Derivation of clearance levels for solid materials in Japan

Sakai, Akihiro ; Okoshi, Minoru

To establish the clearance levels, the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) has been discussing the clearance levels since May 1997. The NSC derived the unconditional clearance levels for the solid materials, namely concrete and metal, arising from the operation and dismantling of nuclear reactors and post irradiation examination (PIE) facilities. Two destinations of the cleared materials, namely disposal and recycle/reuse, were considered. Deterministic calculation models were established to assess individual doses resulting from 73 exposure pathways, and realistic parameter values were selected considering the Japanese natural and social conditions. The clearance levels for 21 radionuclides of nuclear reactors and for 49 of PIE facilities were derived as radioactivity concentration equivalent to the individual doses of 10 Sv/y. Most of calculated clearance levels were nearly the same as those shown in IAEA-TECDOC-855. Some, however, were different. It is considered that the major reasons depend on differences of fixed scenarios and of selected values of parameters.