IAEA Safety Standards Safety through international standards for protecting people and the environment The fundamental safety objective is to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Safety IAEA Standards Series No. SSG-8 Radiation Safety This fundamental safety objective of protecting people — individually and collectively — and the environment has to be achieved without unduly limiting the operation of facilities or the conduct of activities that of Gamma, Electron give rise to radiation risks. — Fundamental Safety Principles: Safety Fundamentals, and X Ray Irradiation IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1 (2006) Facilities Specific Safety Guide No. SSG-8 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA ISBN 978–92 –0–103710–7 ISSN 1020–525X 10-09131_P1454_cover.indd 1 2010-07-26 13:35:49 RELATED PUBLICATIONS IAEA SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS FUNDAMENTAL SAFETY PRINCIPLES IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1 IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS STI/PUB/1273 (37 pp.; 2006) ISBN 92–0–110706–4 Price: €25.00 Under the terms of Article III of its Statute, the IAEA is authorized to establish INTERNATIONAL BASIC SAFETY STANDARDS or adopt standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life FOR PROTECTION AGAINST IONIZING RADIATION and property, and to provide for the application of these standards. The publications by means of which the IAEA establishes standards are issued in AND FOR THE SAFETY OF RADIATION SOURCES the IAEA Safety Standards Series. This series covers nuclear safety, radiation safety, Safety Series No. 115 STI/PUB/996 (322 pp.; 1996) transport safety and waste safety. The publication categories in the series are Safety ISBN 92-0-104295-7 Price: €78.50 Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. Information on the IAEA’s safety standards programme is available at the IAEA SAFETY OF RADIATION GENERATORS AND Internet site SEALED RADIOACTIVE SOURCES http://www-ns.iaea.org/standards/ IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.10 The site provides the texts in English of published and draft safety standards. The STI/PUB/1258 (71 pp.; 2006) texts of safety standards issued in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, the ISBN 92–0–107506–5 Price: €25.00 IAEA Safety Glossary and a status report for safety standards under development are CATEGORIZATION OF RADIOACTIVE SOURCES also available. For further information, please contact the IAEA at PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.9 STI/PUB/1227 (70 pp.; 2005) All users of IAEA safety standards are invited to inform the IAEA of experience ISBN 92–0–103905–0 Price: €18.00 in their use (e.g. as a basis for national regulations, for safety reviews and for training courses) for the purpose of ensuring that they continue to meet users’ needs. MANAGEMENT OF WASTE FROM THE USE OF Information may be provided via the IAEA Internet site or by post, as above, or by RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IN MEDICINE, INDUSTRY, email to [email protected]. AGRICULTURE, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IAEA Safety Standards Series No. WS-G-2.7 STI/PUB/1217 (88 pp.; 2005) OTHER SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS ISBN 92–0–113704–4 Price: €20.00 The IAEA provides for the application of the standards and, under the terms of REGULATORY CONTROL OF RADIATION SOURCES Articles III and VIII.C of its Statute, makes available and fosters the exchange of IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GS-G-1.5 information relating to peaceful nuclear activities and serves as an intermediary among STI/PUB/1192 (83 pp.; 2004) its Member States for this purpose. ISBN 92–0–105004–6 Price: €25.00 Reports on safety and protection in nuclear activities are issued as Safety Reports, which provide practical examples and detailed methods that can be used in BUILDING COMPETENCE IN RADIATION PROTECTION support of the safety standards. AND THE SAFE USE OF RADIATION SOURCES Other safety related IAEA publications are issued as Radiological Assessment IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.4 Reports, the International Nuclear Safety Group’s INSAG Reports, Technical Reports STI/PUB/1108 (44 pp.; 2001) and TECDOCs. The IAEA also issues reports on radiological accidents, training ISBN 92–0–100701–9 Price: €13.00 manuals and practical manuals, and other special safety related publications. Security OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION related publications are issued in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.1 STI/PUB/1081 (83 pp.; 1999) ISBN 92–0–102299–9 Price: €14.50 www.iaea.org/books 10-09131_P1454_cover.indd 2 2010-07-26 13:35:50 RADIATION SAFETY OF GAMMA, ELECTRON AND X RAY IRRADIATION FACILITIES Safety standards survey The IAEA welcomes your response. Please see: http://www-ns.iaea.org/standards/feedback.htm The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA NORWAY ALBANIA GREECE OMAN ALGERIA GUATEMALA PAKISTAN ANGOLA HAITI PALAU ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PANAMA ARMENIA HONDURAS PARAGUAY AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PERU AUSTRIA ICELAND PHILIPPINES AZERBAIJAN INDIA POLAND BAHRAIN INDONESIA PORTUGAL BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF QATAR BELARUS IRAQ REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BELGIUM IRELAND ROMANIA BELIZE ISRAEL RUSSIAN FEDERATION BENIN ITALY BOLIVIA JAMAICA SAUDI ARABIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAPAN SENEGAL BOTSWANA JORDAN SERBIA BRAZIL KAZAKHSTAN SEYCHELLES BULGARIA KENYA SIERRA LEONE BURKINA FASO KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE BURUNDI KUWAIT SLOVAKIA CAMBODIA KYRGYZSTAN SLOVENIA CAMEROON LATVIA SOUTH AFRICA CANADA LEBANON SPAIN CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SRI LANKA REPUBLIC LIBERIA SUDAN CHAD LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TUNISIA CUBA MALTA TURKEY CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA UKRAINE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OF THE CONGO MEXICO DENMARK MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MONTENEGRO NORTHERN IRELAND EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR MOZAMBIQUE OF TANZANIA ERITREA MYANMAR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ESTONIA NAMIBIA URUGUAY ETHIOPIA NEPAL UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA FRANCE NEW ZEALAND VIETNAM GABON NICARAGUA YEMEN GEORGIA NIGER ZAMBIA GERMANY NIGERIA ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS SERIES No. SSG-8 RADIATION SAFETY OF GAMMA, ELECTRON AND X RAY IRRADIATION FACILITIES SPECIFIC SAFETY GUIDE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2010 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books © IAEA, 2010 Printed by the IAEA in Austria July 2010 STI/PUB/1454 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Radiation safety of gamma, electron and x ray irradiation facilities : specific safety guide. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2010. p. ; 24 cm. — (IAEA safety standards series, ISSN 1020–525X ; no. SSG-8) STI/PUB/1454 ISBN 978– 92–0–103710–7 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Irradiation plants. 2. Irradiation devices. 3. Gamma ray sources. 4. Work environment — Safety measures. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series. IAEAL 10–00641 FOREWORD The IAEA’s Statute authorizes the Agency to establish safety standards to protect health and minimize danger to life and property — standards which the IAEA must use in its own operations, and which a State can apply by means of its regulatory provisions for nuclear and radiation safety. A comprehensive body of safety standards under regular review, together with the IAEA’s assistance in their application, has become a key element in a global safety regime. In the mid-1990s, a major overhaul of the IAEA’s safety standards programme was initiated, with a revised oversight committee structure and a systematic approach to updating the entire corpus of standards. The new standards that have resulted are of a high calibre and reflect best practices in Member States. With the assistance of the Commission on Safety Standards, the IAEA is working to promote the global acceptance and use of its safety standards. 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,