Department of Radiation Protection

With the effect from 1 April 2018, a new Act was adopted, No. 87/2018 Coll. on radiation protection by which Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic transposed the Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013, laying down basic safety standards for protection against hazards arising from ionizing radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom, and 2003/122/Euratom.

Act No. 87/2018 Coll. on radiation protection regulates the discharge of state administration in the area of radiation protection, conditions for carrying out activities leading to exposure and activities in the environment with natural sources of radiation, requirements for the management of radioactive substances, institutional radioactive waste and radioactive waste of unknown origin, protection of workers and residents against radon exposure from indoor air of buildings, external exposure from building materials and continuing exposure resulting from an emergency situation or the result of human activity in the past, ensuring the safety of radioactive source, preparedness for emergency exposure situations, monitoring of radiation situation and radiation monitoring network, limiting exposure from drinking water, natural mineral water and spring water, obligations of natural persons and legal entities in providing radiation protection, offenses, administrative offenses and sanctions in the field of radiation protection. The performance of activities and the provision of services relevant to radiation protection concerning the amount of possible radiological risk shall be divided into activities, which are exempted from the operation of the law, activities that are subject to notification obligation, activities and services subject to registration, and activities and services performed based on the permit. The Act also defines the requirements for ensuring physical protection when using radioactive sources to prevent the misuse of radioactive sources for illegal manipulation, including the possibility of their misuse for terrorist purposes.

The state administration in the field of radiation protection is carried out, according to Section 4 of Act No. 87/2018 Coll. on radiation protection by the Radiation protection department of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic divided into respective sections.

Sections

  • Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Radioactive Waste Management
  • Radioactive Sources used in Medicine, Industry, Education, Research, etc.
  • Natural Sources of Ionizing Radiation
  • Assessment and Evaluation of Exposure and Associated Health Risks
  • Registry of Doses and Radioactive Sources
  • Environmental Monitoring, Emergency Preparedness, and Response

Supervision of radiation protection in the Slovak Republic is ensured by state supervision under the provisions of Section 155 of the Act No. 87/2018 Coll. on radiation protection.

Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic issues various types of decisions, binding opinions, guidelines for the elimination of identified deficiencies, directives, recommendations, guidelines, and expert guidance in the field of radiation protection.
Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic issues annual activity reports of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic.
In the field of radiation protection, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic performs both permanent and continuous state supervision of radiation protection in nuclear installations and workplaces, where activities are performed, for which it issues permit, determines conditions for performing of activities leading to exposure, services important for radiation protection, and for release of radioactive substances and radioactive contaminated objects and materials from the administrative control, determines conditions and authorized limits in nuclear installations and workplaces, for the operation of which it has issued permit.

For the performance of activity leading to exposure which is not excluded from notification duty, concerning character, the related extent of possible exposure of workers or population and possible risk resulting from predictable disorders and deviations from the common operation it is needed

  1. notification,
  2. registration, or
  3. authorization.

Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic determines the reference levels for optimization of radiation protection in an emergency exposure situation or the case of continuous exposure in the existing exposure situation, conditions for the transition from emergency exposure situation to an existing exposure situation, and proposes a strategy for managing the existing exposure situation.

It monitors and directs the radiation load of workers by checking compliance with the exposure limits and checking the justification of activities leading to exposure, checks compliance with the limit dose of a representative person for design, construction, and operation of a nuclear installation for radioactive discharges into atmosphere and hydrosphere, it assesses radioactive contamination of individual compartments of the environment, assesses the health condition of the population in the nearest and wider surroundings of workplaces with ionizing radiation sources.

In the field of radiation protection, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, inter alia:

  • Orders measures to prevent the emergence of diseases and other health disorders due to ionizing radiation exposure;
  • Performs monitoring of radiation situation and data collection in the Slovak Republic for evaluation radiation exposure and assessment of radiation impact on public health and creates, ensures, and manages activities of radiation monitoring network;
  • Keeps a register of activities leading to exposure, for which it issued permit and activities leading to exposure registered based on notification;
  • Maintains a central register of ionizing radiation sources and central register of doses and issues personal radiation licenses to external staff;
  • Provides expert guidance and information to persons, who have come into contacts with radioactive source or have been exposed;
  • Provides information to the public on radiation situation, incidents, and possible exposure, on the risks caused by exposure, and on measures and interventions to reduce exposure in case of radiation accidents;
  • Searches for workplaces and facilities, where abandoned radioactive sources may be found;;
  • Establishes an examination committee for examination and recognition of professional competence;
  • Establishes a committee, which assesses the fulfilment of requirements for recognition of the competence of a natural person and legal entity to act as a radiation protection expert;
  • Cooperates with the European Commission and the competent authorities and institutions of the Member States and represents the Slovak Republic in international organizations in matters of radiation protection;
  • Performs health evaluation of the significance of irradiation of pregnant women in medical irradiation – assessment of the likelihood of foetus damage by ionizing radiation.