The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

Regulation 5(1)

SCHEDULE 3 Consequences Assessment

1.  The following requirements shall be complied with in the assessment of consequences required by regulation 5.

2.  The assessment shall be based on a suitable and sufficient range of source terms representing a range of potential radiation emergencies which might arise from the work with ionising radiation.

3.  The calculations undertaken in support of the assessment shall consider a range of weather conditions (if weather conditions are capable of affecting the extent of the impact of the radiation emergency) to account for—

(a) the likely consequences arising from such conditions; and

(b) consequences which are less likely, but with greater impact.

4.  The assessment shall consider the consequences of the potential radiation emergencies identified in regulation 4 on the population within the geographical extent of the potential radiation emergency, accounting for different characteristics, including, for example age and other characteristics which would render specific members of the public especially vulnerable.

5.  The assessment shall consider what would be an effective and, where relevant, equivalent dose to the thyroid in the context of each potential radiation emergency identified.

6.  The assessment shall include all relevant pathways by which members of the public could be exposed to radiation in the context of each potential radiation emergency identified.

7.  The assessment shall identify any protective action that may need to be taken for the range of potential radiation emergencies.

8.  The assessment shall assess the consequences of suitable and sufficient source terms by distance and by exposure pathway, and the distances to which protective action would be required based on the United Kingdom’s Emergency Reference Levels, published by Public Health England(1).

9.  In this Schedule “source term” means the radioactivity which could give rise to direct external exposures from the premises or which could be released to the environment in a radiation emergency and, for releases, includes—

(a) the amount of each radionuclide released;

(b) the time distribution of the release;

(c) the energy associated with atmospheric release; and

(d) the likely chemical and physical form of the radionuclides in the release.

(1)

Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radiation-emergency-reference-levels or in hard copy from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET. The functions of the National Radiological Protection Board were transferred to the Health Protection Agency by section 3 of the Health Protection Act 2004 (c. 17). The Health Protection Agency was abolished by section 56 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (c. 7) and its functions are now exercised by Public Health England.