NEWSLETTER

Radiation Safety andRadioactive Waste Management
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January 2009

No.1
Nuclear Safety
Research Association

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The outline of the project
The thirteen years activities of the FNCA RWM project, in which
participating countries have been exchanged and shared various
precious information and experiences on radioactive waste
management, have lead to encouragement of information exchange andto promotion of comprehension at the technical viewpoint among FNCA
countries.

It is obvious that the field of radioactive waste management isimportant for maintaining and improving nuclear safety and radiation
Professor T. KOSAKO
application in Asian region. On the other hand, as several Asian
RS&RWM
countries have practical plans to introduce the nuclear program in the
Project Leader of Japannear future, we believe that the activity of radiation safety, which isprerequisite for good managing and operating nuclear facilities, will make our international
cooperation more effective.
Taking above things into our consideration, the project of Radioactive Waste Management had
better include or expand on the theme of Radiation Safety as closely related theme to radioactive
waste management, and accordingly the project name will be reformed as the Radiation Safety& Waste Management (RS&RWM) project. The regenerated project is expected to deal with thefield of radiation safety, but still continue the activities of the field of radioactive waste
management as before.
As regarding the radiation safety, in general principle, each country should understandproperly the contents and concepts of the ICRP’s recommendations, the relevant IAEA’s safety
standards and other basic information concerned. It is recognized, however, that they cannot beapplied directly and uniformly as the laws, regulations, standards or criteria of radiation safety
in some cases and each country should have enough practical knowledge and insights to utilize
them at the phase of application.
Embracing this recognition, the RS&RWM project will include the occupational radiation
safety of research reactor and power reactor and public safety, use of radioisotope in research
and medical facilities and radiation safety in view of environmental aspects concerning
radioactive waste disposal and the other important theme of radiation safety and protection, forachieving the goal of the new project.
The RS&RWM project will consists of workshop which will be held once per year for
information exchange among all participating countries, and task works which will be
performed by voluntary countries on special topics.
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R
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PrroojjeeccttLLeeaaddeerrss

Mr Lubi Dimitrovski
Manager, Waste Operations,
Australian Nuclear Science& Technology Organisation(ANSTO)

Dr. Toshiso Kosako
Professor
Nuclear Professional School
Graduate School ofEngineering
The University of Tokyo

Dr. Mohd Abdul Wahab Yusof
Senior Research Officer
Waste Technology &Environment Division
Nuclear Malaysia

Dr. M. Moinul Islam
Principal Scientific Officer,
Institute of Nuclear Science &Technology, Atomic Energy
Research Establishment,
Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission

Mr. Sutat Thiangtrongjit
Director,
Radioactive Waste Management
Center, Thailand Institute of
Nuclear Technology (TINT)

Dr. Le Ba Thuan
Director,
Institute for Technology ofRadioactive and rare Elements
Vietnam Atomic Energy
Commission (VAEC)

Dr. Djarot S. Wisnubroto
Director of Radioactive Waste
Technology Center, BATANIn accordance with the establishment ofRadiation Safety and Radioactive Waste
Management project in 2008, project leaders
are newly nominated.
Mr. Zhang Jintao
Deputy Director General
Department of Safety,
Protection and Quality China
National Nuclear Corporation

Ms. Maria Visitacion B. Palattao
Senior Science Research Specialist
Nuclear Regulations, Licensing
and Safeguards Division
Philippine Nuclear ResearchInstitute (PNRI)

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Expected Activities of RS&RWM
Workshops and task works will be performed with following objectives and expectations.
(1) To disseminate basic information on Radiation Safety and Radioactive Waste Management- ICRP Recommendations and IAEA Safety Standards including Basic Safety Standards- Basic knowledge on radiation source and exposure control- The ideas such as critical group and critical passes, individuals on radiation protection, dose
constraints, optimization of protection, potential exposure, environmental protection, and so on.
(2) To enhance information exchange among participating countries on the theme of radiation2

safety and radioactive waste management(3) To facilitate good communication and cooperation among participating countries(4) And the other fruitful results through communication among participating countries
RS&RWM Newsletters will be published twice in a year by Japanese FNCA office and hostcountry of the workshop.
RS&RWM Reports will be published in accordance with the progress of the project.
Consolidated reports are expected to be published every three year as a result of ourworkshops, task works and other related activities on radiation safety and radioactive waste
management.

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In Quake´s Aftermath, Chinese Sift
Through Rubble for Radioactive
Sourcesequipment, Chinese emergency teams were
deployed to the affected area for recovery
efforts.
Immediately after the earthquake, experts
from relevant Chinese authorities were sent toexamine the safety status of nuclear facilities
and radioactive sources within the quake zone.
In the two weeks immediately following theearthquake, a team of radioactive source searchand recovery experts fanned out across all
disaster-stricken areas. The teams usedradiation detection equipment to pinpoint thelocation of 50 sources and safely recover all ofthem.

Mr. Zhang Jintao
Deputy Director General
Department of Safety,
Protection and Quality
China National Nuclear
Corporation

Mr. Sun Qinghong
Senior Scientist,
Department ofRadioactive Waste
Management, China
Institute for Radiation
protection

In the wake of the strongest and deadliest
earthquake to ravage China in decades， the7.9-magnitude earthquake of 12 May
devastated China´s Sichuan Province, killingan estimated 69,000 people and causing
extensive property damage.
Among the many dangerous materials buriedin the rubble lay hidden enemy – strayradioactive sources that could complicate relief
efforts or cause contamination.

Chinese authorities working to recoverradioactive sources in the wake of the 12 May
Sichuan earthquake.

So when the Sichuan earthquake struck,
Chinese authorities sprang into action.
Utilizing IAEA training and donated3wind speed, wind direction and atmosphericstability. National Statistics Bureau (BPS)
Tangerang had contract with National Nuclear
Energy Agency (BATAN) Serpong to provide
information related to environmental pathways
exposures surrounding Serpong site.
The assessment considers the radiologicalimpact of continuously normal releases since
the beginning of the operations (1987) up to
2007. Public doses in 2007 take into accountyearly accumulation of air deposition to theground and losses of radionuclides by leaching,weather, harvest and radioactive decay in thesurface soil.
The combined effects of releases from morethan one source within the context of a straightline plume model is accomplished byestablishing a polar grid, determining theposition of each source within the grid, andcalculating the position of the receptors relative
to the source. Individual and collective effective
doses are calculated for 16 sectors and 10
distances within 5 km radial from the site.
The assessment results of the individual
effective doses for public within 5 km radial to
the site are shown in Figure 1. The maximum
public dose took place at southern sector withradius 300 m, i.e. 98 μSv. The occurrence
relates to the very high frequency of wind speed
less than 5 m/s to the south. Most of the dose iscontribution from BANTEK (99.5%) followed by
RSG (0.4%). Table 1 shows this dose
distribution from the pathways which equallydistributes among the external ,inhalation andingestion routes. The major pathways are
external exposure from soil contamination,
outdoor inhalation and leafy vegetableingestion.
Figure 2 shows estimation results of thecollective effective dose distribution for public
within 5 km radial to the site in grids. The
highest collective dose (22.54 person-mSv)
corresponds to a heavy population density inthe area as shown in Figure 3, i.e. Serpong
municipality. This area and its surroundings
have better road facilities than one in thenorthern side with lower population density.

Radiological Impact Assessment of
Routine Atmospheric Releases from
Serpong Nuclear Research Complex
Dr. Djarot S.
Wisnubroto
Director ofRadioactive Waste
Technology Center,
BATAN

Dr. Syahrir
Head of Safety andEnvironment
Division, National
Nuclear Energy
Agency of Indonesia(BATAN)

Nuclear Installations in Serpong has been
operating for more than 20 years and being
monitored for their atmospheric releases. For
proper evaluation of environmental impact of
the releases, site specific environmental data
has been updated and followed by radiologicalimpact assessment. Regularpublic dose
assessment in Serpong is aimed to ensure thenuclear installations comply to radioactive
discharge guidelines; only atmospheric releases
are assessed in this discussion.
GENII computer code (GENII V-2) developed
by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
has been used to assess the radiological impactof atmospheric releases from Serpong Nuclear
Research
Complex.
Five
year
latestenvironmental data have been used for theassessment. The annual source term data
originate from the Multipurpose Reactor (RSG),
the Radioisotope Production facility of Batan
Teknologi (BANTEK), the Radiometallurgy
installation and the Radioisotope andRadiopharmacy Research Installation. Fiveyear recorded hourly meteorological data werecompiled into joint frequency distribution ofSummarized from “Kajian Dampak Radiologi
Lepasan Atmospheric Instalasi Nuklir Serpong”(Radiological Impact Assessment ofAtmosphericReleases from Serpong Nuclear
Installations), BMG-BATAN, Ciputat, 20074

Annual Dose, μSv

360

22.5
100

338

Person-m Sv

5.13

45

80

2.88

67.5

10.29
22.54

7.39

4.54

13.33

12.35

60
315

40

90

20
293

0

113

270

135

100
200
300
400
500
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000

11.31

5.42
9.7

9.05

2.99

14.39

7.06
12.27

3.78

4.78
0.81
5.6
1.83
8.05
2.85

4.10

248

158
225

3.49

180

5.85

4.50
5.34

0.34
2.99

203

Figure 1. Estimation of individual effective dose
distribution from Atmospheric releases of Serpong
Nuclear Installations on 2007 calendar year.

3.07

11.32

0.9
18.3
9.32
3.5 0.6
6.11
8.76
8.4
4.2
10.4
1.2
2.04 1.83
1.0 14.26 9.73
1.0
0.8
1.5
3.36
1.4
6.41
1.7 1.6 3.2

12.30
2.57

19.42
21.4

2.9

6.14

10.28

19.3

6.65

4.84

7.45

13.37

7.40

3.21

8.19

5.86 4.55

7.47

8.29

9.65

9.75

2.68

3.10

Figure 2. Distribution of collective dose estimation
within radial 5 km to the reactor site.

Table 1. Relative individual effective dose
distribution based on pathways.

ROUTE

PATHWAYS

External

Soil (79%),(33%)

Air (21%)

Inhalation

Indoor (69%)(33%)

Outdoor (31%)
Soil (0%)

Ingestion

leafy vegetables (77%)(33%)

rice (17%)
root vegetables (3%)
meat (2%)
Figure 3. Population distribution within 5 km from reactor site.

fruits (1%)
chicken eggs (0%)
chickens (0%)

5Nuclear and radiation technology in
Malaysia

The preparations situation of National
Sealed Source Registration System inJapan

Dr. Mohd
Abdul Wahab
Yusof

Dr. Shoji
Futatsukawa

Senior Research
Officer, Waste
Technology &Environment Division,

General Manager,
Radioisotopes
Division, Japan
Radioisotope
Association

Nuclear Malaysia

In Malaysia, nuclear and radiation
technology are being used mainly in industry,
medicine, research and education. Malaysia
does not have a nuclear power, but there is a 1
MW research reactor used for the purpose of
research and isotope production. Nuclear
gauges, oil logging tools, radiographic devices
and gamma irradiators are mainly used inindustry. On the other hand, in hospitals,
nuclear technologies are used in nuclear
medicine,
radiotherapy
anddiagnostic
equipment and facilities. Research andeducation typically use much less amount andactivity of short-lived radioactive materials.
There is a legislative framework established
to control practices involving radiation safety,
transportation of radioactive materials andsafe management of radioactive waste in
Malaysia. The Atomic Energy Licensing Act
1984 (Act 304) forms the basic legal systems
and it is supported by sets of regulations andorders. The legal framework is also supported
by various other non-legal binding technicaldocuments, such as technical guidance andcodes of practice, produced specifically toprovide more detailed guides on how to comply
with certain specific requirements of theregulations and the Act.

IAEA opened Code of Conduct on the safety
and security of radioactive sources on 2003 inorder to protect individuals, society and theenvironment from the harmful effects ofpossible accidents and malicious acts involving
radioactive sources. Moreover, IAEA provides acategorizationbyactivitylevelsforradionuclides that are commonly used, basedon D-values which define a dangerous sourcethat could, if not under control, give rise toexposuresufficienttocause
severedeterministic effects. Sterilization irradiation
sources, blood irradiation sources, gamma knife
sources, NDT sources, industrial devise sources
and so on as dangerous sources of category 1, 2
and 3 are used in around 700 hospitals andfacilities in Japan. According to the Code of
Conduct, Japanese Export Trade Control Order
was amended in 2005. The Amended Orderapplies to sealed sources (not less than
300GBq) requesting to get approval ofimporting state for the sources prior to
shipment of them. Moreover, Japanese
Authority prepares to start National Sealed
Source Registration System which will be triedout by important users including JRIA in July,
2009. The concept of the System is thatlicensees having a dangerous sealed source
should register the source specific information,
recipient information and act information to
MEXT every time the source being transferred(See figure).
D-values: Dangerous quantities of radioactive
material
NDT sources: Nondestructive testing sources
JRIA: Japan Radioisotope Association

Figure 1:

Nuclear Malaysia’s Reactor
TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP)

6

Licensees have to report certain transactions involving
these sealed sources to the National Source Tracking
System to ensure the safety and security of radioactive
sources

MEXT

Exporting state
Source registration
systemReport source information

Import and export agent

User

Distributor / Manufacturer

Concept of National Sealed Source Registration System in Japan

Nuclear Safety Caravan in thePhilippines

participants were given the chance to explore,
test and use the equipment for better
appreciation and understanding of the lectures
presented.

Ms. Maria
Visitacion B.
Palattao
Senior Science
Research Specialist,
Philippine Nuclear
Research Institute

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute’s(PNRI) Nuclear Regulations, Licensing and
Safeguards Division (NRLSD) launched anationwide nuclear safety awareness programthat aims to promote the open exchange ofsafety and security information involving thevarious users of radioactive materials in the
country. In view of the government’s plan torevisit the nuclear power option, the program
was also used as a vehicle to discuss andinteract with local government officials andmembers of the general public regarding safety
and regulation of nuclear power andradioactive waste management and disposal.
Aside from lectures and presentations, aFigure 1.

Awareness Seminar for Members of theGeneral Public

Figure 2. Demonstration of state of the art radiation
detection and measuring instruments

demonstration was also made on the use ofstate of the art equipment for radiation
detection and measurements. The seminar
7

FNCA2008 Workshop on
Radiation Safety and Radioactive
Waste Management (RS&RWM)

FNCA Framework
FNCA Meeting

November 3 -7, Sydney, Australia
Australia,
Bangladesh, China,
Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Thailand
and Viet Nam

FNCA2008 Workshop on the RS&RWM washeld in Sydney Australia from November 3 to 7,
2008, hosted by ANSTO, as a local hostorganization, and MEXT of Japan, in
cooperation with NSRA. Thirteen specialists on
this field attended the Workshop and had an
information exchange and discussion about
radiation safety and radioactive waste
management. The further information will bereported on the Newsletter No.2, which is
expected to be issued by ANSTO.

Ministerial Level Meeting

Final decision about important matters of the
FNCA

Senior Officials Meeting

Review and adjustment for Ministerial Level
Meeting

Direction

Reporting

Coordinators Meeting

Review and Coordination of
the Projects
One Coordinator in Each Country

Review and
Coordination

Repoting

Reporting

FNCA Panel
Meeting of “Study
Panel forCooperation in
the Field of
Nuclear Energy in
Asia”

Reporting

Projects
Research Reactor Utilization
・ Neutron Activation Analysis
・ Research Reactor
Technology
Application for Agriculture

Public Information
Radiation Safety andRadioactive Waste Management

Nuclear Safety Culture

・ Mutation Breeding・ Biofertilizer

Human Resource Development

Application for Medical Care・ Radiation Oncology
・ Cyclotron and PET in
Medicine

Industrial Application
・ Low-Energy Electron
Accelerator

A frame work called “Forum for Nuclear Cooperationin Asia (FNCA)” has been established under the
initiative of Japan, where participating countries areengaged on an equal partners in the activities fornuclear energy utilization, with a view to making use of
nuclear technology for better life of the people throughmutual cooperation among Asian countries.
Since the first FNCA meeting held in Bangkok,
Thailand in 2000, the member nations have beendeveloping cooperative activities in various fields,
based on the equal partnership.

Information for AOCRP-3
The 3rd Asian and Oceanic Congress on
Radiation Protection (AOCRP-3) will be heldin Japan.
Date: May 24-28, 2010
Location: Tower Hall Funabori, 4-1-1
Funabori, Edogawa, Tokyo Japan
Website: http://www.aocrp-3.org
E-mail: info@aocrp-3.org
Nuclear Safety Research Association
5-18-7 Shinbashi Minato-ku Tokyo 105-0004 Japan
Tel:81-3-5470-1983 Fax:81-3-5470-1991

FNCA Website:http://www.fnca.mext.go.jp/

This Newsletter is issued by Nuclear Safety Research Association (NSRA) under the contract with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

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