Fifty years Radioactive
Substances Legislation –
Time for Modernisation
Steve Chandler (DECC)
October 2009
BEGINNINGS - 1
• Radioactive Substances Act 1948
• Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954
• Nuclear Installations (Licensing and Insurance Act) 1959
BEGINNINGS - 2
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Government policy paper published in 1959: “The Control of Radioactive
Wastes” (Cmnd. 884)
Recommended new legislation to control radioactive wastes from all
sources – led to Radioactive Substances Act 1960
Recommended exemption for minor uses and discharges – led to the 18
Exemption Orders
Recommended control by a central authority
Recommended removal of radioactive content of wastes from the scope
of any other powers
Recommended a National Disposal Service
Current legislative framework
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Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA93), superseding RSA 60,
incorporates radioactive waste provisions within legislation
Radioactive material:
– substances where activity of U, Th (and decay products) > certain
levels (Schedule 1) , or
– substances that contain any radioactivity not produced by natural
process
Radioactive waste:
– waste which was radioactive material, or
– waste which has been contaminated by radioactive material/waste.
Keeping & use of radioactive material is registered
Accumulation & disposal of radioactive waste is authorised
Additional exemption orders (EOs) exempt (sometimes conditionally)
relatively low risk activities/practices as well as de-regulating certain
industries
Issues
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EOs contain range of levels & conditions for exemption related to the
needs of industry sectors than to any consistent radiological standard
Piece-meal approach to exemption
Certain conditions (e.g. record keeping, notifying the regulator, etc.) not
consistent between EOs
Language & units in need of modernisation to make them easier to
understand
Compliance with EU legislation not simple to demonstrate
And now…
• Two mechanisms for legislative change
– Review of exclusions and exemptions from RSA93
– Incorporation of RSA 93 in the Environmental Permitting
Regulations (England and Wales only)
Programme for change to framework
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Through stakeholder engagement
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Programme Board
Workshops
Expert/working groups
Formal/informal consultation
Phase I – initial stakeholder views gathering
Phase II – development of architecture
Phase III – detailed proposal development
formal public
consultation closed; reviewing responses and any other considerations
/knowledge gained over last few months.
Proposal for Exemption Order Review
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Key features of the proposed framework will be:
– Scope of Act & exemption provisions are taken as one package
– Simplification of extant EOs
– Common definitions & conditions for all exemptions provisions, so
far as possible
– Compatibility with Euratom BSS & possible future changes
– Use of numerical values based on internationally-accepted
standards, derived from BSS and other Euratom documents
– Relegation of as much detail as possible to supporting guidance
Implementation of EO Review
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RSA93 amended and 18 EOs revoked and replaced by one
Migration for England and Wales into the Environmental Permitting
Regime, with RSA93 revoked.
Consistency across UK:
– Scope
– Basic definitions
– Crown Exemptions
– Flexible determination time for nuclear permits
– Powers to dispose of radioactive waste and orphan sources
– Duty to display permits
Environmental Permitting Regime
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Common EPR framework changes – largely procedural:
– Applications
– Permits (types, conditions and effective dates)
– Transfers
– Appeals
– Directions
– Commercial Confidentiality and National Security
– Compliance
– Offences/Enforcement
– Public Registers
– Public Participation / Consultation
Environmental Permitting Regime cont’d
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RSR-specific changes:
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Staged regulation of solid radioactive waste disposal facilities
Duty to display permits to be subject to national security
Guidance
Public consultation
• All RSR applications consulted on
• Variations where there is substantial change
• Minimum consultation will be website
– Simplified arrangements for inter-site waste transfers
• No requirement for route-specific transfer permit
• Consignor permit allows waste transfer to anyone who holds
appropriate permit
• No variation needed for new disposal route
• EA will not inform LAs as no permit, disposer will inform LA of
origin of all waste they receive.
Key issues for EO Review – from first
consultation
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How to define ‘natural activity’
Definition of ‘radioactive materials’ and ‘radioactive waste’
Exclusion of primordial radionuclides e.g.K-40 and Sm-147
Clearance/exemption levels for aqueous liquids
Incorporation of VLLW
Provisions for NORM wastes
Sealed source definitions
‘Unlimited’ holdings (e.g smoke detectors, testing equipment)
Laboratory disposals
Potential developments to address
issues
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Retain principle of ‘exclusion’ rather than inclusion of radioactive
materials and waste
Aqueous liquids – use of calculated GDLs (10microSv) developed by
HPA
Substances/articles possessing radioactivity attributable to
contamination by radioactive material/waste to be outside scope
Substances contaminated by radioactive waste from permitted disposals
to be outside scope
Graded approach for conditionally exempt waste disposal
– Exemption for articles, etc
– LV VLLW up to 50 m3/yr
– Generic assessment for NORM wastes up to 4MBq/Te
– Site-specific assessment for NORM LLW up to 10MBq/Te
Current proposal
Outside the scope of the Act
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Substances containing certain
radionuclides arising from
processes occurring in nature
(not from NORM work activities)
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Substances/articles
contaminated by radioactive
material or waste
RP122 values (Parts 1 and 2)
for solid material (including
natural decay chains that need
regulating at certain levels but
no primordials)
Descriptive
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Numerical
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HPA GDLs for aqueous liquids?
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Very short half-lives for gases
Conditional exemption
from registration
Not applicable.
Conditional exemption from
authorisation
Not applicable
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BSSD Annex 1 values
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Activity values from
existing exemptions
regime for specific
types of equipment for
which higher activity
values are appropriate
(e.g. sealed sources)
Activity values from Low Level
Radioactive Waste Policy
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Generic exemption for NORM
waste (≤4MBq/Te)
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Site-specific assessment for
NORM LLW (≤10MBq/Te)
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Activity values from existing
exemptions regime to cover
specific material waste
disposals
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HPA GDLs for aqueous liquids?
Current timetable
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Consultation began – 12th June
Consultation ended – 4th September
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Consultation Summary Report – 4th December
Government guidance published – January 2010
Regulations laid – January 2010
Regulations come into force – April 2010
Any questions/comments to EO-Review@decc.gsi.gov.uk
THANK YOU