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The Radiation Protection Act

Basis for radiation protection and work of the BfS

Radiation Protection Act

Comprehensive protection against harmful radiation in medicine, protection against radon in homes, and better preparedness for emergencies – these are central areas of the Radiation Protection Act.

The Radiation Protection Act is supplemented by the Radiation Protection Ordinance.

Act transposes EURATOM Directive into national law

The Radiation Protection Act goes back to Directive 2013/59/Euratom and also combines requirements from the Radiation Protection Ordinance of 2001, the former X-ray Ordinance and the Precautionary Radiation Protection Act, which has expired. Further ordinances substantiate the provisions of the Radiation Protection Act. At the heart of this is the Radiation Protection Ordinance.

As the radiation protection authority, the BfS was closely involved in the process of modernising the radiation protection law.

Tasks of the BfS

The Radiation Protection Act describes numerous tasks of the BfS, such as

  • the authorisation for the use of radioactive substances or ionising radiation on humans for the purpose of medical research as well as the withdrawal and revocation of this authorisation,
  • the examination of the notification of the use of radioactive substances or ionising radiation on humans for the purpose of medical research as well as the prohibition of such use,
  • the maintenance of the Radiation Protection Register,
  • the evaluation process to justify new medical procedures,
  • the type approval for certain devices, which, according to Section 45, paragraph 1, no. 7 StrlSchG, also include installations for the generation of ionising radiation as full protection systems (e.g. ultra short pulse lasers).

The Radiation Protection Act bundles the responsibilities in emergency protection and measures to protect the public. In addition to general regulations, it is divided into four main parts:

  1. Radiation protection in planned exposure situations

    An essential area is "Radiation protection in planned exposure situations", which includes regulations for the early detection of diseases by means of radiological procedures as well as the testing of the use of radioactive substances or ionising radiation on humans for the purpose of medical research.

  2. Radiation protection in emergency exposure situations

    Regulations on emergency protection and the establishment of a federal radiological situation centre, the operational implementation of which is largely the responsibility of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, can be found in the section "Radiation protection in emergency exposure situations".

  3. Radiation protection in existing exposure situations

    Requirements for dealing with radon as well as regulations on radioactive contaminated sites and on radioactivity in building products are regulated in the section "Radiation protection in existing exposure situations".

  4. Exposure overlapping provisions

    The “Cross-exposure regulations” section contains, among other things, specifications on the radiation protection register. The Radiation Protection Register contributes to the radiation protection monitoring of workers who are occupationally exposed to ionising radiation.

Valuation method justificationShow / Hide

that could expose humans and the environment to radiation will go through the justification assessment. These include medical applications of ionising radiation (e.g. in medical diagnostics) as well as the use of radioactive substances in consumer goods .(e.g. luminous numerals in watches). In doing so, the economic, social, or other benefits of these procedures are weighed against any health impairment that may accompany them
Within 12 months, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection will examine whether the benefit outweighs the risk or whether the same benefit could also be achieved with a procedure without ionising radiation.

ScreeningShow / Hide

Woman during a mammography examination Mammography screeningSource: Peakstock/Stock.adobe.com

At present, the mammography examination .for the early detection of breast cancer in women between 50 and 69 years of age is the only screening examination in Germany that uses X-rays.

Under the Radiation Protection Act, individual screening measures may also be permitted in future. These could include procedures for the screening of lung cancer in smokers, narrowed coronary arteries, intestinal polyps, and colon cancer.

Because screening measures do not involve patients but rather asymptomatic persons, extremely high demands are placed on justification and implementation.

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection therefore scientifically evaluates screening examinations in order to determine whether the benefit of such an examination outweighs the risk. Only procedures where this is determined to be the case can be approved and used. Furthermore, this weighing up – except in the case of an early detection programme – must also be carried out by the responsible doctor in each individual case.

Reporting system for the protection of patientsShow / Hide

Aesculapian bar

Because of the increasing use of ionising radiation and radioactive substances in medicine, not only the radiation exposure of the population but also the risk of incorrect radiation and accidents is increasing. For example, because of technical deficiencies or human error, a cancer patient may have been accidentally irradiated with too high a dose. This, in turn, will lead to more severe side effects.

To allow lessons to be learned from such cases, the Radiation Protection Act introduced the possibility of a central reporting system for significant incidents in medicine. Here, reports on irradiation failures and accidents are collected, evaluated, and passed on to other users. The Radiation Protection Ordinance contains more specific regulations in this regard.

The aim is to identify hazards in advance and, if necessary, to initiate countermeasures at an early stage.

Emergency protectionShow / Hide

emergency preparedness centre BfS emergency preparedness centreBfS emergency preparedness centre

If an emergency situation in which large quantities of radioactive substances are released into the environment occurs in Germany or in neighbouring countries, the authorities and organisations at the federal and state level will coordinate their protective measures more closely.

The Radiation Protection Act therefore provides for coordinated emergency plans between the Federal Government and the Federal States based on reference scenarios. These cover both nuclear power plant accidents and events with more regional effects (e.g. transport accidents).

For this purpose, the Federal Radiological Situation Centre was established under the direction of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection is largely responsible for operational implementation. In the event of an emergency, this situation centre carries out a situation assessment valid for the whole of Germany. This describes the current situation and the presumed future development and proposes recommendations for protective measures.

RadonShow / Hide

Diagram of radon pathways from the soil to the surface Radon pathwaysRadon pathways from the soil to the surface

The Radiation Protection Act contains measures for radon mitigation. These include a reference value for assessing radon concentrations in interior rooms. This reference value should not be exceeded and, if possible, should be undercut according to the minimisation principle of radiation protection. To this end, protective measures should be taken to prevent or at least impede the entry of radon into indoor spaces. The measures to be taken are explained in a regularly updated action plan.

In Germany radon precautionary areas where a high radon concentration in buildings is to be expected have been identified. In these areas, special measures for radon-safe construction must be observed.

The law also defines protection against radon in workplaces. Thus, in the areas with high radon concentration, all workplaces on floors close to the ground are covered by the regulations for protection against radon in workplaces.

Radioactivity in building materialsShow / Hide

Interior with clay plaster Clay as building material

Certain building materials .contain natural radionuclides in elevated concentrations. The cause can be natural raw materials or additives of residues from industrial processes in which natural radioactive substances accumulate and which are partly used as secondary raw materials in the construction industry.

The Radiation Protection Act defines measurements for certain potentially radiologically relevant building materials.

In this way, it is checked whether the reference value of 1 millisievert per year can be exceeded by the radionuclides contained in the respective building materials. If this is the case, the relevant authorities must be informed. These can then enact measures for protection. For example, a restriction to certain applications.

Management of radioactive contaminated sitesShow / Hide

The Radiation Protection Act contains regulations on the management of radioactive contaminated sites. "Contaminated sites" with elevated radioactivity are defined as contamination from completed human activities when the effective dose reference level of 1 millisievert per year is exceeded. This can be contaminated land, parts of land, buildings, or water bodies. If there are indications of a radioactive contaminated site, these must be reported to the competent authority. The authority then decides whether or which measures are to be taken.

The measures are based on experience gained during the decommissioning and remediation of uranium ore mining and its radioactive contaminated sites in the former GDR.

Radiation Protection RegisterShow / Hide

Register

In the Radiation Protection Register, which is operated by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, data from employees who are exposed to increased radiation in their occupation are compiled and evaluated. These include among others

  • medical staff,
  • employees of nuclear facilities,
  • pilots and flight attendants, and
  • • workers in mining or waterworks.

The Register dates back to the 1990s. Every year, about 430,000 people are monitored for radiation protection and recorded in the register. In order to be able to ensure the protection of persons handling ionising radiation at all times, even if they change jobs, their radiation protection-relevant data is recorded.

State of 2022.11.15

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