DS558 - Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency

Status: STEP 3

Revision von GSR Part 7

Beteiligte IAEO-Komitees: EPReSC, NUSSC, RASSC, TRANSSC, WASSC, NSGC

Safety Requirements

Zurück zur Übersicht "In Entwicklung befindliche Safety Standards"

Background Information

The objective of the proposed publication is to revise the existing, and establish new, EPR requirements for the protection of workers, emergency workers and helpers, the public, and the environment in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency, regardless of the triggering event.

As the proposed publication is a revision of an existing publication, it will update the requirements as necessary and add any new requirements, as appropriate, taking into account the new challenges identified and the experience gained over the last ten years, as well as the insights from the thorough review and feedback analysis.

In terms of added value expected, this revision will enhance the overall clarity of the content and “user-friendliness” by implementing the following proposals made by the EPReSC WGs:

• Significantly decrease the number of repetitions and cross-references in the document,
• Shorten requirements (schematically, a requirement should be one or two pages long),
• Implement a new structure for a simpler navigation through the content.

In terms of additional topics, the revision of GSR Part 7 will introduce concepts based on, or feedback from, past events (without naming these events), for instance:

• The prognosis of how an emergency might develop, which was introduced in the IAEA’s response mandate in the 2011 Nuclear Safety Action Plan,
• Disruptive health emergencies such as pandemics,
• Crises under national laws of exception (such as a martial law), which might modify or decrease the oversight on nuclear facilities by the national regulator and, consequently, modify roles and responsibilities in a nuclear or radiological emergency.

Additionally, the graded approach currently elaborated in GSR Part 7 needs to be refined to better fit and avoid any misunderstandings for the future deployment of small modular reactors and microreactors, generation IV nuclear power plants (NPPs), and fusion power plants to ensure an adequate level of EPR arrangements for these new or innovative reactor technologies, accounting for their respective levels of safety.

The publication will establish safety requirements that apply to all nuclear fuel cycle facilities and activities, as well as the use and transport of radioactive material and radioactive waste. It will cover the three major phases, i.e. the emergency preparedness phase, the emergency response phase, and the transition phase (to either a planned or existing exposure situation).

Regarding nuclear reactors, the associated requirements will apply to all industrial (e.g. electricity production, cogeneration, desalination) and research applications, and all deployment scenarios (ranging from remote areas far from off-site emergency response capabilities to urban areas with high density of populations).

Regarding activities involving the use or transport of radioactive material and radioactive waste, the current content in GSR Part 7 will be expanded, including to introduce an emergency classification system.

Requirements dealing with radioactive waste that is generated in an emergency and the management of non-radiological consequences will remain and be refined.

Lastly, it should be noted that it is not expected for this new publication to introduce new, or modify existing, suggested numerical values used for radiation protection in an emergency (reference levels and generic criteria). In that sense, consistency with numerical values provided in GSR Part 3 will be maintained.