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Nuclear regulator sets radiation limits

ABU DHABI — The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE’s independent regulator for the nuclear sector, has issued its first regulation, titled “Radiation Dose Limits and Optimisation of Radiation Protection for Nuclear Facilities”, following a decision by the authority’s Board of Management.

The regulation specifies the legal limits for radiation doses to the public and to people who work at a nuclear facility.

The regulation also establishes requirements for “optimisation” of radiation protection that are relevant to a nuclear facility during its design, construction, normal operation and decommissioning.

Optimisation is the set of steps that the operator of a nuclear facility continues to take to reduce radiation doses to as low as reasonably achievable. According to the regulation promulgated by the FANR, the licensee should optimise radiation protection efforts by determining a dose constraint, well below the legal dose limit, to reduce exposure of workers and for the public in line with international good practice in similar nuclear facilities.

A draft version of the regulation on “Radiation Dose Limits and Optimisation of Radiation Protection for Nuclear Facilities” was subject to review and comments by various UAE local and federal entities. This approach allows interested parties to participate in the development of the final regulation.

The regulation will be published in the UAE Official Gazette. —