Present status of clearance levels in Japan and other countries and related problems

Okoshi, Minoru

The concept of clearance has been introduced by IAEA in 1996 and is very useful for the management of very low-level solid materials generating from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Therefore, the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan started the derivation of clearance levels for solid materials arising from nuclear reactors in 1997 and published the reports in 1999 and 2001, respectively. EC also published the several guides to clear metals, concrete, building and other solid materials from regulatory control. Some organizations including IAEA and USNRC are still discussing how to derive the clearance levels. In this exposition, the present status of clearance in Japan and other organizations and countries is summarized. And some information to realize the concept of clearance is given, and the problems related to the clearance are also discussed.