National Nuclear Regulator Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999)RegulationsRegulations in Terms of Section 36, Read with Section 47 of the National Nuclear Regulator Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999), on Safety Standards and Regulatory PracticesSection 3 : Principal radiation protection and nuclear safety requirements |
The following principal radiation protection and nuclear safety requirements apply to actions authorised by, or seeking authorisation in terms of, a nuclear installation licence, a nuclear vessel licence or a certificate of registration.
| 3.1 | Dose and risk limits |
| 3.1.1 | The dose to an individual arising from normal operating conditions must not exceed the Iimits specified in Annexure 2. |
| 3.1.2 | The risk of fatality from any action as defined in the Act must not exceed the limits specified in Annexure 3. |
| 3.2 | Optimisation of radiation protection and nuclear safety |
The magnitude of doses to individuals, the number of people exposed and the likelihood of incurring exposures must be kept as low as reasonably achievable, economic and social factors being taken into account (ALARA).
| 3.3 | Prior safety assessment |
Measures to control the risk of nuclear damage to individuals must be determined on the basis of a prior safety assessment which is suitable and sufficient to identify all significant radiation hazards and to evaluate the nature and expected magnitude of the associated risks, with due regard to the dose and risk limits in Annexures 2 and 3.
Where it can be justified that no credible accident scenarios exist, a risk assessment to demonstrate compliance with Annexure 3 is not required to be included as part of the prior safety assessment.
| 3.4 | Good engineering practice |
Installations, equipment or plant requiring a nuclear installation licence, a nuclear vessel licence or a certificate of registration and having an impact on radiation or nuclear safety must be designed, built and operated in accordance with good engineering practice.
| 3.5 | Safety culture |
A safety culture must be fostered and maintained to encourage a questioning and learning attitude to radiation protection and nuclear safety and to discourage complacency.
| 3.6 | Retrospective application of regulations |
| 3.6.1 | Subject to 3.6.2, where compliance with the applicable requirements cannot be demonstrated for an action which is restricted in terms of section 20 of the Act and which existed before the coming into force of these regulations, the person engaged in that action must within two months of the coming into force of these reguIations or within two months of the issuing of the nuclear authorisation, whichever is the later, submit to the Regulator an action plan to bring the action into compliance. |
| 3.6.2 | The requirements specified in 4.5.4 do not apply to bulk mineral residue deposits and/or facilities where deposition was discontinued prior to the date of these regulations or prior to the date of such deposits and/or facilities being authorised by the Regulator, whichever date is the earlier. These facilities must nevertheless still be regulated and the doses must be shown to be optimised. |
| 3.7 | Regulatory approval of radiation protection and nuclear safety measures |
| 3.7.1 | The holder of the nuclear authorisation is responsible for radiation protection and nuclear safety, including compliance with applicable requirements such as the preparation of the required safety assessments, programmes and procedures relating to the siting, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of facilities. |
| 3.7.2 | Situations where formal approval of radiation protection and nuclear safety measures by the Regulator is necessary should be limited to those where this is appropriate taking into account the nature and extent of the risk and the need for building stakeholder confidence. |
| 3.8 | Accident management and emergency planning, emergency preparedness and emergency response |
Where the prior safety assessment or operational safety assessment has identified the reasonable possibility of a nuclear accident, accident prevention and mitigation measures based on the principle of defence in depth and which address accident management procedures including emergency planning, emergency preparedness and emergency response must be established, implemented and maintained. The principle of defence in depth must be applied as appropriate.
| 3.9 | Defence in depth |
A multilayer (defence in depth) system of provisions for radiation protection and nuclear safety commensurate with the magnitude and likelihood of the potential exposures involved shall be applied to sources such that a failure at one layer is compensated for or corrected by subsequent layers, for the purposes of—
| (a) | preventing nuclear accidents; |
| (b) | mitigating the consequences of any such accidents; and |
| (c) | restoring sources to safe conditions after any such accident. |
| 3.10 | Quality management |
A quality management programme must be established, implemented and maintained in order to ensure compliance with the conditions of the nuclear authorisation.
| 3.11 | Application of radiation protection and nuclear safety |
The application of the radiation protection and nuclear safety requirements contained in these regulations to any action should be commensurate with the characteristics of the Action and with the magnitude and likelihood of the exposure, as determined in the safety assessments. Not all the requirements are relevant to every action.