RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAMME – SOME ASPECTS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY

One of the most important provisions of the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of the Radioactive Material No. TS-R-1 (ST-1, Revised) is the establishment of a Radiation Protection Programme. The Radiation Protection Programme is an essential element to incorporate the requirements of the IAEA “International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS)” into the IAEA Transport Regulations. The BSS in line with the 1990 ICRP Recommendations provides an appropriate standard of protection and safety for workers, property and the environment against ionising radiation. Also the relevant competent authorities have duties within this framework, e.g. for assessing of radiation doses to persons and for inspection of the Radiation Protection Programmes of the applicant (consignor, shipper). In this case, the competent authorities are responsible for assuring compliance with all relevant requirements and standards including optimisation of protection and safety in transport of radioactive material. It is also important, that the various competent authorities which may be involved in this process have a cooperation in national as well as international shipments. The paper will discuss those aspects in more detail and will give some recommendations for practical work.