IAEA Regional Workshop on Source Monitoring in Paks, Hungary / 3.04.2017

From 27.-31.3. 2017 Marko Štrok attended the IAEA Regional Workshop on Source Montioring in Paks, Hungary. The aim of the workshop was to exchange experience among participants in monitoring of gaseous and liquid discharges from nuclear facilities, hospitals and laboratories. Part of the workshop was also visit to Nuclear Power Plant Paks.

IAEA organised workshop on Source Monitoring in Paks, Hungary to discuss different approaches, monitoring techniques, legislative aspects and best practices among countries. Workshop was attended by 35 participants from 23 countries. Source monitoring of gaseous and liquid discharges by the nuclear facilities, such as nuclear power plants, nuclear waste reprocessing plants, uranium mining and milling facilities, radioactive waste repositories, hospitals and radiochemistry laboratories is essential in demonstrating compliance with authorised limits set by the regulating authorities in different countries. Those limits are imposed to protect public from the adverse effects of the ionizing radiation. The basis of the regulatory control over the discharges are defined in international documents provided mostly by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Euratom. These documents are generalized since they need to suit different facilities, technologies, site and country specific situations. Each country can consequently adopt the standards accordingly to meet their special needs and situations.

During the workshop several aspects for source monitoring during normal discharges, as well as during unplanned releases, were discussed such as: national system for the regulatory control of radioactive discharges, sources of radioactive discharges in the country, annual discharges of radionuclides to the atmosphere and the aquatic environment, monitoring programmes and equipment, sampling and radio-analytical techniques, arrangements for monitoring unplanned releases, quality control and accreditation, planned, existing and emergency exposure situations, radiation protection principles, notification and authorization, registration and licensing, responsibilities of regulator and operator, transboundary issues, discharges from small and NORM facilities, behaviour of radionuclides and exposure pathways, prospective assessment of exposures arising from discharges of radionuclide to the atmosphere, calibration and surveillance of the functionality of the monitoring devices.

Visit of the NPP Paks was also organised with emphasis on monitoring of discharges by the NPP Paks, which operates 4 Russian type VVER-440 units of total 2000 MW power.