2. Interpretation In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— " accident " means any event relating to a radiation source , including an operating error, equipment failure or other mishap, the consequences or potential consequences of which are not negligible from the point of view of radiation safety or nuclear security ; " activity " means the design, manufacture, construction, import , export , distribution, sale, loan, commissioning, use, operation, maintenance, repair, transfer, decommissioning or possession of radiation sources for industrial, education, research, agricultural and medical purposes; the transport of radioactive materials; the mining and processing of radioactive minerals; the closing down of associated facilities; the cleanup of sites affected by residues from past activities; and radioactive waste management activities such as the discharge of effluent; any activity involving nuclear material as defined in the Safeguards Agreement; " Authority " means the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority established under section 5 ; " Board " means the Board of Directors of the Authority appointed under section 6 ; " clearance " means the removal of radioactive materials or radioactive objects within authorized activities and practices from any further regulatory control; " disposal " in relation to radioactive waste , includes its removal, deposit, or destruction, its discharge, whether into water or into air or into a sewer or drain or its burial, and "dispose of" shall be construed accordingly; " dose limit " means the prescribed maximum value of the effective amount of radiation to which a person has been exposed and which is determined in the manner prescribed in section 43 ; " Executive Director " means the Executive Director of the Secretariat appointed under section 16 ; " exemption " means a determination by the Authority that a source, practice or activity need not be subject to some or all aspects of regulatory control on the basis that the radiation risks to individuals, the public and the environment caused by the exempted practice or source may be sufficiently low as to be of no regulatory concern; " export " means the physical transfer, originating from Malawi, into an importing state, of nuclear material and related equipment, information and technology, as defined by the Authority ; " facility " means irradiation installations, mining and milling facilities, waste management facilities and any other place where radioactive materials are produced, processed, used, handled, stored or disposed off or where radiation generators are installed on such a scale that consideration of protection and safety is required; " import " means the physical transfer, into Malawi, originating from an exporting state, of nuclear material and related equipment, information and technology, as defined by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority ; " inspector " means a person appointed under section 37 ; " International Atomic Energy Agency " or "IAEA" means the International Atomic Energy Agency established by the statute of the IAEA in 1957; " International instrument " includes— (a) the IAEA Statute and all instruments developed or issued thereunder; (b) the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons adopted at the United Nations Offices in New York, United States of America on 12th June, 1968, and came into force on 5th March, 1970; (c) the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, which was signed at Pelindaba in 1966 and came into force on 15th July, 2009; (d) the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident adopted on 26th September, 1986 in Vienna, Austria and came into force on 27th October, 1986; (e) the Convention on Assistance in Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency which was adopted on 26th September, 1986 in Vienna, Austria, and came into force on 26th February, 1987; and (f) the Agreement between Malawi and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (hereinafter referred to as the "Safeguards Agreement"), and the Additional Protocol thereto. " intervention " means any action intended to reduce or avert exposure or the likelihood of exposure to sources which are not part of a controlled practice or which are out of control as a consequence of an accident ; " ionizing radiation " means, for the purposes of radiation protection, radiation capable of producing ion pairs in biological materials; " licence " means an authorization granted by the Authority to a person, natural or judicial, who has submitted an application to carry out an activity or practice , as provided for in section 25 ; " licensee " means the holder of a current licence granted for an activity or practice , who has recognized rights and duties for the activity or practice , particularly in relation to protection and safety; " notification " means a document submitted to the Authority by an operator to notify an intention to carry out an activity or practice as provided for in section 22 ; " operator " means any organization or person that is authorized or responsible for nuclear, radiation or radioactive waste , or transport safety, when undertaking activities or sources of ionizing radiation . This includes, inter alia , private individuals, non-governmental organizations, governmental bodies, consignees or carriers, licensees or hospitals; " practice " means any human activity that introduces additional sources of exposure or exposure pathways or extends exposure to additional people or modifies the network of exposure pathways from existing sources, so as to increase the exposure or the likelihood of exposure of people or the number of people exposed; " premises " include— (a) any facility ; (b) any land, whether developed or not; (c) any place underground; (d) any land covered by water; (e) any building, structure, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or container; " radiation source " or "source" means anything that may cause radiation exposure, such as by emitting ionizing radiation or releasing radioactive substances or materials; " radioactive material " means any matter or substance containing one or more radionuclides but does not include any material the activity or concentration of which does not exceed the prescribed exemption levels; " radioactive source " means radioactive material that is unsealed or permanently sealed in a capsule or closely bonded, in a solid form and which is not exempt from regulatory control and includes any radioactive material released through the breakage or leaking of such a source. It does not include nuclear material or material encapsulated for disposal ; " radioactive waste " means material, in whatever physical form, remaining from activities, practices or interventions and for which no further use is foreseen, that contains, or is contaminated with, radioactive substances, and has an activity or activity concentration higher than the level set for clearance from requirements of this Act; " Secretariat " means the Secretariat of the Authority referred to under section 16 ; " security " means measures to prevent unauthorized access or damage, loss, theft or unauthorized transfer of radioactive sources or nuclear material.