SRP1(06) – Press release

Operational Note – for immediate use – Wednesday 25th October 2006

Integrated Strategies for Managing Radioactive Waste

There is much speculation that a commitment from the Government to a new generation of new nuclear power stations is about to be announced. In the meantime the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency is developing its strategy to deal with the UK’s historic legacy of redundant nuclear plant and radioactive waste.

Control of the radiation exposure of workers and the public during ongoing production and during decommissioning is enforced under a well established legislative frame work. An important tenant is that radiation doses should be kept “as low as reasonably practicable” balancing the risk and costs of the work.  Decision making on how to manage radioactive waste processes to meet this requirement and to demonstrate that “best practical means (BPM)” have been adopted is a routine task for nuclear licenced sites and for other users of radioactive materials such as hospitals and universities.

The key decision however is not how to process or minimise waste; scientific and engineering solutions are well established.  First must be decided what particular techniques best fits all the legal, social and economic requirements; the best practicable environmental option (BPEO)”.

The financial costs and economic value of achieving these requirements will be discussed at the Society for Radiological Protection’s meeting ‘Moving on from BPEO/BPM: The Integrated Waste Strategy’ to be held at the Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street , London W1, on Wednesday 1st November 2006.

The keynote address on Wednesday will be given by Prof Gregg Butler, Professor of Science in Sustainable Development, University of Manchester and Director of Integrated Decision Management Ltd. Other speakers will include representatives from the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency, the Environment Agency. Case histories from the nuclear weapons programme, nuclear fuel reprocessing, hospitals and universities will be discussed.

Notes for editors

1. Accredited journalists are welcome to free registration to attend this meeting. Please contact Tessa Harris, SRP Administrator Tel. +44 (0)1364 644487, fax. +44 (0)1364 644492, email: admin@srp-uk.org if you would like to attend.

2. Further information can be found at the Society for Radiological Protection's web site www.srp-uk.org

3. During the meeting itself please contact the Society's media representative, Brian Gornall, who will be available between 8.00am and 5.00pm on mobile 07836 667163.
 
4. Founded in 1963, the Society for Radiological Protection is the Scientific Society in the UK that covers the whole field of radiation protection. It now has nearly 2000 national and international members, who are professionally concerned with safety aspects of the use of ionising and non-ionising radiation in education, central and local government, industry, medicine and research.

The Society has the following objectives:-

• to promote and advance the science of radiological protection and allied fields;
• to promote, advance and disseminate to the public advantage, knowledge of radiological protection and allied fields;
• to encourage, support, promote and advance education and learning in radiological protection and allied fields;
• to promote and encourage high scientific, educational, regulatory and professional standards in radiological protection and allied fields.

5. This press release was written for the Society for Radiological Protection by Brian Gornall and distributed for the SRP by the Institute of Physics Press Office.
 

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