Fundamentals

Living in the Ocean of Radiations

Throughout the entire history of the Earth living beings have had to live exposed to the natural radiation background and nowadays organisms also have to live with the artificial radiation produced by modern humans. The sources of natural radiation are the cosmos and the crust of the Earth. Cosmic and crustal radiation existed before the development of life. The continuous and inevitable presence of natural radioactive materials is detectable in the soil, water, the atmosphere, food and in our body. Radioactive atoms are present in our body and almost 16 billion of them decay every hour. Radiating species and photons are generated in our environment in such a huge magnitude that our body is hit by 75,000 of them every second. The radiation dose stemming from these internal and external sources is present throughout our whole life. There is no exaggeration in the statement that natural radiation involves no danger to human life, rather it is an inseparable part of our life. The human population of the Earth is exposed to an average radiation dose of 2.4 mSv a year. The range of the dose varies and is determined mostly by geological and geographical variances, moreover by local building structures, living standards and the average time spent indoors. 

From the end of the 19th century human beings have been exposed to artificial radiation doses. X-rays constituted the first artificial radiation. They were described in 1887 by Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen and reached worldwide application. X-ray radiation accounts for the overwhelming part of the artificial radiation dose of the population. Its application, however, is inevitable, since recently X-ray imaging has become a rather irreplaceable method providing invaluable information for diagnosing existing illnesses or developing disorders. Thus the potential damage caused by medical radiation dose involves an acceptable risk. Medical radiation results in a dose to a person of 0.4 mSv/year. The population is also exposed to some extra radiation as an effect of previous experimental military A-bomb explosions and the nuclear industry. The amount of this is less than half of one per cent of our dose from the natural background. Ionizing radiation is applied in materials analyses, in the food industry (sterilization), in agriculture (enhancement) and many other fields of everyday life. The population of Hungary suffered a radiation dose equivalent to one month of the annual natural radiation as an effect of the Chernobyl disaster. The data of international measurements do not support fears and condemnations in relation to nuclear power plants. There is no measurable, even detectable extra radiation dose in the region of the Paks NPP. Risk assessments of the NPPs with increasing safety and security set the probability of a serious nuclear accident to a very low level. While smoking, traffic accidents and fossil power plants shorten the average lifespan by 2000, 200 and 24 days, respectively, NPPs reduce it by only 0.04 of a day. 

The annual dose of nuclear industry professionals is strictly monitored and controlled, and the equipment and methods of radiation protection are at the most advanced level of technology.

Organizations of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was founded in 1957 by the United Nations. The mission of the IAEA is to help the safe and accident-free operation of nuclear facilities and to prevent the uncontrolled proliferation of fissile materials produced in nuclear reactors (primalily Pu239) and potentially useable in nuclear weapons, that is the apperance of new countries possessing nuclear technology for military purposes. Safeguard Offices of the IAEA register and periodically inspect the conditions of the fuel elements in the power plants and research reactors, and the quantities of uranium and plutonium. The minimum quantities of uranium and plutonium which have to be registered are 1 kg and 1 g, respectively. The safety and security level of the reactors is inspected with the same frequency and accuracy. Maintaining the appropriate safety and security level is especially difficult in certain countries where the average social and technological development is significantly lower than the technology level of the operating NPPs.

In recent decades the importance of the IAEA has continuously increased in the regulation of radiological protection. The International Commission of Radiological Protection, an “Academy” of researchers interested in radiological protection, has been making recommendations for civilians and nuclear industry professionals since 1928. These recommendations are formulated into rules and directives by IAEA professionals. The IAEA member states are required to harmonize their national regulations and dose limit systems in accordance with IAEA regulations.

In Hungary radiological protection and nuclear safety is regulated by the so-called atomic law. According to this regulation the tasks and responsibilities are divided among five governmental organizations.

1. Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (OAH) is under the direct control of the Hungarian Government and regulates the installation, safe operation and disassembling of any reactors, moreover the handling of radioactive waste.
2. Under the control of the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health and Medical Officer’s Service (ÁNTSZ) is responsible for radiological protection regulations and inspections.
3. Boards of the Ministry of Environment and Water inspect the radioactivity near nuclear facilities in the case of contamination.
4. Environmental monitoring is also accomplished by the relevant authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
5. The task of the ONER Network maintained by the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement is monitoring the radioactivity of the atmosphere in the case of national or foreign nuclear accidents.