Occupational Exposures at Nuclear Power Plants

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Occupational Exposures at Nuclear Power Plants Radiological Protection www.oecd-nea.org Occupational Exposures at Nuclear Power Plants Twentieth Annual Report of the ISOE Programme, 2010 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 Radiological Protection Occupational Exposures at Nuclear Power Plants Twentieth Annual Report of the ISOE Programme, 2010 © OECD 2010 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 34 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published on the responsibility of the OECD Secretary-General. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) was established on 1 February 1958. Current NEA membership consists of 30 OECD member countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission also takes part in the work of the Agency. The mission of the NEA is: – to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as well as – to provide authoritative assessments and to forge common understandings on key issues, as input to government decisions on nuclear energy policy and to broader OECD policy analyses in areas such as energy and sustainable development. Specific areas of competence of the NEA include the safety and regulation of nuclear activities, radioactive waste management, radiological protection, nuclear science, economic and technical analyses of the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear law and liability, and public information. The NEA Data Bank provides nuclear data and computer program services for participating countries. In these and related tasks, the NEA works in close collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, with which it has a Co-operation Agreement, as well as with other international organisations in the nuclear field. Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found online at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda. © OECD 2010 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of the OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d'exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) [email protected]. 3 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 FOREWORD Throughout the world, occupational exposures at nuclear power plants have steadily decreased since the early 1990s. Regulatory pressures, technological advances, improved plant designs and operational procedures, ALARA culture and experience exchange have contributed to this downward trend. However, with the continued ageing and possible life extensions of nuclear power plants worldwide, ongoing economic pressures, regulatory, social and political evolutions, and the potential of new nuclear build, the task of ensuring that occupational exposures are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), taking into account operational costs and social factors, continues to present challenges to radiation protection professionals. Since 1992, the Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE), jointly sponsored by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has provided a forum for radiological protection professionals from nuclear power utilities and national regulatory authorities worldwide to discuss, promote and co-ordinate international co-operative undertakings for the radiological protection of workers at nuclear power plants. The objective of ISOE is to improve the management of occupational exposures at nuclear power plants by exchanging broad and regularly updated information, data and experience on methods to optimise occupational radiation protection. As a technical exchange initiative, the ISOE Programme includes a global occupational exposure data collection and analysis programme, culminating in the world’s largest occupational exposure database for nuclear power plants, and an information network for sharing dose reduction information and experience. Since its launch, the ISOE participants have used this system of databases and communications networks to exchange occupational exposure data and information for dose trend analyses, technique comparisons, and cost-benefit and other analyses promoting the application of the ALARA principle in local radiological protection programmes. The Twentieth Annual Report of the ISOE Programme (2010) presents the status of the ISOE programme for the year of 2010. 4 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 “... the exchange and analysis of information and data on ALARA experience, dose-reduction techniques, and individual and collective radiation doses to the personnel of nuclear installations and to the employees of contractors are essential to implement effective dose management programmes and to apply the ALARA principle.” (ISOE Terms and Conditions, 2008-2011). 2010 ISOE International Symposium (at Cambridge, UK) 5 NEA/CRPPH/ISOE(2010)5 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................ 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 22 SYNTHÈSE DU RAPPORT ......................................................................................................................... 24 1. STATUS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEM ON OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE (ISOE) ...................................................................................................................................... 26 2. OCCUPATIONAL DOSE STUDIES, TRENDS AND FEEDBACK ...................................................... 29 2.1 Occupational exposure trends: Operating reactors .......................................................................... 29 European Region ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Asian Region .............................................................................................................................................. 35 2.2 Occupational exposure trends: Definitely shutdown reactors ......................................................... 39 3. ISOE EXPERIENCE EXCHANGE ACTIVITIES ................................................................................... 43 3.1 ISOE ALARA Symposia ................................................................................................................ 43 3.2 The ISOE Network (www.isoe-network.net) .................................................................................. 44 3.3 ISOE benchmarking visits .............................................................................................................. 45 4. ISOE PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES DURING 2010 ................................................. 47 4.1 Management of the official ISOE databases ................................................................................... 47 4.2 Management of the ISOE Network ................................................................................................
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