Appendix CRF - Part 3 - Northamptonshire County Council

3.3.3 Any nuclear site wishing to send waste to such a disposal route will have to carry
out an assessment of risks and benefits using a framework called “Best
Practicable Environmental Option”.
3.3.4 The risk presented by ionising radiation is directly related to the amount of
radiation to which a person is exposed. The radioactivity exposure is called
“dose”. Internationally accepted systems of relating risk to dose have been
established and are used by the UK (refs 12, 14, 16).
3.3.5 Risk guidance levels/criteria are established by UK policy and internationally
accepted good practice. The amount of LLW that can be disposed in a landfill is
limited by the risk guidance levels/criteria and subject to further optimisation
through consideration of the process as a whole.
3.3.6 The risk arising from a waste disposal can be calculated for the short and long
term to both workers and the public. This can then be used to establish the
amount of radioactivity that can be disposed in the landfill (which is called the
radiological capacity) without exceeding the risk criteria.
3.3.7 The authorised radiological capacity is set to ensure that the resulting dose
presents a very low risk. This is achieved through prospective dose
estimation/risk assessment calculations. Once the disposal process is operating,
workplace and environmental monitoring can be used to check the actual
exposure of humans to radioactivity.
3.3.8 It is not necessary to calculate the exposure of all humans exposed to the
radioactivity as long as the humans that might be most exposed are assessed.
This is called the “critical group” methodology. In practice, a few groups may be
assessed to ensure coverage of workers and the public both in the long and short
timescales.
3.4 UK Government Policy
3.4.1 Policy on radioactive waste is set out in the White Paper, Review of Radioactive
Waste Management Policy, Cm 2919. In respect of LLW, the policy has been
amended by the Policy for the Long Term Management of Solid Low Level
Radioactive Waste (ref 3).
3.4.2 The policy allows for disposal of LLW at specified landfill sites, provided that this
meets regulatory requirements. The maximum specific activity of the LLW
(