The Portuguese regulatory framework regarding NORM

The Portuguese regulatory
framework regarding NORM
Workshop METRO NORM,
Lisboa, 11 March 2015
Maria Manuel MERUJE
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework regarding
NORM in 11th March 2015
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework
1.
As an European Member State the Portuguese regulatory framework
regarding NORM is based on the EURATOM Directives;
2.
General characteristics of the Portuguese legal regime:
a)
b)
c)
3.
Existence of several competent authorities;
Existence of many legislations;
Work in progress due to the publication of new Directives.
Regulation of NORM is associeted with fuel cycle activities:
a)
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Uranium mining exposes those involved to NORM in the Uranium orebody
(Decreto-Regulamentar 34/92).
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework (2)
Council Directive 96/29/Euratom
o
o
o
o
o
o
Decree-Law no. 165/2002 – Establishes the principles of radiation protection and
the system of the national competent authorities;
Decree-Law no. 167/2002 – Approves the legal regime for licensing and operation of
entities that provide services in the area of radiation protection, such as training and
dosimetry;
Decree-Law no. 174/2002 – Establishes the radiological emergency regime;
Decree-Law no. 140/2005 – Provides levels for exemption of authorization and
regulatory control;
Decree-Law no. 222/2008 – Sets up the dose limits for professionals,
pregnancies, air crew, public;
Decree-Law no. 227/2008 – Establishes 3 levels by which the professionals in
radiation protection are divided.
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Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework (3)
Council Directive 96/29/Euratom:
o
Decree-Law no. 165/2002 – Establishes the principles of radiation
protection and the system of the national competent authorities
o
o
o
Applies to all practices which involve a risk from ionizing radiation emanating from an
artificial source or from a natural radiation source in cases where natural
radionuclides are or have been processed in view of their radioactive, fissile or fertile
properties
All the practices shall be authorized
Decree-Law no. 222/2008 – Sets up the dose limits for professionals,
pregnancies, air crew, public
o
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When the presence of natural radiation sources leads to a significant increase in the exposure of
workers above 1 mSv, the practice shall be authorized and the workers shall be monitored (Article
15).
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework (4)
Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom:
o
Decree-Law no. 156/2013 – Establishes the legal regime to the safe management
of spent fuel and radioactive waste and is applied to NORM Waste, which is
classified as radioactive waste;
o
Decree no. 44/2015 (Portaria) – Defines the clearance and exemption levels for
radioactive waste (Transpose the Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom Annex VII)
NORM usually is detected by radiation Portals of waste facilities.
When that occurs the staff of the facility make an assessment with portable
equipment, in order to confirm which kind of nonconformity is occurring. If the
abnormal radioactivity is confirmed the container is separated from the others and
usually IST is contacted to make a complementary control, which is a technical
analysis. According to the technical assessment, IST make a report and make
recommendations. The recommendations can be the returning of the radioactive
material to the manufacturer or the classification of the NORM as a radioactive
waste.
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework regarding
NORM in 7th February 2018
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework in 2018
1.
As an European Member State the Portuguese regulatory framework
regarding NORM will be based on the Directive 2013/59/Euratom;
2.
General characteristics of the Portuguese legal regime:
a)
b)
c)
Existence of “few” competent authorities;
Existence of “few” legislations;
Work in progress due to the publication of new Directives.
3.
In particular NORM is specifically directed to the type of situation we
have in Portugal, e. g.: activities such as burning coal, making and using
fertiliesers, oil and gas production.
4.
New legislation for NORM.
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Instituto Superior Técnico
Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework in 2018 (2)
Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom
o Decree-Law no. XXX/2018:
o
o
o
o
SCOPE: Applies to human activities which involve the presence of natural radiation
sources that lead to a significant increase in the exposure of workers or members of
the public, in particular:
• the processing of materials with naturally-occurring radionuclides;
DEFINITIONS: "natural radiation source" means a source of ionising radiation of
natural, terrestrial or cosmic origin;
EXISTING EXPOSURE SITUATIONS: identifies exposure to natural radiation
sources and exposure to commodities excluding food, animal feeding stuffs and
drinking water incorporating
Identification of practices involving naturally-occurring radioactive material
(Article 23 of the Directive 2013/59/Euratom)
o The Portuguese legislator shall ensure the identification of classes or types of practice
involving naturally–occurring radioactive material and leading to exposure of workers or
members of the public which cannot be disregarded from a radiation protection point of view.
“Such identification shall be carried out by appropriate means taking into account industrial
sectors listed in Annex VI.”
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Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework in 2018 (3)
Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom – Annex VI
o
Decree-Law no. XXX/2018: ???
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Extraction of rare earths from monazite,
Production of thorium compounds and manufacture of thorium-containing products,
Processing of niobium/tantalum ore,
Oil and gas production,
Geothermal energy production,
TiO2 pigment production,
Thermal phosphorus production,
Zircon and zirconium industry,
Production of phosphate fertilisers,
Cement production, maintenance of clinker ovens,
Coal-fired power plants, maintenance of boilers,
Phosphoric acid production,
Primary iron production,
Tin/lead/copper smelting,
Ground water filtration facilities,
Mining of ores other than uranium ore.
Instituto Superior Técnico
Portuguese Regulatory Framework in 2018 (2)
Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom
o Decree-Law no. XXX/2018:
o
o
4/8/2015
Protection against natural radiation sources is fully integrated within the overall
requirements. In particular, industries processing materials containing naturallyoccurring radionuclides is managed within the same regulatory framework as other
practices (Considerandum 16 of the Directive 2013/59/Euratom);
Stablishes reference levels for indoor radon concentrations and for indoor gamma
radiation emitted from building materials, and introduces requirements on the
recycling of residues from industries processing naturally-occurring radioactive
materials into building materials (Considerandum 17 of the Directive
2013/59/Euratom).
Instituto Superior Técnico
Conclusions
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico
Thank you very much for your attention!
[email protected]
4/8/2015
Instituto Superior Técnico