IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

IAEA Safety Standards and Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment

Gerhard Proehl

Division of Transport Radiation and Waste Safety

International Working Forum on Regulatory Supervision of Legacy Sites

9 October 2012

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The System of Radiation Protection

in the IAEA Safety Standards

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Development of International Standards

UNSCEAR:

Scientific Reports

ICRP:

Recommendations

103

The New Recommendations of the

International Commission on

Radiological Protection

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Safety Standards

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IAEA Safety Standards

Safety Guides

Safety Requirements

Safety Fundamentals

Global Reference Point • Safety for protecting

people and the environment

• from harmful effects of

ionizing radiation.

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The only fundamentals-level safety

standard.

Policy document of the IAEA Safety

Standards Series.

States the basic objectives, concepts

and principles involved in ensuring

protection and safety.

Comprised of the fundamental safety

objective and principles to be applied

to achieve the fundamental objective.

The Safety Fundamentals

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• Integration of Recommendations in ICRP 103 (2007)

• Approval by the IAEA Board of Governors (Sept. 2011)

• Replaces BSS (1996)

The new IAEA Basic Safety Standards

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/p1531interim_web.pdf

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Remediation of Affected Areas

2007

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Protection against radiation risks

• Basic requirements on radiation protection and safety

• Reflects a broad international consensus

• Co-sponsored by FAO, ILO, OECD/NEA, PAHO, WHO

• Establish basic requirements for

• General public

• Workers

• Patients

• Basis for legislation in many countries

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Three exposure situations for Public exposure

Exposure situations

Planned ExistingEmergency

Operation of facilities

Accidents, Malicious acts

Post-accidentResidues from past,

uncontrolled practices

Dose limit: 1 mSv/a

Reference level:

20-100 mSv

Reference level:

1-20 mSv/a

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Reference levels

Reference levels are given in terms of dose

• They are not limits,

• … but doses that should not be exceeded

Dose to be assessed for a representative person

• …. a more highly exposed individual in the population

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No pre-defined reference levels for activities

• Exposure to humans is the result of a complex interaction of

• Radionuclides involved

• Relevance of the exposure pathways

• Environmental conditions

• Farming practice

• Human habits

=> Case-by case consideration is necessary

• Pre-determination could cause a serious mis-allocation of resources

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Input for decision making

Decision making

Costs

Doses

to the workers

Dialogue with

the people affected

Life style Technical

feasibility

Doses to the

public

Acceptance

Land use,

soil type

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Optimization

• Include all, also non-radiological impacts

• Consider

• … technical, economic, societal factors

• … exposures to workers

• … resulting public exposures resulting from management and disposal of waste

• Dialogue with stakeholders

• Optimization to continue, even if exposures are below the reference level

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Monitoring (Radiological Characterization)

Assessment of exposures

Land useLiving habits

CriteriaTechnologies

Dose to workers Acceptance

CostsDecision for remediation

Remediation

Criteria ok ?

Exit Yes No

Yes

No

Remediation process

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Environmental Impact Assessment

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Environmental Impact Assessment

• Not yet strictly defined in the IAEA Safety Standards • Included in many international instruments, national legislations and

regulations

• Espoo Convention • Environmental impact assessment means a national procedure for

evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment”

• Impact • Any effect caused by an activity on the environment including

• Human health and safety,

• Flora, fauna, soil, air, water, climate,

• Landscape and historical monuments or other physical structures

• Interaction among these factors;

• Effects on cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions resulting from alterations to those factors” [12].

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Espoo Convention (1991)

• Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Trans-boundary Context

• Regional Convention …

• in recognition of the need for countries to take account of the

•possible effects of activities in their own countries

•on other neighbouring countries

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Components

• Radiological impacts

• Exposures to humans

• Exposures to flora and fauna

• Non-radiological impacts

• Chemical pollutants

• Heavy metals, organics

• Dust

• Heat

• Noise

• Hydrology

• Impacts on cultural heritage

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MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING TYPE OF ASSESSMENT

Factor Element

Inventory

Form (chemical/physical make up)

Radionuclides

Quantity (both activity and mass/volume)

Source term Potential for release source term varies between normal operation and potential exposure assessments

Level of expected dose Previous similar facility or previous assessments

Location of facility

Presence of receptor

Characteristics of environment around the facility

Exposure pathways

Safety characteristics of the activity or facility

Number of safety barriers and engineering features present in the design

Interested parties involvement Degree of interest

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Components of an Assessment

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Environmental transport processes

• Atmospheric dispersion

• Deposition of radioactivity to the ground

• Dispersion of radionuclides in surface water and ground water

• Transfer of radioactivity to plants and animals in the food chain

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Comprehensive exposure analysis

• Internal exposure

• Inhalation of radioactivity in a plume

• Ingestion of crops, animal food products (milk, meat)

• Ingestion of drinking water

• Ingestion of aquatic food

• Fish, crustaceans, molluscs

• External exposure

• From radioactivity in a plume

• From radionuclide deposited on the ground or in building materials

• From radionuclides in water and sediments

• e.g. from swimming, staying on cont. sediments

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Site characterization

• Monitoring

• Air

• Water

• Terrestrial and aquatic food

• Building material

• Weather/climatic conditions

• Hydrological conditions

• Rivers

• Lakes

• Population

• Population density and distribution

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Key issues for remediation in the BSS

• Defines responsibilities

• Government

• Regulatory body

• Planning/implementing institutions

• Recommends radiological criteria

• Reference level for the representative person: 1-20 mSv/a

• Exposure due to commodities: 1 mSv/a

• Requires the application of radiation protection criteria

• Justification, optimization, limitation

• Requests

• Involvement of interested parties

• Establishment of a strategy for management of radioactive waste

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Conclusions

• Long-term reduction or prevention of impacts

• Include all environmental components

• Comprehensive pathway analysis

• Careful site characterization

• Long-term considerations

• Optimal use of resources

• Ensure sustainable solutions