Status of the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources in Portugal Pedro Vaz, Isabel Paiva, Luís Portugal, Maria Meruje

Transcription

1 Status of the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources in Portugal Pedro Vaz, Isabel Paiva, Luís Portugal, Maria Meruje IST, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Lisbon, Portugal

2 The Portuguese radiological & nuclear context at a glance No nuclear power plants nor facilities associated to the nuclear fuel cycle 1 research reactor (1 MW power, MTR, swimming pool type, compact core) Radioactive sources are used mainly in the medical, industrial, research and education sectors Low- and medium- level radioactive waste, mainly from: Medical (mainly Nuclear Medicine) facilities Industrial and engineering applications Research facilities

3 Uses of radioactive sources in Portugal

4 Uses of radioactive sources in Portugal

5 The Portuguese nuclear and radiological legislative framework (I) RP-related competences are scattered amongst several regulatory & competent entities: Directorate General for Health (DGS) Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), through its Radiological Protection and Safety Laboratory COMRSIN (Regulatory Commission for the Safety of Nuclear Installations) Transposition of EU Directives: HASS Directive (2003/122/EURATOM) has been accomplished with Decree-Law 38/2007 Nuclear Safety Directive (2009/71/EURATOM) accomplished in 2012 Directive on safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste (2011/70/EURATOM) accomplished in 2013

6 The Portuguese nuclear and radiological legislative framework (II) Authorization of the use and licensing of radioactive sealed sources is assigned to IST, responsible for: Issuing ownership, transfer (returning to the provider, to another user or as radwaste), transport, import and export licenses Keeping the registry of users and of radioactive sources IST also holds competences in: Collection, segregation and interim storage of radioactive waste Authorization of the transport of radioactive materials Emergency situations associated to: The transport of radioactive materials The loss of radioactive sealed sources Detection of orphan sources

7 The Portuguese nuclear and radiological legislative framework (III) The IAEA RAIS (3.2 version) is in advanced phase of implementation in a joint effort shared by Directorate General for Health (DGS) - authorizing the radiological practices and equipment involving radioactive sources and materials and non-sealed radioactive sources IST - that authorizes and licenses radioactive sealed sources Implementation of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources Portuguese commitment (addressed in the following slides) Portuguese report submitted to this Conference

8 Deposit fee to ensure the proper management of disused sources (I) The Decree-Law 38/2007 establishes that for the use of radioactive sealed sources a license must be requested to the IST prior to its import/export, possession, transport and transfer. All the licenses granted by the IST (ownership, transport, transfer, etc.) contain a description of the licensed material (radionuclides, activity, reference date, etc.) and other relevant information such as the identification of the licensee and practice or equipment where it will be used, validity and other specific conditions for the use of the sources.

9 Deposit fee to ensure the proper management of disused sources (II) Additionally, under the article 4 (5) of the Decree-Law 38/2007, the licensee must pay a deposit fee for each sealed source amounting to: 10% of the source cost 5% of the equipment incorporating the source (if source not detachable) Once the licensee considers that the source is no longer used for the practice for which the authorization has been granted, it should be either returned to the manufacturer, transferred to another user or collected as radwaste by the IST.

10 Deposit fee to ensure the proper management of disused sources (III) Article 10 (4) of the same Decree-Law establishes that IST will then refund the deposit fee made by the licensee, after proof that the spent and/or disused source was effectively transferred or was returned to the manufacturer or collected by the IST. The mechanism created by the deposit fee presents a two-folded advantage: (i) The licensee is encouraged to notify the IST once the source is no longer in use; (ii) Portugal can effectively control the licensed disused sealed sources, preventing the existence of orphan sealed sources.

11 Safety and security of sources Orphan sources Orphan sources: Collected in loads of scrap metal detected by the radiation portal monitors of the smelting industry. Detection of orphan sources in scrapyards have been reported Strategies for gaining or regaining control over orphan sources: A threat assessment concerning the orphan sources has been performed at national level, at critical locations Majority of metal scrap yards/recycling facilities, smelting industries, conventional waste management facilities, etc., equipped with radiation portal monitors and/or portable radiation detection equipment Training and information of staff potentially confronted with an orphan source, to ensure they detect and safely act in case of source detection

12 Implementation of the Code of Conduct (I) Implementation of the IAEA Code of Conduct in Portugal: An infrastructure exists for the regulatory control of the sources (IST is the competent authority); The existing legislation foresees the requirements for licensing the use and transfer of radioactive sources and specify the safety requirements; Facilities and services are available for searching missing sources and securing found sources; It is established in the law the intervention of IST in the event of an accident or of a malicious act involving radioactive sources; Training and information is provided by IST for first responders and staff of scrap yards and metal recycling plants, waste management facilities and metallurgical industries.

13 Implementation of the Code of Conduct (II) In case of import and export of radioactive sources, IST is attentive especially to third country's infrastructure for the safe management and secure protection of the radioactive sources whenever it grants a transfer authorization: In case of export, IST requires from the recipient the authorization to receive and possess the source under its national law and has the appropriate structure to ensure that the source will be managed in a safe way; In case of export, IST allows the re-entry of the disused radioactive source, based on the rule of the Portuguese law that the source can return to the manufacturer. The deposit fee for each source is also used for the export of sources. The refund is made following the same rules mentioned before.

14 Implementation of the Code of Conduct (III) Nevertheless, in some cases it has been difficult to analyze the adequacy of the infrastructure of some third countries, due to the absence of information about each state's regulatory structure: On those cases the sources should be returned to Portugal when no longer in use. The deposit fee will only be refunded after the return of the sources. The existing national legislation aims at the the safe and secure management of radioactive sources, from cradle to grave and is supported by an existing infrastructure, facilities and resources.