By radiation protection one does not understand the protection about humans and environment before the damaging effects of ionizing and ionizing radiation (from natural and artificial radiation sources).

The radiation protection is in particular importantly for the personnel of nuclear installations like for example nuclear power stations and within the field of the medicine (see radiology).

Principles

There may not be an application of jets without a use resulting from it. Each application of jets is as small as possible to select (minimization requirement). The consumer is to be protected against the additive of radioactive substances in products.

All radiation exposures must be kept as low as possible. (ALARA principle: (English) As Low As Reasonably Achievable)

Legal bases

EURATOM

This European contract regulates handling radioactive substances and is international basis for all national legal regulations (see also: EURATOM). On its basis the European commission compiles radiation protection-specific guidelines, which are binding after hearing by the European parliament and definition by the Council of Ministers for all member states and must into national right be converted. Into these guidelines above all the recommendations and realizations of international organizations (see below) go.

Germany

Atomic law (AtG)

The atomic law forms the national legal basis for handling radioactive substances in Germany (in particular nuclear fuels). On it the radiation protection regulation (StrlSchV) and the Roentgen regulation develop.

Purpose of the law ("§ 1 AtG) is,

• to terminate the use of the nuclear energy for the commercial production arranged by electricity and guarantee up to the time of the completion the arranged enterprise,
• Life to protect and to adjust by nuclear energy or ionizing rays caused damage health and special goods against the dangers of the nuclear energy and the harmful effect of ionizing rays,
• to prevent that by application or release of the nuclear energy the internal or outside security of the Federal Republic of Germany is endangered,
• to ensure the fulfilment of international obligations of the Federal Republic of Germany in the area of the nuclear energy and the radiation protection.

Radiation protection precaution law (StrVG)

(Place of discovery: BGBl. I 1986, 2610, last changed by kind 43 Vth v. 25.11.2003 I 2304) the StrVG serves the purpose of supervising for the protection of the population the radioactivity in the environment and of keeping the radiation exposure of humans and the radioactive contamination of the environment in case of radioactive accidents or incidents as small as possible ("§ 1 No. 1 and 2 StrVG). It partitions between tasks for the federation and the countries. On basis of kind 87 C GG practice the countries their tasks on behalf the federation out ("§ 10 StrVG - federal administration of orders in the sense of kind 85 GG). It was again seized after the disaster by Tschernobyl in April 1986 in the December of the same yearly.

Roentgen regulation

The Roentgen regulation adjusts the use of X-ray in Germany. It regulates the protection from damage by X-ray by radiation protection measures, in particular at the time of the execution of medically radiological diagnostics. Patients "X-ray" may only persons with technical instruction. This must be updated in Germany every 5 years.

Radiation protection regulation (StrlSchV)

The radiation protection regulation (StrlSchV) regulates the principles and requirements for taking precautions and preventive measures in Germany with the application and use of radioactive substances on the one hand as well as during radiation dose of civilization and natural origin on the other hand. Among them also the medical application of radioactive substances (nuclear medicine) falls as well as the radiotherapy. Current version: September 2005 (pdf file). In an instruction for radiation protection are coworkers in institutions to instruct in which with radiation are gone around, over contents and interpretation of the radiation protection regulation. The instruction is made i.d.R. by a so-called health physics officer (SSB). This must over a suitable technical instruction-oh-points orders and by a radiation protection responsible person to be ordered. The technical instruction must be updated every 5 years.

Austria

In Austria an amended radiation protection law (StSG) applies since 1 January 2004, with which and the old is your-genuinly converted is replaced from 1969.

The main parts of the law are:

• the general regulations
• the grant requirements and reporting regulations
• the protection regulations
  • concerning radioactive wastes
  • concerning natural radiation sources with work
• the interventions and the monitoring on contamination
• Penal provisions and regulations over seizure

Whereupon constructing applies still the radiation protection regulation of 1972, which must be still adapted in addition. In the future it will give two separate radiation protection regulations in Austria, a general radiation protection regulation as well as one for medical applications. The final version of the general radiation protection regulation is planned for summers 2006. Where decisions justify themselves on the regulation is however already fallen back, which do not stand in conformity with the new radiation protection law, to the draft of the new regulation.

No validity has the radiation protection regulation, where regulations over traffic in addr, RID or IATA to apply.

International organizations

In Europe the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) is the most important organization in view to the radiation protection. The guidelines issued on their basis are binding for all members of the European community and must be converted into national right. The Euratom guidelines decrease/go back particularly to the recommendations that internationally Commision OF Radiological Protection (ICRP). This organization recognized world-wide supports its realizations particularly by investigations of survivors of the atomic explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Besides there is a number of further organizations, whose influence on the national legislation is rather small however:

• UNSCEAR: United nation Scientific Committee on the Effects OF Atomic radiation (Vienna)
• ILO: International Labour Organization of the UN (Geneva)
• IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna)
• WHO: World Health Organization

Safeguard control

Handling radioactive substances and their monitoring falls depending upon allocation under atomiclegal regulations and international obligations. The safeguard control uses organizational and physical testing methods, which make a monitoring possible of the fissile material and which discover bad withdrawal.

From legal view regulates in Germany "§ 70 of the radiation protection regulation (StrlSchV) the report obligations over production, production, acquisition, delivery and the other whereabouts as well as the existence of radioactive substances including necessary record keeping.

While the production is to be communicated, production etc. within a monthly to the responsible authority, the report of the existence at radioactive substances at the end of each Kalenderjahres.In Germany takes place the safeguard control by (EURATOM) and IAEA (international Atomic Energy Agency) is accomplished:

• The monitoring by Euratom is regulated in the Euratom regulation 3227/76 and specified in the special control regulations in detail.
• The international atomic energy authority IAEO, the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Atomic Energy Community locked a verification agreement. In the present agreement and its supplementing agreements, which contain the system dependent appendices (Facility Attachments), the modalities are fixed for control by the IAEO.

Practical radiation protection

The dose received from a radiation source of given kind and intensity hangs off of

• of the duration of the irradiation,
• from the distance to the radiation source (except with very expanded radiation sources),
• of the shielding effect of the subject present between source and person.

Measures, in order to keep inevitable loads as small as possible while handling radiation sources, are therefore:

• Foresighted organization and planning of the job, in order to keep the irradiation duration short,
• as large a irradiation distance, for example by use of long grab pliers as possible,
• Use of suitable screens.

Ionizing radiation has the advantage compared with other job risks (airborne poisons or micro organisms) that it is easily measurable with small, everywhere applicable devices (more s.Dosimeter).

Articles in category "Radiation protection"

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