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Cyclotron regulation in Virginia
Verified August 2026
One entry from the 51-jurisdiction survey, read against a small, fully enclosed, sub-MeV machine whose beam terminates inside its own vacuum chamber.
- Small machine vs. definition
- Arguably outside — Arguably outside the accelerator definition — registration still the expected outcome
A reading of the definitional text, not a determination: the machine is arguably outside the accelerator definition, and classification remains the state agency’s call.
- How Virginia defines “particle accelerator”
- CRCPD-model definition (“into a medium” discharge language + soft “usually >1 MeV”)
- Governing citation
- 12VAC5-481-10
- Governing rule
- read the rule text — definitions: Accelerator, Particle accelerator, Radiation machine, Registration - raw HTML retrieved and grepped 2026-08-10
- Regulator
- Virginia Department of Health, Office of Radiological Health — X-ray Program — Program landing page; non-medical machine subpage at .../non-medical-x-ray-machines/. (link verified 2026-09-13)
- Register / license
- Registration
- Incidental-radiation exemption
- 12VAC5-481-270.A — favorable lead-in (no “for other purposes”)
- Notes (as verified 2026-08-29)
- CRCPD-model definition; the exemption lead-in reads simply “radiation incidental to its operation” — the most favorable wording surveyed, and Virginia practice exempts electron microscopes on it.
What to do
Identify the state radiation-control program before the machine is first energized. Ask the program in writing how it classifies the machine before purchasing or building one, rather than relying on a private reading of the definition. Document the machine’s maximum energy and the fact that its beam is internal to the vacuum chamber — that record is what any classification, exemption argument, or registration review turns on.
This is information, not legal advice. Everything on this page was verified against primary sources (statutes, administrative codes, agency publications) as of August 2026. Regulatory text moves — several states recodified or rewrote their radiation rules in 2023–2026 alone — so anything consequential should be re-checked against the current text of the cited provision, and questions about a specific machine belong to the state radiation-control program or qualified counsel.
See the legal overview for the federal layer and how the incidental-radiation exemption is read, and the full 51-jurisdiction table and map for every other state.