1. 56th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference
Senior Regulators’ Meeting
20 September 2012
Session 1: Best Practices in Planning for Remediation IAEA Safety Standards for Remediation
Pil-Soo Hahn, Director
Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety
Department of Nuclear Safety and Security

2. Outline Context for remediation within IAEA programmes.
IAEA safety standards for remediation and their current state of development.
Planning for remediation.
Application of the IAEA safety standards in the context of planning for remediation.
IAEA Perspectives on remediation planning.

3. Definitions in Standards
Remediation
Any measures that may be carried out
to reduce the radiation exposure due to existing contamination of land areas through actions applied to the contamination itself (the source), or
to the exposure pathways to humans.
Complete removal of the contamination is not implied.
Remedial action
The removal of a source or the reduction of its magnitude (in terms of activity or amount)
for the purposes of preventing or reducing exposures that might otherwise occur in an existing exposure situation.

4. Situations that need remediation
Contaminated lands arising from a nuclear accident
Complex R&D Facilities (e.g., fuel cycle R&D and prototype reactors)
Legacy uranium mines and mills
Former test sites for nuclear weapons
Radium production facilities (a legacy), and more recently other NORM processing operations

5. Hierarchy of IAEA Safety Standards
underlying principles
– aimed at politicians and
regulatory authorities
Fundamentals
Requirements
obligations and
responsibilities
(“shall” statements)
recommendations to
support requirements
(“should” statements)
Guides 5

6. Remediation: Safety Fundamentals (2006)
Principle 10: Protective actions to reduce existing or unregulated radiation risks must be justified and optimized
Radiation risks may arise in situations other than in facilities and activities that are in compliance with regulatory control.
In such situations, if the radiation risks are relatively high, consideration has to be given
to whether protective actions can reasonably be taken to reduce radiation exposures, and
to remediate adverse conditions.

7. IAEA Safety Requirements for Remediation (2011)
The safety requirements for remediation are now found in the new IAEA Basic Safety Standards
Integration of Recommendations in ICRP 103 (2007)
Approval by the IAEA Board of Governors (Sept. 2011)
Replaces the old BSS (1996)

8. System of Radiation Protection
Three exposed groups
Workers
Patients
General public
Three Exposure Situations
Planned exposures
Emergency
Existing exposures
Three Radiation Protection Principles
Justification
Limitation
Optimization

9. Existing exposure Radiation Protection Principles Justification
Remedial and protective actions should be adequate to the risk
Do more good
than harm
Optimization -
Exposure levels
Number of people exposed
Economic and social
implications A s L ow R
easonably
chievable ,
economic and social
factors
being taken into
account (
ALARA )
Limitation
Reference level : 1 - 20
mSv / a
To be defined by the
regulator based on
Experience
Feasibility
Interested parties

10. 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 principles
Justification, optimization, limitation

11. Safety Standards for Remediation – 2012
GSR Part 3 (2011)
WS-G-3.1 (2007)
Under Revision

12. Related IAEA standards
For remediation, other related standards usually apply in part….

13. Considerations to be given in the planning stage
Is there a proper legal and regulatory framework?
Have existing exposure situations been identified and assessed?
Develop a national remediation strategy, which includes appropriate remediation criteria.
Have proposed remedial actions been optimized? Difficult choices have to be made when resources are scarce.
Has provision been made for appropriate engagement of stakeholders?
Adequate planning for wastes arising from remedial actions?
Has provision been made for long term care after remediation?
Are there other regulatory organizations to liaise with (e.g. non-radiological considerations)?

14. Generic Decision Process for Remediation
Monitoring (
Radiological Characterization )
Assessment of exposures
Land use
Living habits
Criteria
Technologies
Dose to workers
Acceptance
Costs
Decision for
remediation
Remediation ok ?
Exit
Yes No

15. Application of the Standards
The IAEA Safety standards are used by the Secretariat in a number of ways…
Basis for peer reviews.
Advise MS on the development of regulations.
IRRS missions.
Technical Cooperation Project for MS.
Inform training material.

16. IAEA Activities : Remediation Planning
International Forum for Regulatory Supervision of Legacy Sites
Strengthening regulatory oversight of legacy sites.
About 40 countries have participated in RSLS.
Central Asia Initiative
Assists MS in Central Asia with former uranium production sites that are a legacy of the past.
International programmes
EMRAS II: Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety ( ).
MODARIA: Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments (to be launched in Nov. 2012).
Develop, test and compare models to assess exposures from radionuclides being released or existing in the environment.

17. Going forward IAEA Perspectives on Remediation Planning
Review and update safety standards for remediation.
Assist MS to develop an appropriate framework for remediation.
Promote the development of remediation strategies, rather than ad hoc remedial actions.
Encourage exchange of information among its members through projects such as MODARIA and RSLS, and thereby strengthen the necessary competencies.
Promote awareness of the need for long term care and maintenance after remediation.
Assist MS in carrying out EIA and planning for remediation, including peer review services.

18. Thank you 18 18