6 th Annual Radiation Protection Supervisors Seminar 29/01/2015

1. 6th AnnualRadiation Protection Supervisors Seminar 29/01/2015 Tony Butterworth – University RPA / RWA

2. Timetable • 08:45 Arrival (tea, coffee and cake available) • 09:15 Introduction • 09:20 Updates in Radiation Protection • 11:00 Morning Break (tea, coffee, and cake available) • 11.30 Radiation Database and Local Radiation Protection Issues • 12.00 Discussions, Any Other Business • 12.10 Presentation by Dr. Tom Scott – Interface Analysis Centre Director • 12.40 LablogicPresentation • 13:15 Close

3. Updates in Radiation Protection

4. Legislative Matters

5. (1) IAEA - International Basic Safety Standards

6. International Basic Safety Standards • The jointly sponsored edition of the Safety Requirements “Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards” was published as General Safety Requirements Part 3 in July 2014 • This edition supersedes the Interim Edition that was published in 2011 • Reflect international consensus to promote a common approach for ensuring safety

7. International Basic Safety Standards • Revisions follow the recommendations of ICRP e.g. infrastructure for radiological protection and safety: legal framework regulatory authority operating management employees and fundamental principles of radiation protection e.g. dose limitation - reduction of the equivalent dose for the lens of the eye

8. International Basic Safety Standards • Classification of: • 3 categories of exposure situations – planned, existing and emergency exposure situations • 3 categories of exposure – occupational, medical and public exposures

9. International Basic Safety Standards • Existing exposure situations are exposure situations that already exist when a decision on control or remediation has to be taken • Includes natural background radiation and most exposure situations to radon as well as residues from past practices • Exposure control is based on the use of reference levels (levels of dose or risk above which it is judged inappropriate to allow exposures to occur and below which optimisation of protection is implemented)

10. International Basic Safety Standards • Planned exposure situations are situations involving the planned introduction and operation of sources • Planned exposure situations include both normal exposures and potential exposures • Exposure control is based on dose limitation and dose constraint

11. International Basic Safety Standards • Emergency exposure situations are unexpected situations that occur during the operation of a planned situation, or from a malicious act, requiring urgent action • Exposure control is based on the use of reference levels

12. International Basic Safety Standards • Dose limit = limit set from all regulated sources in planned situations • Dose constraint/reference level = limit set from a single source in all exposure situations

13. (2) European Commission Basic Safety Standards

14. EC Basic Safety Standards • The Basic Safety Standards (BSS) Directive (2013/59/Euratom), was adopted on the 5thDecember 2013 • Published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 17th January 2014 • Lays down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation

15. EC Basic Safety Standards • Repeals 5 Euratom Directives which underpin UK regulation of ionising radiation through the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 and Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Regulations) 2001 • Incorporates the latest recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) published in 2007, and harmonises the EU regime with the Basic Safety Standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

16. EC Basic Safety Standards • Member States are required to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 6 February 2018 • HMG policy with regards to how this Directive will be implemented within the UK is still to be agreed and communicated

17. EC Basic Safety Standards • HSE is engaging UK stakeholders to broadly ensure that a breadth of interested parties views inform the UK implementation of the Directive • Existing Stakeholder working groups cover Occupational, Medical, and Public and Environmental Exposures • Ionising Radiation Regulations 01/01/2018???

18. (3) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

19. IAEA Safety Standards • Current status (October 2014) • 129 are established of which 123 are published • 42 drafts are in the development process (30 to revise 41 published Safety Standards) • Currently, 91% of the standards are established. 39% of the established standards are under revision • The expected total number is 131

20. IAEA Safety Standards • Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material – 2012 Edition • Establishes the regulations that apply to the transport of radioactive material by all modes of transport on land, water or in the air • Provides requirements useful to governments, regulators, operators of nuclear facilities, carriers, users of radiation sources and cargo handling personnel

21. IAEA Safety Standards • Decommissioning of Facilities (2014) • Establishes requirements for the safe decommissioning of a broad range of facilities e.g. nuclear power plants, former military sites, and relevant medical, industrial and research facilities. • It addresses all the aspects of decommissioning such as roles and responsibilities and strategy and planning

22. (4) Environment Agency

23. EA Guidance • 2011 – EA produced guidance on EPR 2010 out of scope radioactive substances activities e.g. • VLLW • Small sealed radioactive sources • Uranium and Thorium • Small amounts of open radioactive sources • Medical and veterinary uses of radioactive sources

24. EA Guidance • Guidance on Interpretation of ‘Relevant Liquid’ March 2013 • Schedule 23 to EPR2010 contains “out of scope” values for very low concentrations of Naturally Occurring Radioactive material (NORM) in solids liquids and gases and for solids and “relevant liquids” of other radioactive substances

25. EA Guidance • Initial guidance stated: The term ‘relevant liquid’ allows certain types of liquid with specified hazardous properties to be treated as a solid for the purposes of EPR 2010 because the exposure pathways are the same as those for solids and the disposal of such materials is to a conventional ‘solid’ waste route i.e. disposal or transfer for the purposes of reuse or recycling, and not to drains, sewers, open water or ground water

26. EA Guidance • “Relevant Liquid” means a liquid which is – (a) Non-aqueous (primary constituent is not water – usually organic solvent); or (b) Classified (or would be so classified in the absence of its radioactivity) under Council Regulation No. 1 272/2008 as having any of the following hazard classes and hazard categories (as defined in that Regulation)

27. EA Guidance • (i) acute toxicity: categories 1, 2 or 3 (LD50/LC50 values defining respective categories) • (ii) skin corrosion/irritation: category 1 corrosive, sub-categories: 1A, 1B or 1C • (iii) hazardous to the aquatic environment: acute category 1 or chronic categories 1 or 2

28. EA Guidance • Therefore to determine if a liquid is a relevant liquid there are two considerations – • (1) is the liquid a non-aqueous liquid • (2) does it have one of the specified hazard classes or categories

29. EA Guidance • Guidance on NORM Industrial Activities March 2013 • This guidance is for businesses and individuals who have to handle naturally occurring radioactive substances to determine whether the radioactive substances regulatory regime applies

30. EA Guidance • EPR 2010 only applies to naturally occurring radioactive substances that meet two criteria: • (i) They must arise from industrial activities that are specified in the legislation (NORM Industrial Activities) • (ii) They must contain concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides above specified values (NORM “out of scope” values)

31. EA Guidance • If a substance does not satisfy both of these criteria then it is not subject to the radioactive substances legislation • If it does satisfy the criteria, then it is subject to the legislation and will require permitting unless it is exempt

32. EA Guidance

33. EA – Radioactive Waste Advisers • There is a requirement under European law for people who keep or use radioactive material, or who accumulate or dispose of radioactive waste, to appoint advisers, known as “qualified experts”, to advise them on radiological protection • In the UK we call the qualified expert for radioactive waste management and environmental radiation protection a 'Radioactive Waste Adviser'

34. EA – Radioactive Waste Advisers • Radioactive Waste Advisers (RWA) are specialists in radioactive waste disposal and environmental radiation protection who have demonstrated competence in the Radioactive Waste Adviser syllabus • RWA is a similar position to the RPA • RWA appointed in writing by the permit holder (Director of S&HS on behalf of UoB Council)

35. EA – Radioactive Waste Advisers • UoB RWA – Tony Butterworth • Certificate of Competence granted 01/09/2014 by RPA 2000 • Renewed every 5 years

36. EA – Draft Legislation - Enforcement Undertakings • Comes into force 06/04/2015 (if passed by both Houses of Parliament) • Will be implemented as an amendment to EPR 2010 • An alternative to prosecution for environmental offences • Primary purpose is to allow the offender to restore and remediate any environmental damage they have caused

37. EA – Draft Legislation - Enforcement Undertakings • If an operator has ‘technically’ committed an offence, but offers an enforcement undertaking, the EA accept it, and the operator completes the undertaking to their satisfaction, then the operator is not deemed to have committed an offence • Atool for the EA to use where they believe that prosecution would be too heavy-handed • Expectation that the EA will issue some examples pertinent to the RSR sector when legislation comes into effect

38. (5) NaCTSO https://www.gov.uk/nactso

39. NaCTSO • UK Threat Level is currently SEVERE– a terrorist attack is highly likely • Current document - Security Requirements for Radioactive Sources, April 2011 (Restricted – available from RPA) • provides detailed information on the specific security measures that must be applied to sources as part of the regime • sets out the more general security requirements for site protection where radiological sources are based

40. NaCTSO • For Source Categories 3 and 4 e.g. 2GBq Sodium-22 sealed source, Security level Crequirements are: • Compliance with IRR 99 and EPR 2010 • Site security plan (updated annually) • Ability and options for upgrades of security for increased threat

41. NaCTSO • Information security plan • Personal background checks • Provide a means to detect unauthorised removal of source • Source protected from unauthorised access by 1 physical security measure

42. NaCTSO Remember Purchase of new permitted sealed sources may affect the NaCTSO security rating for the building and will need the advice of a CTSO Adviser regarding suitable security arrangements BEFORE sources arrive on site Consult with RPA in first instance

43. NaCTSO • Euro-Protect 2012-2013 • A joint venture between NaCTSO and Avon and Somerset Constabulary, with financial assistance from the European Commission • The project aims to address the key challenge of how to protect Europe from the threat of terrorism, through partnership with the commercial and private sectors

44. NaCTSO • The training is limited to public sector counter terrorism practitioners, from all of the EU Member Statesand includes practical guidance on how to identify vulnerabilities at key locations, how to survey sites and deliver structured and risk commensurate protective security advice • In 2013, courses will focus on the protection of pathogens, toxins, radiological sources (including HASS) and pre-cursor chemicals

45. NaCTSO • 3 sessions organised, situated in Bristol • UoB involvement for biological and radiation exercises (HASS security arrangements) • Post event response from CTSA - ‘The training programme has proven to be a great success and a fine advert for partnership between our two organisations’

46. Publications

47. ICRP Publications • Publication 120 (2013) - Radiological Protection in Cardiology • Provides guidance to assist cardiologists with justification procedures and optimisation of protection in cardiac CT studies, cardiac nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopically guided cardiac interventions

48. ICRP Publications • Publication 121 (2013) - Radiological Protection in Paediatric Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology • Provides guiding principles of radiological protection for referring clinicians and clinical staff performing diagnostic imaging and interventional procedures for pediatric patients • Guidelines and suggestions for radiological protection in radiography and fluoroscopy, interventional radiology, and computed tomography

49. ICRP Publications • Publication 122 (2013) – Radiological Protection in Geological Disposal of Long-lived Solid Radioactive Waste • Updates and consolidates previous ICRP recommendations • Includes the consideration of the different stages in the life time of a geological disposal facility

50. ICRP Publications • Publication 123 (2013) – Assessment of Radiation Exposure of Astronauts in Space • Astronauts not usually classified as being occupationally exposed in the sense of the general ICRP system for radiation protection of workers applied on Earth • Describes the terms and methods used to assess the radiation exposure of astronauts, and provides data for the assessment of organ doses