Progress with the revision and consolidation of the European Basic Safety Standards Directive

1
Progress with the revision and consolidation of
the EuropeanBasic Safety Standards Directive
?
Stefan Mundigl European Commission DG Energy and
Transport Radiation Protection Unit
EUROPEANCOMMISSION
2
Role of the European Union

• Euratom Treaty (1957)
• allow the development of nuclear energy while
  protecting the Health and Safety of workers and
  members of the public
• Establish uniform Basic Safety Standards
• Ensure their application (transposition
  implementation infringement procedure)
• Ensure the protection of the environment
• air, water, soil
• Research (fission/fusion Framework Programmes)
• radiation biology

3
Development of a new European Basic Safety
Standards Directive

• Consolidation of existing European radiation
  protection legislation
• Revision of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards
  (Directive 96/29/Euratom)

4
Consolidation of European Radiation Protection
Legislation

• Basic Safety Standards, Directive 96/29/Euratom
• Medical Exposures, Directive 97/43/Euratom
• Public Information, Directive 89/618/Euratom
• Outside Workers, Directive 90/641/Euratom
• Control of high-activity sealed radioactive
  sources and orphan sources, Directive
  2003/122/Euratom
• Radon, Commission Recommendation 90/143/Euratom

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Motivation for revision of Euratom BSS

• More binding requirements on
• Natural radiation sources
• Criteria for clearance
• Cooperation between Member States for emergency
  planning and response
• Review of regulatory control system
• Graded approach to regulatory control
• Cover NORM industries
• New recommendations by ICRP
• Revision of International Basic Safety Standards
• Strive for greater harmonisation

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Impact of new ICRP Recommendations

• Based on three different exposure situations
• Planned
• Existing
• Emergency
• Constraints and Reference levels
• Source related prospective tool for optimisation
• Societal basis Bands of constraints
• Forthcoming ICRP Documents on
• Emergency exposure situations
• Existing exposure situations
• Radiological Protection of the Environment

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Topical issues for BSS revision

• Natural Radiation
• NORM industries
• Building material
• Radon
• Cosmic radiation (exposure to aircrew)
• Exemption and Clearance
• Graded approach to regulatory control
• Education and training
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Occupational Exposure (Outside workers)
• Protection of the Environment

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NORM industries

• Positive list of types of industries
• Identification of industries of concern
• Activity concentrations above 1 Bq/g (10 Bq/g for
  K40)
• Not applicable to recycling in building materials
• Higher values for segments of the decay chain
• Lower values where appropriate in specific cases
• Assessment of doses to workers
• 1-6 mSv keep under review apply ALARA
• gt 6 mSv controlled areas
• Assessment of effluents and disposal of waste
• Recycling rather than radioactive waste disposal

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Radon

• Requirement for a national action plan
• All sources soil, building material, water
• Definition of radon prone areas
• Reference levels for existing dwellings, new
  dwellings, workplaces and public buildings
• Building codes for new buildings
• Provide information
• House owners
• Building Profession
• Occupational Exposure
• Radon measurements
• Reference levels

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Building Material

• Placing on the market and use of building
  materials managed as an existing exposure
  situation
• for types of building materials identified by
  national authorities, based on an indicative list
  given in BSS
• Establishment of national reference levels
• Exemption
• Placing on the market subject to regulatory
  control
• Categorisation of building materials for trade
  across national borders
• Labelling and information

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Exemption and clearance

• Enhance clarity of the concepts
• Same levels for both concepts
• Basis IAEA RS-G-1.7
• Study launched to
• evaluate differences with EC RP 122,
• assess impact of lowering the exemption levels

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Regulatory Control

• Graded Approach to Regulatory Control
• Exemption
• Notification
• Registration
• e.g. authorisation in cases of a limited risk
• Licensing
• Accommodate approach for NORM industries

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Protection of the Environment

• ... not much available for the time being ...
• Reference to other applicable EC legislation
• Reference to the Drinking Water Directive
• Expect input from
• PROTECT
• ICRP
• ...
• Harmonise with international Basic Safety
  Standards

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What do we need?

• A regulatory approach to radiological protection
  of the environment has to be
• Transparent clear
• Easy to understand
• Easy to communicate to stakeholders
• Public, operators, other regulators
  (environmental area)
• Broadly accepted/agreed
• Practicable to implement
• Consistent with the system in place

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What can/shall be regulated? When? How?

• Planned exposure situations
• Environmental impact assessment
• New built
• Granting discharge authorisations
• Additional criteria
• Further focus on the optimisation principle
• New built / existing installations
• Probably no impact on clearance of material?

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What can/shall be regulated? When? How? (2)

• Existing exposure situations
• Remediation of contaminated sites after nuclear
  accidents or radiological emergencies / legacy of
  past practices?
• Justification and optimisation - Doing more good
  than harm!
• Decision-making process involving stakeholders
• Case specific
• Natural occurring radioactivity?
• Emergency exposure situations
• Main priority Protection of humans
• Clean-up (see existing exposure situations)

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Numerical Guidance - Input from PROTECT

• Any numerical guidance has to be
• Transparent, clear, understandable, easy to
  communicate
• No moving target
• Graded (tiered) approach
• Generic screening level
• Threshold to enter the system
• What do we do if we are above?
• Taxonomic screening levels? Practicability?
• Regulatory action levels?
• Flexibility - case by case assessment?
• Implementation - check compliance
• Guidance on assessment (quantities to be
  measured, measurements, calculation codes, ...)

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Outline of new Euratom BSS

• Preamble
• Title I Subject matter and Scope
• Title II Definitions
• Title III System of Protection
• Title IV Responsibilities for regulatory control
  
• Title V Requirements for Education and Training
• Title VI Justification and Regulatory control of
  planned exposure situations
• Title VII Protection of Workers, Apprentices and
  Students
• Title VIII Protection of Patients and other
  individuals submitted to medical exposure
• Title IX Protection of Members of the Public
• Title X Protection of the Environment
• Title XI Emergency exposure situations
• Title XII Existing exposure situations
• Title XIII Final provisions

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Further Steps

• Working Party on Recast
• prepare a complete draft Basic Safety Standards
  Directive including
• consolidated Directives
• revised Directive 96/29
• Discuss complete proposal with the Group of
  Experts referred to in Article 31 of the Euratom
  Treaty
• June November 2009

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International Basic Safety Standards

• European Commission is formally
• Co-sponsoring the Safety Fundamentals
• Joining the secretariat for the review of
  International Basic Safety Standards
• In view of potential co-sponsorship
• Representatives of IAEA participate as observers
  in
• Article 31 Group of Experts
• and its Working Parties

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Summary

• Consolidation of existing European radiation
  protection legislation
• Revision of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards
• Impact of new ICRP Recommendations
• Integrate natural and artificial radiation
• Strive for greater harmonisation with
  international BSS
• Protection of the environment
• Title foreseen in the European BSS
• Harmonisation with international BSS
• ... wait for further input ...