Section 105: Regulatory Requirement for Existing Exposure Situation
287. The requirements for existing exposure situations apply to the following:
(a) Exposure due to contamination of areas by residual radioactive material deriving from:
(i) Past activities that were never subject to regulatory control or that were subject to regulatory control but not in accordance with the requirements of this regulation;
(ii) A nuclear or radiological emergency, after an emergency, has been declared to be ended.
(b) Exposure due to commodities, including food, feed, drinking water and construction ma-terials, that incorporate radionuclides deriving from residual radioactive material as stat-ed in Article 287 (a).
(c) Exposure due to natural sources, including:
(i) Rn-222 and its progeny and Rn-220 and its progeny, in workplaces other than those workplaces for which exposure due to other radionuclides in the uranium decay chain or the thorium decay chain is controlled as a planned exposure situa-tion, in dwellings and in other buildings with high occupancy factors for members of the public;
(ii) Radionuclides of natural origin, regardless of activity (A) concentration, in com-modities, including food, feed, drinking water, agricultural fertilizer and soil amendments, and construction materials, and residual radioactive material in the environment;
(iii) Materials, other than those stated in 287 (c)(i) and (c)(ii) above, in which the activ-ity (A) concentration of no radionuclide in either the uranium decay chain or the thorium decay chain exceeds 1 Bq/g and the activity (A) concentration of K-40 does not exceed 10 Bq/g;
(iv) Exposure of aircrew and space crew to cosmic radiation.
Section 106: General Responsibilities for the Management of Existing Situations
288. Any person responsible for an exposure which, according to the criteria issued by the NRRC, is considered an existing exposure situation, shall arrange for the implementation of all appropriate measures for ensuring compliance with relevant requirements in this regulation.
289. Any person responsible for the management of an existing exposure situation shall ensure that all necessary arrangements for the proper radiological characterization of the exposure situation, in-cluding dose evaluations, are conducted, and a report following the relevant regulatory require-ments is made available to the NRRC.
290. When the NRRC considers that the exposure situation cannot be disregarded from a radiation protection point of view, the responsible person shall ensure that the protection strategy for con-trolling the public exposure, prescribed by the NRRC is implemented.
291. Remedial and protective actions aiming to implement the protection strategy shall be subject to authorization by the NRRC.
292. In the implementation of the protection strategy, the responsible person shall:
(a) Use the relevant references levels for public exposure, established by the NRRC, when planning and implementing remedial and protective actions;
(b) Comply with the objectives and protection strategy approved by the NRRC to reduce pub-lic exposure when remedial and protective actions are determined to be justified;
(c) Provide individuals subject to exposure with the information on potential health risks and on the means available for reducing their exposures and the associated risks.
Section 107: Specific Requirements for the Remediation of Areas with Residual Radioactive Material
293. Any person responsible for the planning, implementation and verification of remedial actions shall ensure that:
(a) A remedial action plan, supported by a safety assessment, is prepared and is submitted for approval by the NRRC;
(b) The remedial action plan ensures that the radioactive wastes arising from remedial ac-tions are managed according to the relevant strategy approved by the NRRC for control-ling and optimizing the public exposure in such a situation;
(c) The remedial action plan is aimed at the timely and progressive reduction of the radiation risks and eventually, if possible, the removal of restrictions on the use of or access to the area;
(d) Any additional dose received by members of the public as a result of the remedial actions is justified on the basis of the resulting net benefit, including consideration of the conse-quent reduction of the annual dose;
(e) In the choice of the optimized remediation option:
(i) The radiological impacts on people and the environment are considered together with non-radiological impacts on people and the environment, and technical, so-cietal and economic factors;
(ii) The costs of the transport and management of radioactive waste, the radiation exposure of and health risks to the workers managing the waste, and any subse-quent public exposure associated with its disposal are all taken into account;
(f) A mechanism for public information is in place and any person affected by the existing exposure situation are involved in the planning, implementation and verification of the remedial actions, including any monitoring and surveillance following remediation;
(g) A monitoring program is established and implemented;
(h) A system for maintaining adequate records relating to the existing exposure situation and actions taken for protection and safety is in place;
(i) Procedures are in place for reporting to the NRRC on any abnormal conditions relevant to protection and safety.
294. Any person responsible for carrying out the remedial actions shall:
(a) Ensure that the work, including management of the radioactive waste arising, is conduct-ed in accordance with the remedial action plan;
(b) Take responsibility for all aspects of protection and safety, including the performance of a safety assessment;
(c) Monitor and perform a radiological survey of the area regularly during the remediation work, so as to verify levels of contamination, to verify compliance with the requirements for waste management, and to enable any unexpected levels of radiation to be detected and the remedial action plan to be modified accordingly, subject to approval by the NRRC or other relevant authority;
(d) Perform a radiological survey after completion of remedial actions to demonstrate that the end point conditions, as established in the remedial action plan, have been met;
(e) Prepare and retain a final remediation report and shall submit a copy to the NRRC.
295. Any person responsible for post-remediation control measures shall establish and maintain for as long as required by the NRRC or other relevant authority an appropriate program, including any necessary provisions for monitoring and surveillance, to verify the long term effectiveness of the completed remedial actions for areas in which controls are required after remediation has been completed.
Section 108: Occupational Exposure
296. Any responsible person shall ensure that the protection and safety of workers in existing situa-tions comply with the appropriate reference levels and protection strategy approved by the NRRC for the radiological protection of the public in such exposure situations.
297. In cases where for a specific existing situation has been identified by the NRRC, the responsible person for the management of the existing situation shall ensure compliance with the relevant requirements with regards to occupational exposure.
Section 109: Control of the Aircrew Exposure Due to Cosmic Radiation
298. The aircraft company regulated by designated authority in the Kingdom shall ensure that the fol-lowing measures are conducted to monitor the effective dose received by the air crew:
(a) Assess the exposure of the crew concerned;
(b) Keep the relevant personal dose records;
(c) Take into account the assessed exposure when organizing working schedules to comply with the dose constraint established by the NRRC;
(d) Inform female aircrew of the risk to the embryo or fetus due to exposure to cosmic radia-tion and of the need for early notification of pregnancy;
(e) Apply the requirements of Section 79 in respect of notification of pregnancy.
299. In the event where the effective dose to the air crew from cosmic radiation is liable to exceed the reference level established by the NRRC, the relevant requirements set out in Chapter 10 shall apply.