Radiation Safety Standards

Developing radiation safety standards and fostering international approaches to radiation safety

Rationale- The Agency’s Statute requires it to consult with and, where appropriate, collaborate with the competent organs of the UN and other concerned specialized agencies in the establishment or adoption of safety standards. Such consultation or collaboration is particularly important in the area of radiation safety. For example, the BSS is sponsored by altogether six international organizations. Supporting Safety Guides and other documents are normally cosponsored by organizations with interest in the particular thematic area to which they relate. This cooperation is maintained through the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety (IACRS), in which the Secretariat plays a leading role. The radiation safety standards cover protection of workers, the public and patients, the safety of radiation sources and the security of radioactive material, preparedness for and response to accidents and emergencies, and regulatory infrastructure for regulating practices. This project however provides for the development of the
generic radiation safety standards — primarily the BSS — on which the thematic safety standards are based but includes those related to regulatory infrastructure. It also covers the overall management of work on the establishment and review of all safety standards concerned with radiation safety and associated documents,
including Safety Reports and TECDOCs, in order to ensure that they are coherent and consistent with the generic standards. In establishing radiation safety standards, the Agency follows a formal process involving the Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC). The International Action Plan for the Development and Application of the IAEA Safety Standards, which was approved by the Board of Governors in March 2004, includes actions for the development of new safety standards identified as necessary in the overall structure, and for a review and revision process to ensure that the safety standards remain current. This project includes liaison with other international organizations through the IACRS and other mechanisms such as providing observers to meetings of ICRP Committee 4, of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), and of the Article 31 Group of the European Commission. It also includes provision of support to RASSC. A major component of this work will be the assessment of the implications of the 2005 recommendations of the ICRP for the BSS. Even without these, a review and possible revision of the BSS needs to be made, to take account of the experience gained in the application of the current edition in Member States. This will inevitably lead to the
development of new safety standards and the revision of existing safety standards as outlined in the Action Plan.

Objective

To keep up-to-date the International Basic Safety Standards and to ensure the coherence and consistency of related safety standards and other documents with them.

Major Tasks for 2006-2007

For further information please contact T.Boal or C. Mason

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Reviewing and approving Waste Safety Standards

Rationale - The Agency has a statutory responsibility to establish safety standards for the protection of human health from different radiation sources; in this case it is radioactive waste. Internationally agreed standards of safety for application to the management of radioactive waste are needed as a basis for establishing national laws and regulations. The corpus of Safety Standards in the area needs to be completed by documents on pre-disposal and long term storage of radioactive waste, by documents addressing non heat generated waste, discharge control
and NORM (Naturally Originated Radioactive Material) waste. The programme as a whole will be under continuous review and as necessary, existing standards will be updated and improved. A committee of national regulators, the Waste Safety Standards Committee (WASSC) reviews and approves the standards. After review
by the committee, the documents are subject to final approval by the Commission on Safety Standards (CSS), and where appropriate, the Board of Governors.

Objective

To ensure the quality and relevance of a harmonized set of consensual international safety standards on the safety of radioactive waste management.

Major Task for 2006-2007

For further information please contact K. Hioki

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Radiological protection in emergency intervention situations

Rationale - Radiological emergencies of various types continue to occur, yet many of the lessons from past emergency intervention situations, ranging from the Chernobyl accident to accidents involving orphan sources, have still not been completely incorporated into the planning of all States. Moreover, without standard
procedures or common approaches, protective actions can differ between countries, resulting in confusion and mistrust among the public, interfering with recovery operations and possibly leading to severe social-economic and political consequences. As a result many Member States have expressed a desire to strengthen their national arrangements to respond in these situations, to harmonize them with their neighbours and to learn from international experience.
The Agency has a statutory function to develop standards for the protection of health and the environment and to provide on request for their application. The current International Basic Safety Standards (SS-115) establish general requirements for intervention. Moreover, subsequent standards (GS-R-2) require that in an emergency intervention situation, arrangements be made that include mitigating consequences at the scene; preventing the occurrence of deterministic health effects in workers and the public; rendering first aid and managing the
treatment of radiation injuries; and preventing, to the extent practicable, the occurrence of stochastic effects in the population. One important aspect is the continuous development of guidance for the diagnosis and further assistance to individuals that can become overexposed in the case of an emergency. The Agency has not only a statutory responsibility in this respect but also a tradition of humanitarian assistance when this situation has occurred in the past.
This project therefore responds to the need to implement that statutory function by, inter alia, developing appropriate safety standards and practical guidance to implement those requirements and provisions for their application. It also includes the provision of technical cooperation to requesting States, and training and services to assist Member States in the strengthening and maintenance of relevant national, local and on-site response capabilities, as well as fostering information exchange and coordinating research and development and rendering appraisal related services. It will be carried out in close collaboration with project X.1.01.

Objective

To have in place effective and compatible standards, criteria and tools in Member States for protecting health in emergency intervention situations

Major Tasks for 2006-2007

For further information please contact T. McKenna

 


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