IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment within an EIA

How to do it to fulfil the IAEA Safety Standards

by NS-NSRW-WES-AMER

Technical Meeting on the

Environmental Impact Assessment Process

for Nuclear Power Programmes - NE

IAEA

Outline

• IAEA Safety Standards to protect people and the

environment.

• Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment for Facilities and Activities (Safety Guide,

DS427):

Relation with EIA process;

Contents;

Highlights relevant for EIA.

• Conclusions

IAEA

IAEA Safety Standards to protect people and the

environment

• Safety Principles

• Safety Requirements

• Safety Guides

• Statutory mandate of the IAEA.

• Are not legally binding, unless

for activities in which the IAEA is

involved.

• Most are incorporated in

national regulations.

• A number of international

binding conventions are

consistent with the IAEA Safety

Standards.

Safety Guides

Safety Requirements

Safety Fundamentals

Technical Reports/Safety

Reports/TECDOCs

to support the implementation of

Safety Standards

IAEA

Safety Standards Categories

Principles and objectives

Requirements: What to do? Who is responsible? Criteria.

Good/best Practice to meet Requirements: How to do? Safety Guides

Safety Requirements

Safety Fundamentals

https://www.iaea.org/publications

IAEA

Key safety principles for radiation protection of

people and the environment

• People and the environment, present and

future, must be protected.

• Doses and radiation risks must be controlled

within specified limits. These apply to

situations involving exposure to, or the potential for exposure to, ionizing radiation.

• The aim of environmental protection is to

protect ecosystems and populations of a

species (as distinct from individual organisms).

• The resources devoted have to be

commensurate with the magnitude of the possible radiation risks and their amenability

to control.

IAEA

Key requirements for radiation protection of people and

the environment (in planned exposure situations)

• Set dose limits. Requires constraints on dose

and risk.

• Anyone applying for authorization shall have a

prospective radiological environmental impacts

assessment. • Exposure outside the State in which the source

is located shall be assessed and the exchange

of information arranged.

• The assumption that protecting humans

provides protection to other species

environment, is likely to be valid. • The interest on explicit assessment of impact to

flora and fauna is identified as an international

trend, leaving flexibility for the incorporation in

the decision process.

IAEA

Upcoming Safety Guides (advanced drafts)

Radiation Protection of

the Public and the

Environment

DS432

Prospective

Radiological

Environmental Impact

Assessment for

Facilities and Activities

DS427

Regulatory Control of

Radioactive

Discharges to the

Environment

DS442

IAEA

Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment (DS427)

Prospective

Radiological

Environmental Impact

Assessment for

Facilities and Activities

DS427

EIA process

Na

tion

al R

eg

ula

tion

Inte

rna

tion

al R

eg

ula

tion

IAEA

Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment (DS427)

• Guidance to apply in:

The (nuclear regulatory) authorization process.

The Governmental decision-making process.

EIA Process is necessary for certain activities and

facilities, including NPPs.

IAEA

Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment (DS427)

• Describes the factors needing consideration to define the

level of complexity/detail of the radiological assessment.

Factor Element

Characteristics of the facility or activity

Source term

Radionuclides

Quantity (both activity and mass/volume)

Form (chemical/physical make up)

Geometry (size, shape, height of release)

Potential for release: the source term differs significantly for normal

operation and for accidents Expected doses from normal operation or projected doses from potential exposures

Preliminary assessments or previous assessments for similar facilities

Safety characteristics of the activity or facility

Types of safety barriers and engineering features present in the design

Potential for severe accidents

Characteristics of the location

Characteristics of the facility site relating to dispersion of radionuclides in the

environment (for example, geology, hydrology, meteorology, morphology, biophysical characteristics)

Presence and characteristics of receptors (for example, demography, living

habits and conditions, flora and fauna)

Exposure pathways

Land use and other activities (for example agriculture, food processing, other

industries) Characteristics of other installations in the vicinity and possible natural and

human induced external events (for example, earthquakes, flooding, industrial accidents, transport accidents)

Characteristics of the authorization process for the particular activity or facility

Requirements or regulations (licensing requirements)

Stage of the authorization process

IAEA

Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment (DS427)

• Considers the radiological impacts to:

Member of the public due to (mandatory):

Discharges during normal operation (exposures expected to

occur).

Releases due to postulated accidents (potential exposures).

Flora & Fauna (optional):

Discharges during normal operation.

IAEA

Prospective Radiological Environmental Impact

Assessment (DS427)

• Describes the general features and way of selecting and using: Input data

Source term (normal and accidental); pathways; environmental data; representative habit data.

Models Atmospheric and aquatic dispersion; environmental transfer

parameters; dosimetry.

Results Effective dose; measure of risk (for humans).

Dose rates (for flora and fauna).

Criteria Dose limits and constraints; risk constraints; reference levels for

flora and fauna.

IAEA

ICRP Reference approach for protection of humans and

flora and fauna

Objects of protection Assessment reference

Exposure pathways

Estimation of radiation dose

Dosimetric models

+

Source/transfer

+

Limits,

Reference

levels, risk

on

individuals.

Reference

levels on

individuals

having impact

on the

structure of

populations.

Criteria

Populations, communities Reference animals and plants

Individuals Reference person

13

IAEA

IAEA reference area for assessment of environmental

impact

• Humans and flora and fauna assumed to share the same exposure scenario.

• Dose is estimated to the representative person and most highly exposed group

of reference plants and animals (using the averaged dose rates) in an area of

~100-400 km2 around the source, where the highest activity concentrations

generally occur.

14

Representatives of more highly

exposed individuals / more

highly exposed groups of animals and plants

IAEA

Potential exposures (for complex facilities)

• Accidental source terms (characteristics and probability) result from

complex safety analysis, taking into account initiating

events and the behaviour of the engineered safety features.

• End-points:

Dose to representative person for potential exposures, and/or

An estimation of risk (determined by the probability of the source term, the

effect of the environmental distribution patterns, the resulting dose and and the risk

per mSv coefficient)

• Criteria:

An ‘acceptable dose’, or

A ‘level of risk’, or

A dose triggering an ‘unacceptable protective action’ (countermeasure).

15

IAEA

Highlights

• The authorities for the authorization process and the EIA are generally different (much wider), but the radiological part of the EIA should fall under the competence of the same authorities or at least involve them (e.g. the regulatory body).

• If the EIA is done at the early stage of a development, much of the data and the models can be generic, from literature or from similar studies, using conservatism as necessary. Afterward, more site specific data and detailed models can be used as available.

• Exposures due to normal discharges and postulated accidents should be assessed and restricted (e.g. compared to a criteria).

• Assessment and restriction of flora and fauna exposures is yet optional for the authorization process but it’s likely to be necessary for an EIA; in any case, it must be simple, using a reference approach and, preferable, an assessment area.

IAEA

Highlights

• Mechanism should exist to exchange information on the results of radiological environmental impact assessment/EIA

with States concerned.

• Need of transparent reports and a non-technical language

summary for public and some interested parties.

• Need to protect information, related to some commercial,

safety or security aspects, but giving responsibility to the

regulator and other governmental agencies to deal and assess

this restricted information.

IAEA

Conclusions

• The IAEA does not produce Safety Standards on EIA (a broader scope than

IAEA’s mandate) but acknowledge that EIA is an extended and variable practice for governmental decision making process, which includes a ‘radiological chapter’.

• Radiological environmental impact assessment within the ‘EIA process’ versus the ‘authorization process’ could be different but must be consistent and the ruling authorities should be the same.

• The radiological chapter of the EIA should follow IAEA Safety Standards. The Safety Guide was done bearing in mind EIA process.

• There are methods and criteria applicable for the assessment and control of risk to human due to normal releases and potential accidental releases; both must be considered.

• There are methods and criteria applicable for the assessment of radiological impact to flora and fauna; probably this will be included in an EIA; it must be simple and practical, using a reference approach similar to that used for humans and preferable a reference area.