Legacies

Residues with enhanced natural radioactivity have arisen from mining or industrial activities over centuries and most of them were deposited on waste rock piles or in tailings ponds. Radiation protection aspects were not taken into account. Depending on the site and usage conditions, enhanced internal and/or external radiation exposures may require subsequent radiation protection measures for members of the public. Typicly, for such deposits there is no person responsible or accountable any more. In 2017, in the Radiation Protection Law the rule was established on basis of which the owners of radiological relics can be committed to perform remediation or other measures which would reduce the radiation exposure. The following articles will give an overview of the dimension of these relics in Germany.