CNE

Environmental control

Radioactivity monitoring of environmental samples

Samples of: are taken and analyzed from the point of view of radioactivity content.

  • air (deposition on particle filters and iodine cartridges, water vapor in the air);
  • wet atmospheric deposits;
  • water (water from the Danube, water from the Danube – Black Sea Canal, infiltration water in the soil, deep water, rainwater, drinking water);
  • sun;
  • sediment;
  • fish;
  • meat (chicken, beef, pork);
  • milk;
  • vegetables (lettuce, spinach, radishes, green onions, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, potatoes);
  • cereal;
  • fruits (strawberries, cherries, apricots, peaches, grapes);
  • eggs;
  • DTL – uri (thermoluminescent dosimeters that measure the integrated gamma dose for 3 months).

Approximately 1,200 samples are taken annually from 115 locations to determine the radioactivity of the environment in the Cernavoda NPP area.

The plant has built and equipped the following laboratories: the Environmental Control Laboratory, where environmental samples are measured and the Individual Dosimetry Laboratory, where radioactive effluent samples are measured. Laboratories that carry out radioactivity analyzes are certified by CNCAN (National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities), in accordance with legislative requirements. In addition, the laboratories are included in intercomparison programs, organized by the IAEA, the European Commission and International Associations of accredited laboratories for these types of measurements.

Missions to verify the implementation of the environmental radioactivity monitoring program

Between June 4 and 12, 2007, the European Commission carried out a mission to verify Romania’s compliance with the conditions of Article 35 of the EURATOM Treaty . The conclusions of the checks carried out by the experts of the European Commission at CNE Cernavoda show that the programs for monitoring the radioactivity of the effluents and the environment developed and implemented by CNE Cernavoda are in accordance with the requirements of Article 35 of the EURATOM Treaty. (The verification mission report is published on the website of the European Commission, DG-TREN).

In June 2008, at the request of SNN through the Government of Romania, the International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA, sent a team of experts to verify the radiation protection programs of professionally exposed workers, the environment and the public in the Cernavoda area, focused on the exposure assessment to tritium. The team that performed the verification was composed of experts in the field of radiation protection and nuclear security with experience in similar nuclear installations. The report of the Vienna Agency mission shows that:

  • “The operation of Units 1 and 2 at the Cernavoda Power Plant is carried out within a well-defined regulatory system under the strict control of the regulatory authority, which is an independent institution. The operation of the two units is done in accordance with the national standards of radioprotection and nuclear security, which take into account the control of radioactive emissions in order to ensure the protection of the population and the environment from the effects of ionizing radiation, including tritium. These national standards are in full agreement with the international recommendations established in the safety standards of the IAEA, – International Atomic Energy Agency – adopted by the vast majority of its member states. The IAEA’s nuclear safety standards are based on the conclusions of the United Nations Scientific Commission on the Effects of Atomic Radiation – UNSCEAR and on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection – ICRP regarding the principles, criteria and methodologies of radioprotection of the public and the environment.”
  • “The Cernavoda plant has implemented high-tech programs and systems to prevent, minimize and control radioactive environmental emissions (gases and liquids), to ensure that the limit dose for the public is respected”.
  • “For the adequate protection of the environment and the population and compliance with the Emission Limits established by the authorities, gaseous and liquid radioactive emissions, as well as environmental factors are permanently monitored using the latest generation equipment in the nuclear field, well-established analysis procedures, as well as very well technically trained human resources.”
  • “The monitoring systems of radioactive effluents and the environment, as well as the laboratories where the analyzes are carried out, are equipped with equipment and operate at nuclear safety standards comparable to those of developed countries with a tradition in the nuclear industry”.
    (International Agency for Atomic Energy IAEA 2008, Appraisal on the Radiation Protection Programs for Workers, members of the Public and the Environment, Control of Tritium Exposure, Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant).

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