FACT SHEET
Nuclear Safety
Who is responsible for nuclear safety?
Nuclear safety is the responsibility of every nation that utilizes nuclear technology.
National governments are responsible for regulations that govern how safety at
nuclear facilities is maintained, as well as to reduce radiation risks, including
emergency response and recovery actions, to monitor releases of radioactive
substances to the environment and to regulate the safe decommissioning of facilities
and disposal of radioactive waste.
Nuclear facility operators are ultimately responsible for the safety of their facility.
The IAEA, through the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, works to provide
a strong, sustainable and visible global nuclear safety and security framework for the
protection of people, society and the environment. This framework provides for the
harmonized development and application of safety and security standards,
guidelines and requirements; but it does not have the mandate to enforce the
application of safety standards within a country.
How does the international community ensure nuclear safety?
After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, international cooperation in nuclear
safety was significantly intensified: four international safety conventions, two Codes
of Conduct, fundamental safety principles and a body of globally recognized IAEA
Safety Standards were developed and adopted. The IAEA's Safety Standards reflect
an international consensus on what constitutes a high level of safety for protecting
people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.
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FACT SHEET
What are the IAEA Safety Standards?
The IAEA takes seriously the enduring challenge for users and regulators
everywhere: that of ensuring a high level of safety in the peaceful uses of nuclear
materials and radiation sources around the world. The IAEA's Statute authorizes the
IAEA to establish or adopt safety standards and to provide for their application to
protect health and minimize the danger to life and property from the harmful effects
of ionizing radiation.
The IAEA safety standards establish fundamental safety principles, requirements
and measures to control the radiation exposure of people and the release of
radioactive material to the environment, to restrict the likelihood of events that might
lead to a loss of control over a nuclear reactor core or a radioactive source and to
mitigate the consequences of such events if they were to occur. The standards apply
to facilities, transport and waste that may harbor risks arising from ionizing radiation.
The standards are derived from three interlinked sets of documents: safety
fundamentals that present the fundamental safety objectives and principles of
protection and safety, and provide the basis for the safety requirements; safety
requirements that ensure the protection of people and the environment now and for
coming generations; and safety guides that provide international best practice in
applying the safety requirements.
The preparation and review of the safety standards involves the IAEA Secretariat
and four safety standards committees for nuclear safety (NUSSC), radiation safety
(RASSC), the safety of radioactive waste (WASSC) and the safe transport of
radioactive material (TRANSSC) and a Commission on Safety Standards (CSS)
which oversees the IAEA safety standards programme.
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FACT SHEET
How does the IAEA help countries use nuclear power safely?
To enhance nuclear power safety, for example, the IAEA advises countries on how
to put the appropriate legal and regulatory framework in place and how to ensure the
highest standards of safety and security. IAEA experts provide know-how in energy
and economic planning, project management, procuring vendors, construction,
commissioning, start-up and operation of nuclear reactors, and their eventual decommissioning. Experts also provide guidance in safely sustaining the "fuel cycle"
from uranium mining, to fuel fabrication and remediation. The IAEA's peer review
and advisory services are designed to enable Member States to introduce and utilize
nuclear technologies in health care, industry and power production sustainably,
profitably, safely and securely.
Safety standards are only effective, however, if they are properly applied in practice.
The IAEA's safety services - which range in scope from engineering safety,
operational safety, and radiation, transport and waste safety to regulatory matters
and safety culture in organizations - assist Member States upon their request in
applying the standards and appraising their effectiveness. These services are
provided by a team of independent, international, "peer" experts that review
regulatory systems, reactor safety, site and seismic safety, operational safety,
emergency preparedness, accident management and nuclear power safety and
security.
Since nuclear and radiation safety are a national responsibility, IAEA Member States
are encouraged to adopt the IAEA's safety standards for use in their national
regulations. The standards are also applied by designers, manufacturers and
operators around the world to enhance nuclear and radiation safety in power
generation, medicine, industry, agriculture, and research.
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FACT SHEET
What is nuclear security?
Nuclear safety today is complemented by security guidelines, working to protect
nuclear facilities from malicious acts. The IAEA helps Member States assess their
security needs, reduce risks and bolster security wherever nuclear or other
radioactive material is used, stored or transported. The IAEA has an extensive
nuclear security programme which extends from physical protection at facilities to
radiation detection and response.
An important tool in this effort is the Illicit Trafficking Database, to which States and
international organizations contribute information. This data allows the IAEA to
detect emerging patterns, trace smuggling routes and methods, and assist States in
minimizing associated risks.
Additionally, IAEA International Nuclear Security Advisory Services identify Member
State national nuclear security requirements and the measures needed to meet
them. Working jointly through its International Physical Protection Advisory Services,
the IAEA evaluates States' physical protection arrangements. The regulatory experts
undertaking Integrated Regulatory Reviews help States improve their national
regulatory bodies' effectiveness and support these authorities as they implement
regulations.
Is there an "acceptable" risk when dealing with radioactivity?
No matter where we live, we are all exposed to several different sources of radiation.
Natural sources of radiation include cosmic radiation and radionuclides that
originated in the earth's crust and are present everywhere in the environment,
including the human body itself.
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FACT SHEET
According to the 2008 United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic
Radiation Report on the Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, "for most
individuals, exposure to natural background radiation is the most significant part of
their total exposure to radiation." The amount of radiation absorbed by the body, or
simply the radiation dose, is measured in units called microSieverts, milliSieverts,
and Sieverts. According to the World Health Organization, on average, a person is
exposed to approximately 3 000 microSieverts annually.
One thousand microSieverts equal one milliSievert, and one million microSieverts
equal one Sievert. If we "convert" microSieverts into Euro cents, for instance, an
average person's annual radiation dose amounts to 3 000 Euro cents, of which 2 400
Euro cents' "worth" of the annual dose is caused by background radiation. Medical
exposure to radiation accounts for another 600 Euro cents' "worth" of exposure.
Human-made radiation accounts for about 1 cent out of the total annual dose
amounting to 3 000 "Euro cents".
International standards have been developed to limit the potential risks from
exposure to radiation. In this context, "acceptable" means that the levels of risk are
similar to the other risks we accept every day when mining coal or using various
methods of transportation.
Source: www.iaea.org
For more information contact;
National Nuclear Regulator
Communications & Stakeholder Relations Office
Tel: (+27) 12 674 7100/09
Fax: 0865884450
Email: enquiry@nnr.co.za
Website: www.nnr.co.za
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