international atomic energy agency draft guidance on the long-term management of disused radioactive...

International Atomic Energy Agency

DRAFT GUIDANCE ON THE LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT OF DISUSED RADIOACTIVE

SOURCES - UNDER THE COC

Interregional Training Course on Technical Requirements to Fulfil National Obligations in Terms of International Legal Instruments

(Joint Convention, Code of Conduct and EU Directives) for the Safe Management of DSRS

Tunis, Tunisia16 - 20 February 2015


Contents

• Objective

• Scope

• Definitions

• Application

• National Policy

• Legislation and regulations

• Regulatory Body responsibilities

• Return of disused sources


Contents

• Reuse and recycling

• Management of disused sources that cannot be returned to supplier

• Disposal

• Management of orphan sources

• Transport, transit and trans-shipment

• International and inter-regional cooperation

• General


Objective

• Within the context of the overall lifetime management of radioactive sources, the objective of this Guidance is to assist States to improve the safety and security of disused radioactive sources in accordance with the provisions of the Code. The intent is to address the actions that should be taken, starting prior to acquisition of a source, to ensure that radioactive sources are safely and securely managed, in keeping with a graded approach, when they reach the end of their useful lives.


Scope

• This Guidance applies to all radioactive sources within the scope of the Code, as provided in paragraphs 2–4 of the Code, from the stage of initial production to final disposal, as provided in paragraph 5(b) of the Code


Definitions

• Terms used have same meanings as those in the Code and the supplementary Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources, plus:• “Metal recycling industries” means all those physical and

legal entities involved in the recycling of scrap metal, such as facilities carrying out collection, sorting and processing of scrap metal, including foundries, and metallurgical operations.

• “Radioactive waste” means a radioactive source for which no further use is foreseen by the State or by a natural or legal person whose decision is accepted by the State, and which is controlled as radioactive waste by a regulatory body under the legislative and regulatory framework of the State.

• “Scrap metal” means metal that is no longer in use and is available for recycling or is being recycled for reuse.


Definitions

• “Storage”, as defined in the Code, means the holding of radioactive sources in a facility that provides for their containment with the intention of retrieval. For the purposes of this Guidance, a distinction is made between storage of a disused source pending further action (reuse, recycle, return to supplier) and storage of a disused source designated as radioactive waste and pending final disposal. Storage of disused sources, even if planned for an extended period of time, is not meant to be a permanent solution.

• “Supplier” means the original manufacturer of a source, any other source manufacturer, or any other facility operator authorized to carry out the given activities.

• “Transboundary movement” means any movement from one State to or through another.


Application• States encouraged to make appropriate use of the IAEA

Safety Standards and Nuclear Security Series publications. Should also encourage regulatory bodies, other competent authorities, and relevant industries to co-operate in order to ensure that disused sources are managed in such a way that individuals, society and the environment are appropriately protected

• States should adopt a graded approach according to the possible radiation risks associated with disused sources

• While the scope of this Guidance is defined, States should also devote appropriate attention to management of other potentially harmful disused sources


National Policy

• Each State should establish a national policy and strategy for the management of disused sources. The policy and strategy should: • Include explicit provision for maintaining regulatory control of radioactive

sources when they become disused;• Provide that, prior to the acquisition of a radioactive source, the authorized

person has made adequate funding arrangements for the management of the source once it becomes disused;

• Provide that orphan sources, when identified, are managed as disused sources, insofar as possible;

• Have clear arrangements which determine when a disused source is considered as radioactive waste and must be managed accordingly but which do not unduly limit long-term management options, such as return to supplier, recycling or reuse;

• Consider all feasible management options for disused sources, namely return to supplier, recycling and/or reuse, storage, and disposal; and ensure the most appropriate management options are adopted and not limited to the return to supplier;


National Policy

• Ensure the timely availability of the necessary storage and disposal facilities, necessary funding, and associated organizational structure that are sustainable over the necessary timeframes.

• States should ensure that the national policy and strategy for the management of disused sources is coordinated with the national policy and strategy for the management of radioactive waste.

• The national policy should provide for exceptional circumstances, where management of a disused source in accordance with the above options is not possible. In these circumstances, each State is encouraged to seek return of the disused source to the State from which the original radioactive source was initially exported (the supplier State). The acceptance of such a source is at the sole discretion of the supplier State.

• Each State should ensure that responsible State organizations, particularly the regulatory body, promote an appropriate safety and security culture in their implementation of the national policy and strategy and establish appropriate programmes for the training of all those involved in the long-term management of disused sources.


Legislation and Regulations

• State should ensure that legislation and regulations make specific provision for the safe and secure management of disused sources. The legislation or regulations, as appropriate, should specifically:• Require authorized persons put in place funding arrangements

prior to procurement of a source that will ensure sufficient funds are available for all potential options for the safe and secure management of the source once it becomes disused including, when relevant, its management as radioactive waste until its final disposal; and

• Establish responsibilities of ownership and financial liability when a disused source is transferred from one authorized person to another for each stage of its subsequent management


Regulatory Body Responsibilities

• Each State should ensure that the regulatory body:• Develops specific regulations and/or guidance on the safe and secure

management of disused sources• Includes in the conditions of authorization for the acquisition and use

of a radioactive source requirements relating to:• Adequate financial arrangements to cover the costs of management once

the source becomes disused• A notification by the authorized person to the regulatory body once the

source becomes disused• The specific arrangements to be put in place for the safe and secure

management of the source once it becomes disused

• Where necessary, modifies the conditions of authorization for a radioactive source already in use to ensure its safe and secure management once it becomes disused, taking account of the financial difficulties that may be involved



• Determines, once a source becomes disused, whether the conditions of authorization should be amended to address any change in circumstances that may have occurred since the original authorization, including circumstances that may affect the vulnerability of the source;

• Determines criteria for designating a disused source as radioactive waste;

• Determines the stage at which responsibility for a disused source is to be transferred to a third party, such as a carrier, or storage or disposal facility;

• Agrees conditions under which a disused source may be stored by the user on his/her premises prior to shipment to the supplier, or to a storage or disposal facility. These conditions should specify the time limit for such interim storage;

• Agrees conditioning for disused sources prior to their storage ;



• Verify compliance with regulations and conditions of authorization through inspections once a source becomes disused and undertakes any necessary enforcement actions;

• Develop necessary competencies and capacity needed for it to be assured that disused sources are managed safely and securely, including their disposal. Such competencies should specifically include:• evaluating financial arrangements and guarantees for the management of

disused radioactive sources;• establishing regulations and conditions of authorization for the safe and secure

management of disused sources and radioactive waste• review and assessment of authorized persons’ demonstration of the safety and

security of storage and disposal facilities



• Maintains information on the status of all disused sources in the national register of radioactive sources

• Provides guidance on appropriate levels of information, instruction and training on the safe and secure management of disused sources and the facilities in which they are stored or are to be disposed, to those responsible for their management

• Liaise and coordinate with the metal recycling industries , and the customs and/or border authorities, in order to ensure effective cooperation in the event of the discovery of an orphan source, to ensure its subsequent safe and secure management


Regulatory Body Responsibilities• Where regulatory body possesses disused sources or

is allocated responsibilities in respect of their safe and secure management, State should ensure internal arrangements established to preserve the effective independence of regulatory functions consistent with the provisions of paragraph 19(a) of the Code

• Exporting States should ensure that the regulatory body includes in its export authorization procedures for Cat 1 and 2 radioactive sources, undertaken in accordance with the Import–Export Guidance, an assessment of whether the importing State has in place arrangements for the safe and secure management of disused sources before deciding to authorize an export of a radioactive source


Return of Disused Source to a Supplier

• Each State should establish return to supplier as the recommended option for management of disused sources. Regulatory body should require as a condition of authorization for acquisition of a radioactive source an agreement with the supplier for its return once it becomes disused. Such an agreement should include at least the following elements:• An undertaking by the supplier to accept the disused source for reuse,

recycling, long-term storage, or disposal, at the supplier’s discretion, within a specified time period once the owner notifies the supplier that the source has become disused;

• An undertaking by the supplier to arrange for transport and associated conditioning of the disused source in connection with its return, including the provision of a shipping container certified in accordance with transport regulations; and

• The initial estimation, periodic revision and allocation of the costs of return between the authorized person and the supplier.

• In the event that return to a supplier is not possible in a timely manner, storage of the disused sources should be made available in a dedicated facility.


Reuse or Recycling of Disused Sources

• Each State should ensure, when considering the possibility of domestic reuse or recycling of disused sources, that the appropriate facilities, expertise and technologies are available


Management of Disused Sources that cannot be returned to a supplier

Each State should: • Ensure that time limits are set by the regulatory body for the

interim storage of the disused source by the user on its premises • Provide for storage of disused sources• Ensure that the storage facility is operated by a government or

private organization and is subject to authorization by the regulatory body

• Ensure that the storage facility is subject to a safety and security assessment prior to authorization by the regulatory body and is located, designed, constructed, operated, and decommissioned in conformance with specific regulatory requirements for safety and security

• Ensure that disused sources to be stored in the storage facility are conditioned or encapsulated beforehand as required by the regulatory body


Management of Disused Sources that cannot be returned to a supplier

Each State should: • Ensure that disused sources are segregated and stored separately

from any radioactive waste that is not in the form of a radioactive source

• Ensure that the operator of the storage facility maintains control of the facility and undertakes regular verification of the status of the disused sources in storage

• Ensure that the regulatory body makes provision for periodic review and inspection of the storage facility, including verifying the presence and integrity of the disused sources

• Plan for the management of disused sources when they are declared as radioactive waste, including their transfer to a disposal facility designated by the State


Disposal of Disused Sources

• Each State should develop a disposal programme for disused sources which cannot be returned to the supplier and/or reused, recycled compatible with the broader radioactive waste management programme in the State

• Each State should ensure that any disposal facility for disused sources within its jurisdiction is suitable for the sources to be disposed and licensed

• The national source register should include information on sources which are planned for disposal and those which have already been disposed. The Regulatory Body should retain information on sources once disposed


Management of orphan sources

• Each State should encourage the timely reporting of the discovery of an orphan source to the regulatory body or other authority by:• allowing persons who discover an orphan source to legally possess

the source until such time as it can be recovered and placed under regulatory control, without penalty and without incurring any liabilities associated with the source;

• making financial provisions to cover the costs of management of orphan sources. Such provisions should address situations in which the original user/owner of the orphan source cannot be traced or cannot provide funding.

• States should ensure that any orphan source is promptly brought under regulatory control and managed safely and securely

• States should encourage those who are likely to encounter orphan sources during the course of their operations (such as metal recycling industries and customs posts) to implement appropriate monitoring to detect sources and ensure that they are aware of the actions to be taken


Transport, Transit and Trans-shipment

• States should ensure that the regulatory body has the necessary authority and resources to engage skills for certification of containers for the transport of sources when required

• States should ensure that arrangements are put in place by suppliers and authorized persons to ensure the availability of transport containers when needed for the return of source

• States should make provision for transport containers which have lost their certification and cannot be recertified in timely fashion, for example through special arrangements.

• States should ensure that shippers and carriers are competent • States should ensure that legal arrangements are in place to allow

for the transit of disused sources through their territories as part of other States arrangements to return such sources to suppliers.

• Each State should, in so far as possible, when a shipment of a disused source takes place for the purpose of returning it to a supplier, prevent the denial of shipment


International and regional cooperationStates should cooperate with other States and relevant international organizations to enhance the management of disused sources, including by:• Establishing bilateral and regional arrangements• Sharing information on imports and exports of sources• Agreeing to transit and trans-shipment of disused sources• Sharing information on lost, stolen or damaged sources• Sharing information and coordinating actions on detection of

radioactive material at borders and trans-boundary movement of radioactive material via inadvertent incorporation into scrap metal and products of metal recycling

• Sharing historical data on international source movements• Certifying shipping containers• Facilitating “special arrangements” for transport• Making use of regional regulatory networks to share information

and experience


GeneralThe IAEA should:• Maintain a list of States that have written to the Director General

that they are working towards following this Guidance• Assist States, upon request to implement this Guidance• Gather and disseminate lessons learned from instances involving

management of disused sources• Disseminate this Guidance • Guidance should be reviewed every five years• States should exchange relevant information • In the interests of international safety and security, the

cooperation of all States in following this Guidance would be welcome

international atomic energy agency draft guidance on the long-term management of disused radioactive...

Documents

export of radioactive

holding of radioactive

storage of disused sources

radioactive waste

code slide

scrap metal means metal

code of conduct

recycling of scrap metal