General Radiation Protection Ordinance 2020 (AllgStrSchV 2020)

General Radiation Protection Ordinance 2020 (AllgStrSchV 2020)

The Radiation Protection Act 2020 is the basis for several Ordinances containing more detailed regulations. Based on the Radiation Protection Act 2020, the General Radiation Protection Ordinance 2020 regulates activities involving radiation sources and measures protecting against ionising radiation.

The Ordinance on general measures for protection against dangers from ionising radiation (General Radiation Protection Ordinance 2020 - AllgStrSchV 2020 (RIS)) (in German only) was published as Federal Law Gazette No 339/2020 and entered into force as of 1 August 2020.

The General Radiation Protection Ordinance is the thematically most comprehensive and thus the most important Ordinance on the Strahlenschutzgesetz 2020 (Radiation Protection Act 2020). In particular, it contains regulations concerning

• Application of artificial radiation sources in medicine, industry and research,
• activities involving naturally occurring radioactive materials,
• placing consumer products and type-approved devices on the market,
• protection of flying personnel from cosmic radiation,
• safe disposal of radioactive waste,
• nuclear safety in research reactors, as well as
• emergency precautions for applications of ionising radiation with increased risk.

Deviations from the old legal situation

The Radiation Protection Act 2020 contains the following significant changes and additions compared to the old legal situation:

• Full implementation of activities involving naturally occurring radioactive materials in the radiation protection regime; examples of this area of activity are the fertiliser industry, the cement industry, the petroleum industry and industrial sandblasting. Certain provisions for this field of activity were already enshrined in the Natural Radiation Sources Ordinance under the old law. In the General Radiation Protection Ordinance 2020, such activities are also in addition subject to comprehensive official regulation (authorisation and notification requirements, official inspections, et cetera).
• Specification of the documents that must be included as a minimum requirement in an application for a licence or authorisation under radiation protection law.
• Specifications for the official authorisation to place consumer products containing radioactive substances on the market; examples include luminescent materials, welding electrodes and special lamps.
• Adaptation of the provisions relating to hazardous radioactive sources to the high hazard potential; one example of this is the establishment of minimum requirements for safety analyses and emergency plans.
• Reduction of the limit value for the eye lens dose of workers exposed to radiation.
• Optimisation of radiation protection procedures; for example, a two-stage approval procedure can be handled in a joint procedure for X-ray facilities with a rated voltage of up to 100 kilovolts, provided the necessary structural radiation protection measures are in place.
• Establishment of EU-wide standardised exemption limits for activities involving radionuclides in the form of activity and activity concentration values; below these exemption limits, no authorisation and/or notification is required under radiation protection law. These values are largely identical or similar to those specified in the old General Radiation Protection Ordinance.
• Definition of EU-wide standardised clearance values for radionuclides in the form of activity concentration values; if the clearance values are complied with, release from radiation protection monitoring is possible. Most of the values are identical or similar to those specified in the old General Radiation Protection Ordinance.
• Establishment of a reference value for exposure to gamma radiation from construction products.