Year
2009
Abstract
As a country embarks upon or expands its nuclear power program, it must consider how it will address the 19 elements laid out in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) document Milestones in Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power.1 Included in these elements are specific operational needs that must be addressed. The focus of this paper is the requirements for radiological environmental monitoring and low-level radioactive waste management. To operate a nuclear power program successfully, risks associated with radioactive releases must be addressed. Any radioactive releases must be surveyed and monitored to ensure compliance with national regulations, which should be based on international conventions and treaties. Waste from these plants must be kept as low as reasonably achievable to minimize impact on the environment. Therefore, a country must establish guidelines for radioactive waste management and radiological environmental monitoring to include policy, legislation, regulations, and ongoing funding of operations. Furthermore, to achieve these long-term goals, a country must build on its current operational experience and improve its capabilities in these areas. Efficiency requires that these capabilities be integrated with the safety, security, and nonproliferation elements of a country's nuclear energy program. As such, the skills gained in the measurement of radionuclides in the environment and in waste streams are applicable to those required for adequately safeguarding nuclear material. Developing excellence in management and operation of measurement and monitoring programs translates into excellence in management and operation of an appropriately safeguarded nuclear power program. This paper describes technical collaboration projects in environmental monitoring and waste management being undertaken by the International Nuclear Safeguards and Engagement Program (INSEP) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)under the \"U.S. Department of Energy and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Arrangement for Information Exchange and Cooperation on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.\"