IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

Regional Workshop on the Implementation of the

International Basic Safety Standards

(New) BSS requirements

in the area of

Radioactive Waste Management

Jagos Raicevic and Igor Gusev

Accra, Republic of Ghana

16 – 20 November 2015

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

Safety Standards Categories

Fundamental Safety Principles

Requirements – Legal, Technical

and Procedural Safety Imperatives

Guidance on Best Practice

to Meet Requirements

Safety Guides

Safety Requirements

Safety Fundamentals

2

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IAEA 5

Relevant Standards - Predisposal

Under Revision

DS 447

Under Revision

DS 448

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Relevant Standards - Disposal

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GSR Part 3 and Waste Management

- GSR Part 3 (the “new” BSS) is part of

the IAEA Safety Standard Series and

supersedes the International Basic

Safety Standards for Protection against

Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of

Radiation Sources (the BSS) issued in

1996.

- There are no stand alone parts in

GSR Part 3 dealing with waste

management issues. Instead, GSR

Part 3 identifies all possible exposures

within the different waste management

activities

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GSR Part 3 - structure

• Responsibilities of the government

• Responsibilities of the regulatory body

• Responsibilities for protection and safety

• Planned exposure situations

• Emergency exposure situations

• Existing exposure situations

• Exemption and clearance

• Categorization of sealed sources

• Dose limits and criteria for emergencies

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GSR Part 3: Responsibilities of the Government

Requirement 2:

Establishment of a legal and regulatory framework the government shall

establish and maintain a legal and regulatory framework for protection and

safety and shall establish an effectively independent regulatory body with

specified responsibilities and functions.

Para. 2.24. The government shall ensure that arrangements are in place

for the safe decommissioning of facilities, the safe management of

radioactive waste and the safe management of spent fuel.

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GSR Part 3: Responsibilities of the Regulatory Body

Requirement 3: The regulatory body shall establish or adopt regulations

and guides for protection and safety and shall establish a system to ensure

their implementation.

Para. 2.35: The regulatory body shall make provision for establishing,

maintaining and retrieving adequate records relating to facilities and

activities. These records shall include:

…

− Inventories of radioactive waste and of spent fuel.

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GSR Part 3: Responsibilities of registrants and

licensees in planned exposure situations

Requirement 9: Registrants and licensees shall be responsible for

protection and safety in planned exposure situations.

Para. 3.15. Registrants and licensees:

…

(j) Shall ensure safe management of and control over all radioactive

waste that is generated, and shall dispose of such waste in

accordance with the regulatory requirements.

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Planned Exposure Situations

Radioactive waste and discharges

Requirement 31: Relevant parties shall ensure that radioactive waste

and discharges of radioactive material to the environment are

managed in accordance with the authorization.

Para. 3.131. Registrants and licensees, in cooperation with suppliers, as

appropriate:

(a) Shall ensure that any radioactive waste generated is kept to the

minimum practicable in terms of both activity and volume;

(b) Shall ensure that radioactive waste is managed in accordance with

the requirements of these Standards and the requirements of

other applicable IAEA standards, and in accordance with the

relevant authorization;

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Planned Exposure Situations

Radioactive waste and discharges (cont.)

(c) Shall ensure that there is separate processing of radioactive waste

of different types, where warranted by differences in factors such as

radionuclide content, half-life, activity concentration, volume, and

physical and chemical properties, taking into account the available

options for waste storage and disposal, without precluding the mixing of

waste for purposes of protection and safety;

(d) Shall ensure that activities for the predisposal management of and for

the disposal of radioactive waste are conducted in accordance with

the requirements of applicable IAEA standards, and in accordance

with the authorization;

(e) Shall maintain an inventory of all radioactive waste that is generated,

stored, transferred or disposed of;

(f) Shall develop and implement a strategy for radioactive waste

management and shall include appropriate evidence that protection

and safety is optimized.

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Existing Exposure Situations

Responsibilities for remediation

Requirement 49: The government shall ensure that provision is made for

identifying those persons or organizations responsible for areas with

residual radioactive material, for establishing and implementing

remediation programmes and post-remediation control measures, if

appropriate, and for putting in place an appropriate strategy for

radioactive waste management.

Para. 5.11. The government shall ensure that a strategy for radioactive

waste management is put in place to deal with any waste arising from the

remedial actions and that provision for such a strategy is made in the

framework for protection and safety.

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Conclusions

• GSR Part 3 clarifies responsibilities between the government,

regulatory body and operating organization with respect to safety of

radioactive waste and spent fuel.

• GSR Part 3 encompasses exposure situations in different waste

management activities.

• There is no particular part or chapter of GSR Part 3 which deals

separately with waste management activities and facilities. Instead,

the safety requirements are spread and built in the new set of

requirements of GSR Part 3.

• The waste management activities are discussed in a number of

separate IAEA documents

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Thank you for your attention

I.Gusev@iaea.org