

"ionizing radiation"

means radiation capable of producing ion pairs in biological materials;

[Definition substituted by section 1(h) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"Minister"

means the Minister responsible for Mineral Resources and Energy;

[Definition substituted by section 1(i) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"National Dose Register"

means centralised radiation dose record system that contains the dose records of individuals who are monitored for occupational exposures to ionizing radiation;

[Definition inserted by section 1(j) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear accident"

means any occurrence or succession of occurrences having the same origin which—

(a)	results in the release of radioactive material, or a radiation dose, which exceeds the safety standards contemplated in section 36; and

(b)	is capable of causing nuclear damage;

"nuclear authorisation"

[Definition deleted by section 1(k) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear damage"

means—

(a)	any injury to or the death or any sickness or disease of a person;

(b)	other damage, including any damage to or any loss of use of property or damage to the environment;

(c)	economic loss arising from loss or damage referred to in (a) or (b) above;

(d)	the cost of measures of reinstatement of impaired environment, unless such impairment is insignificant, if such measures are actually taken or to be taken;

(e)	loss of income, deriving from an economic interest in any use or enjoyment of the environment, incurred as a result of a significant impairment of that environment;

(f)	the costs of preventive measures, and further loss or damage caused by such measures;

(g)	any other economic loss, other than any loss caused by the impairment of the environment,

which arises out of, or results from, or is attributable to, the ionizing radiation associated with a nuclear facility, nuclear vessel or activity;

[Definition substituted by section 1(l) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear facility"

means any facility within the nuclear fuel cycle, other than the mining and processing of ore, including but not limited to a—

(a)	nuclear power plant;

(b)	research reactor;

(c)	fuel fabrication plant;

(d)	nuclear reprocessing facility;

(e)	uranium, thorium, or plutonium refinement or conversion facility;

(f)	uranium enrichment facility;

(g)	nuclear reactor, including a nuclear fission reactor or any other facility intended to create nuclear fusion;

(h)	spent nuclear fuel storage facility;

(i)	storage facility for enriched uranium processing;

(j)

facility specifically designed to handle, treat, condition, temporarily store or permanently dispose of any radioactive material which is intended to be disposed of as waste material, other than a facility which only handles radioactive waste resulting directly from the mining and processing of ore; or

(k)	any facility, installation, plant or structure declared to be a nuclear facility in terms of section 2(3);

[Definition inserted by section 1(n) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear energy"

[Definition deleted by section 1(m) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear incident"

"nuclear installation"

[Definition deleted by section 1(o) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear licence"

means a licence referred to in section 21(1);

[Definition substituted by section 1(p) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear material"

means plutonium-239, uranium-233, or uranium enriched in the isotopes uranium-233 or uranium-235, or any other material determined to be nuclear material in terms of the Nuclear Energy Act, 1999 (Act No. 46 of 1999);

[Definition inserted by section 1(q) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear or radiation accident"

means any unintended event, including but not limited to, operating errors, equipment failures, unauthorised acts or malicious acts, the safety significance of which exceeds the levels prescribed in the safety and related security standards contemplated in section 36;

"nuclear or radiation incident"

means any unintended event, including but not limited to, operating errors, equipment failures, initiating events, accident precursors, near misses, other mishaps, unauthorised acts or malicious acts, the safety significance of which exceeds the levels prescribed in the safety and related security standards contemplated in section 36;

"nuclear or radiation emergency"

means a non-routine situation, involving radiation, which necessitates the taking of prompt response actions, to prevent or mitigate potential nuclear damage;

"nuclear site licence"

means a licence referred to in section 21(2);

"nuclear reprocessing facility"

[Definition deleted by section 1(r) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"nuclear vessel licence"

means a licence referred to in section 21(2);

"period of responsibility"

means the period beginning on the date of coming into force of the relevant authorisation and ending on the date on which the Regulator gives notice in writing to the holder of authorisation informing that they are relieved of further responsibility;

[Definition substituted by section 1(s) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"plant"

means any machinery, equipment or device, whether it is attached to the ground or not;

"pre-construction activities"

means the preparation of a site for the construction of a nuclear facility including initial earthworks and site levelling, preparation of construction roads, borrow areas, security infrastructure, dewatering, building of diaphragm wall and excavation and clearance to bedrock;

[Definition inserted by section 1(t) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"prescribed"

means prescribed by regulation made in terms of section 47;

"Public Finance Management Act"

means Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No.1 of 1999);

[Definition inserted by section 1(u) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"radiation"

means ionizing radiation;

"previous Act"

means the Nuclear Energy Act, 1993 (Act No. 131 of 1993);

"radioactive material"

means any substance consisting of, or containing any radionuclide, whether natural or artificial

[Definition substituted by section 1(v) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"radionuclide"

means any unstable atomic nucleus which decays

spontaneously with the accompanying emission of ionizing radiation;

[Definition inserted by section 1(x) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"radioactive waste"

means material that contains or is contaminated with

radioactive material at a concentration or activities greater than the

prescribed clearance level and for which no further use is foreseen;

"radioactive nuclide"

[Definition deleted by section 1(w) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"radioactivity"

means the phenomenon whereby atoms undergo spontaneous random disintegration, usually accompanied by the emission of radiation;

[Definition substituted by section 1(y) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"Regulator"

means the National Nuclear Regulator established by section 3;

"site"

means a defined geographical area that contains an authorised or proposed facility, activity or source over which the authorisation holder or applicant exercises direct authority;

[Definition substituted by section 1(z) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"site evaluation"

means the analysing of those factors that could affect nuclear or radiation safety and security of a facility or activity on that site;

[Definition inserted by section 1(za) of the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Act, 26 of 2024, Notice No. 5723, GG51804, dated 20 December 2024 - effective 4 June 2025 per Proclamation Notice 266 of 4 June 2025]

"source"

means anything that may cause radiation exposure including emission of ionizing radiation, or by releasing radioactive substances or material, and which can be treated as a single entity for protection and safety purposes;

"specified date"

means the date contemplated in section 56(2);

"this Act"

includes any regulations made in terms of section 47.

National Nuclear Regulator Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999)

Chapter 1 : Interpretation

1. Definitions