14^th European ALARA Network Workshop, Ireland 4-6 September 2012

"ALARA IN EXISTING EXPOSURE SITUATIONS"

  Download the first announcement

The concept of “existing exposure situations” was introduced by ICRP in Publication No. 103 (2007), and is included in the revised European Basic Safety Standards Directive. It is defined as exposure situations that already exist when a decision on control has to be taken, such as those caused by natural background radiation and radioactive residues from past practices or events.  Examples include radon in dwellings and buildings with public access, building materials and management of contaminated areas from past practices and post-accidents. Other situations such as exposure from cosmic rays and NORMs may also be included.

Optimisation is the key radiation protection principle for existing exposure situations, although it is not always clear how to apply this in practice.  Consequently, the aim of the 14^th EAN workshop is to focus on how the ALARA principle can be applied to the whole range of existing exposure situations.  The Workshop will consider the wider principles and strategies that might be adopted, as well as the specific methods for implementing ALARA in practice. 

This workshop will consist of presentations intended to highlight the main issues, and a significant part of the programme will be devoted to discussions within working groups.  From these discussions, participants will be expected to produce recommendations on ALARA in existing exposure situations addressed to relevant local, national and international stakeholders.

Working Group Topics

• ALARA challenges and practicalities at the national and regional levels

• Considerations in choosing reference levels

• Economical, technical factors and endpoints of optimisation

• Societal factors and stakeholders engagement

Participants should register via the workshop website: www.rpii.ie/ALARA2012.aspx

The 30^th issue of the EAN Newsletter has now been published and can be read in the Newsletter section. You can also download it as a PDF document  ALARA Newsletter 30

The Second  European Course on ‘ALARA from Theory to Practice in Nuclear Installation’ organised by CEPN in collaboration with KSU will be held from 16-21 september, 2012 in the KSU Barsebäck Training Centre, located on the site of the decommissioned Barsebäck Swedish nuclear power plant.

The objectives are to provide up-to-date knowledge on the ALARA principle and its practical implementation through dedicated lectures, practical exercises as well as syndicate exercises. 

The Course is intended for experienced professionals having responsibilities in radiological protection in nuclear installations, such as Radiation Protection Managers, RP Qualified Experts and Officers, HP Engineers and Technicians, RP Inspectors, Maintenance Managers, etc. 

Newcomers in the field of radiation protection are also very welcomed, as a core objective of this course is the transmission of knowledge and know-how in ALARA implementation to new generation.

For more information, download the first announcement of the course  Barseback 2012.

Between December 2010 and January 2012, EAN performed a survey about radiation protection of aircraft crew. The following questions were sent to the members of the network.

• What are the main requirements?
• What are the means and tools used to assess aircrew's exposure?
• Is there a specific dose criteria defined for aircraft crew?

3. Could you provide data on the number of aircrew exposed, maximum annual level of exposure, average annual level of exposure, etc.?

14 countries answered the request about radiation protection of aircraft crew: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. There is not a regulation concerning radiation protection requirements for aircraft crew in Norway.

Download the results of the survey:  Aircraft crew

Read more: Radiation protection of aircraft crew

ERPAN (European Radiation Protection Authorities Network) carried out a survey in April 2010 on how dose constraints, as defined in the EU Directive are applied in the non-nuclear energy sector across Europe. The following questions were sent to the participants to the network.

1. Does your country use dose constraints in the context of occupational exposures (non-nuclear sector)
2. If so what are they called?
3. Are occupational dose constraints mentioned in national legislation/regulations?
4. If so, please provide a reference to the relevant regulations?
5. Please provide (in English) the actual wording used in the regulations?
6. For what industries, processes, tasks, types of workers – all workers? the most exposed workers? specific categories of workers? etc. – are dose constraints used?
7. How are dose constraints used in practice?
8. Why are dose constraints introduced?
9. What are the benefits of introducing dose constraints?
10. Who sets dose constraint (utilities or authorities)?
11. How are dose constraints set e.g. for a set of sources or for individual sources?
12. Are dose constraints “misused”, for example implicitly or explicitly as secondary limits (to dose limits)?
13. Are dose constraints used as a regulatory instrument?
14. Who manages performance against dose constraints and other occupational radiation protection criteria?
15. In what context are dose constraints set: for sites (refers to design) or for tasks (refers to operation)?
16. How are dose constraints fixed, implemented, and controlled in each of these cases?
17. In practice, has enforcing (individual) dose constraints resulted in negative consequences (e.g. higher collective doses, increased costs, etc.)?
18. What approaches have proven successful in discussing dose constraints between regulatory authorities and licensees?
19. Have you any experience in balancing occupational radiation protection dose constraints with the management of other risks (e.g. industrial, chemical/biological safety issues)?

Answers from 11 countries were received: Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The detailed answers can be found in the Appendix 1 of the EGOE (Expert Group on Occupational Exposure of the CRPPH - Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health) report on dose constraints.  EGOE case study 2

A presentation was made of this survey in the ICRP symposium on the International System of Radiological Protection held at Bethesda on October 26th to 28th.  ICRP presentation on dose constraints

The 29^th issue of the EAN Newsletter has now been published and can be read in the Newsletter section. You can also download it as a PDF document  ALARA Newsletter 29.

The 13^th EAN Workshop took place at the Oscarborg Fortress in the Oslofjord (Norway) from 7^th to 10^th of June 2011. It dealt with "ALARA and the medical sector".

The PowerPoint presentations are downloadable in the Workshop section. NEW:  The PPT files reporting the discussions of the Working Group are also downloadable. They are the result of the Working Group discussions. They have not been modified by the Editorial Team.

The Conclusions of the Workshop are now available

The 3^rd International MELODI (Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative) Workshop was held from 2^nd to 4^th of November 2011 in Rome (Italy). The workshop in particular offered to the attendants the great opportunity to be informed about the latest updates on the low dose research issues, and to participate in the MELODI Low Dose Research Platform.

Presentations, given during the third workshop are now available at: http://melodi-online.eu/melodi_3ws.html

For 1.5 years, the EAN Steering Group has worked on a 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for the network. This document describes the expected work of EAN during this period taking into account the future challenges for ALARA in Europe.

For more information you can consult the webpage dedicated to the EAN Strategic Plan.
You can also download the EAN Strategic Plan as a pdf document.

HPA (the UK) and CEPN (France) have launched the RELIR-OTHEA mirror-website. RELIR/OTHEA is provided by a network of French and English radiation protection stakeholders, who have a joint interest in sharing feedback and experience from radiological incidents, in order to improve the protection of persons working with similar radiation sources. More generally, the aim is to encourage good practices (especially the implementation of the ALARA/ALARP principle) within different sectors - medical and veterinary, industrial, research and education sectors, etc.

The incidents reports are anonymous and have been selected on the basis of those which provide interesting and useful lessons, to help others prevent such incidents and/or mitigate the consequences.

OTHEA website (English)
RELIR website (French)