Remediation Strategy And Process For Areas Affected By Past Activities Or Events

A variety of past activities and events have resulted in contamination of sites and areas by residual radioactive material. In cases where relevant criteria are exceeded, remediation should be implemented to reduce radiation exposure due to contamination, taking into account other non-radiological hazards as appropriate. Remediation includes any actions applied to the contamination itself (the source) or to the exposure pathways to people. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on the planning and implementation of remediation of sites and areas affected by past activities and events based on a systematic, stepwise approach, taking account of the specific characteristics of a given situation and the prevailing circumstances. The Safety Guide is targeted at regulatory bodies, responsible parties, operating organizations and other parties involved in the remediation of sites or areas and contributing to the recovery process to ensure the protection of people and the environment.

A variety of past activities and events have resulted in contamination of sites and areas by residual radioactive material. In cases where relevant criteria are exceeded, remediation should be implemented to reduce radiation exposure due to contamination, taking into account other non-radiological hazards as appropriate. Remediation includes any actions applied to the contamination itself (the source) or to the exposure pathways to people. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on the planning and implementation of remediation of sites and areas affected by past activities and events based on a systematic, stepwise approach, taking account of the specific characteristics of a given situation and the prevailing circumstances. The Safety Guide is targeted at regulatory bodies, responsible parties, operating organizations and other parties involved in the remediation of sites or areas and contributing to the recovery process to ensure the protection of people and the environment.

A range of diverse sites globally have been affected by past activities and events resulting in their contamination with residual radioactive material. As a result, there is a need to evaluate the site-specific radiological hazards and doses to people and the environment to determine whether remediation is justified and, if so, to develop and implement plans to address the situation. The IAEA has published a Generic Safety Guide (GSG-15) - Remediation Strategy and Process for Areas Affected by Past Activities or Events, which establishes a stepwise approach for the planning and implementation of remediation applying the principles of radiation protection. This publication presents the results generated from the modelling of case studies of sites contaminated with residual radioactive material from past activities and events within the Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS II) programme to demonstrate the practical application of the stepwise remediation process presented in GSG-15.

Sites with radioactive contamination may require action to protect people and the environment and to enable transition to a different future use. To support environmental management of these sites, this publication presents a process to determine the “end state” of the site to be remediated or being remediated, and implications for the site future use and necessary controls. The approach is intended to assist those responsible for a site in making an informed and transparent decision on what is the mutually agreed end state. It provides a common basis for all stakeholders involved in the decision-making process, who are working on achieving consensus, so that the potential for misunderstanding is reduced.

This publication is one of the series of IAEA publications on the environmental behaviour of naturally occurring radionuclides. It outlines uranium behaviour in different environments, as well as its transfer to, and metabolism in, humans. The publication also provides concepts, models and data required for the assessment of the impacts of uranium on non-human biota. Assessing the environmental and health effects of uranium poses specific challenges because of the combination of different types of hazard and potential exposures. Therefore, both the radiotoxicity and chemical toxicity of uranium are considered in this publication.

Nuclear Waste Management Facilities: Advances, Environmental Impacts, and Future Prospects examines best practices and recent trends in improving nuclear safety and reducing the negative environmental impacts of nuclear waste. With strong emphasis on regulatory requirements, this reference is essential for designing new integrated waste management practices, using lessons learned from historical and current practices. Divided into three key sections, Part One introduces the reader to the safety and environmental impacts of the nuclear industry. Part Two reviews recent technological and methodological approaches to enhancing safety, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of both individual processes and integrated facilities. Topics covered include waste processing, transmutation and decommissioning. Part Three consider potential management schemes for special waste from innovative sources, and wastes that contain emerging contaminants, including waste recycling opportunities. Nuclear Waste Management Facilities: Advances, Environmental Impacts, and Future Prospects is a crucial tool needed to implement the safest and most environmentally considerate best practices within nuclear waste management facilities. Presents recent approaches used to assess and improve the safety and reduce the environmental impacts of nuclear waste management facilities Offers technical guidance to support the development and defense of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and Safety Cases to support the waste management facilities licensing throughout their lifecycles Highlights the future perspectives for wastes produced from innovative reactors and wastes containing emerging contaminants, and recycling opportunities

Providing recommendations on the application of the concept of clearance for materials, objects and buildings that are to be released from regulatory control, this publication supports the application of the relevant requirements of IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3. It includes detail on the regulatory framework for clearance; the clearance process; the derivation of clearance levels; the application of clearance to solid materials, liquids and gases; generic clearance and specific clearance using activity concentration and surface contamination clearance levels. It also provides recommendations on the involvement of interested parties. Written for governmental officials, and those working for regulatory bodies and operating organizations, this publication will also be of interest to technical service providers in radiation protection. The recommendations provided are applicable to facilities that use, manufacture, process or store radioactive material, such as nuclear power plants, research reactors, other nuclear fuel cycle facilities, facilities for the management of radioactive waste, industrial plants, medical facilities, research facilities, educational facilities and accelerators. The recommendations in this publication also apply to industries processing materials containing radionuclides of natural origin and to the management of material originating from remediation activities or from post- emergency situations.

This Safety Guide provides recommendations on the establishment of an appropriate regulatory framework for the management of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) residues in an integrated manner and using a graded approach. It also elaborates on roles and responsibilities, options for management of NORM residues, long term safety of NORM residues, and exemption and clearance. The publication is targeted at regulatory bodies, operating organizations, technical support organizations and other parties who are interested and involved in management of NORM residues.