[en] The initial purpose of the IAEA's RADWASS Program was to establish a family of high-level safety standards, i. e. the Radwaste Safety Standards. The program was intended to establish an organized structure for waste management safety documents and to ensure that all relevant issues would be effectively addressed. At present RADWASS documents are classified by four thematic categories: releases, levels prior to final storage, final storage and environmental reclamation. (Author)

[en] The First Review Meeting of the Joint Convention was held from 3 to 14 November 2003 in Vienna. It was attended by representatives of 33 Contracting Parties (350 persons registered). The scope of applications includes: Waste and spent fuel from the operation of NPPs; Waste from use of radionuclides in medicine and industry; Spent sealed sources; Discharges from regulated nuclear facilities; Waste from mining and processing of uranium. The content of the Joint Convention and obligation of the Contracting Parties are reviewed in the report. The review process is also described. The effectiveness of review mechanism is discussed. Some technical issues are also discussed, such as: the wide variety of long term spent fuel and radioactive waste management policies; clearance; decommissioning; regulatory independence; discharges to the environment; Management of disused sealed sources etc. Some good practices have been identified and comments are given

[en] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the organization within the UN family with a statutory mandate to establish standards for the protection of health and property against ionizing radiation, and to provide for the application of those standards. As part of these functions, the IAEA periodically reviews the status and continued relevance of its standards to the needs of Member States. Recent work on the development of a framework for the protection of non-human species, and on practical guidance for setting discharge limits, has highlighted a number of issues that have a bearing on the further development and application of standards for the control of discharges of radionuclides to the environment. The status of IAEA work on the protection of non-human species and the main findings of the International Conference on Protection of the Environment from the Effects of Ionizing Radiation, held in Stockholm, Sweden in October 2003 are presented. As part of a parallel programme of work, in support of existing standards on the regulatory control of discharges, a review of relevant national experience has been undertaken. This suggests that societal pressures and regulatory practicalities have resulted in discharge controls that are often more restrictive that those that would be implied by formal optimization techniques. A number of factors taken into account in setting discharge limits are identified and the application of the optimization principle to discharge regulation is discussed. The possible form of future standards that address both these developments is explored. (Author) 28 refs

[en] In this paper the essential features of the current international safety standards are summarised and the issues being raised for inclusion in future standards are discussed. The safety standards of the IAEA are used as the basis for the review and discussion. The IAEA has established a process for establishing international standards of safety for radioactive waste management through its Radioactive Waste Safety Standards (RADWASS) programme. The RADWASS documents are approved by a comprehensive process involving regulatory and other experts from all concerned IAEA Member States. A system of committees for approving the IAEAs safety standards has been established. For radioactive waste safety the committee for review and approval is the Waste Safety Standards Advisory Committee (WASSAC). In 1995 the IAEA published 'The Principles of Radioactive Waste Management' as the top level document in the RADWASS programme. The report sets out the basis principles which most experts believe are fundamental to the safe management of radioactive wastes

[en] Man's environment contains naturally occurring radionuclides and doses from exposures to these radionuclides mostly cannot be avoided. Consequently, almost everything may be considered as very low level radioactive material. In practical terms, management and the selection of different routes for low level material is confined to material which was subject to industrial processing or which is under a system of radiological control. Natural radionuclides with concentrations reaching reporting or notification levels will be discussed below; nevertheless, the main body of this paper will be devoted to material, mainly of artificial origin, which is in the system involving notification, registration and licensing of practices and sources. It includes material managed in the nuclear sector and sources containing artificially produced radionuclides used in hospitals, and in industry. Radioactive materials emit ionising radiations which are harmful to man and his environment. National and international regulations provide the frame for the system of radiation protection. Nevertheless, concentrations, quantities or types of radionuclide may be such, that the material presents a very low hazard, and may therefore be removed from regulatory control, as it would be a waste of time and effort to continue supervision. These materials are said to be exempted from regulatory control. Material exempted in a particular country is no longer distinguishable from ''ordinary'' material and may be moved from country to country. Unfortunately, criteria for exempting radioactive materials differ strongly between countries and free trade. Therefore there is a necessity for an international approach to be developed for exemption levels

[en] The following issues are discussed arising in applying the basic safety standard concepts: terminology, naturally occurring radionuclides, the exemption and clearance levels, management of very low level wastes, transboundary movements, the waste convention

[en] In this paper, some of the safety standards that will be affected by the advent of a new environmental protection framework are examined and the implications for the control strategies contained in the Standards are explored. By this means it is possible to comment on the form that the protection framework might take so that it can be most effectively applied to real environmental control issues. (author)

[en] The International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources establish the conditions whereby radiation sources can be released from control. The essential principle behind this concept, termed clearance, is that the risks associated with the released source should be trivially small. The concept has been widely applied and practically applicable clearance levels have been derived for use in regulating the recycling and reuse of materials originating from the nuclear industry. Since materials released from controls may be traded between countries in the same way as any other material, it is necessary to have international agreements on acceptable levels of radioactivity in materials so as to provide a basis for regulating such movements. The International Atomic Energy Agency, in concert with other international bodies, has for many years been engaged in promoting discussions between its Member States in this subject area. International guidance has been produced and discussions are continuing towards reaching a full consensus on internationally accepted clearance levels. (author)

[en] This paper summarizes the contents, results and conclusions of a Symposium organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 'Restoration of Environments with Radioactive Residues', held in Arlington, Virginia, USA from 29 November to 3 December 1999. The present Conference may be seen as a follow-up to the Arlington Symposium but with the emphasis shifted from the experience of, predominantly, the USA to that of eastern Europe and the Russian Federation. (author)

[en] Short communication