Speakers
Description
In addition to the well-known benefits of nuclear facilities, such as the energy generation and radiopharmaceutical production, the population surrounding a nuclear facility site experiences other benefits. For example, the population benefit from jobs creation and the associated academic development. There is also a growth in the surrounding cities. The good standards for environmental protection applied in the nuclear industry contribute to foster the sustainable use of the environment and its resources. For example, conducting prospective radiological environmental impact assessments, establishing discharge limits to protect humans and the environment, optimizing the level of protection balancing the potential very low radiation risk following “ALARA” principles, considering economic, societal and environmental aspects. Moreover, environmental monitoring is a direct measure of the level of populational and environmental protection, validating the assessments. In this sense, environmental monitoring close the loop of sustainable use of nuclear energy. This work analyzes the recent improvement in the methodology, as recommended by an international expert required to the IAEA under a Brazilian Technical Cooperation project, and presents the results of the dose assessment on individuals from public surrounding a nuclear complex, considering the current annual average releases and the possible expansion of facilities that can take place in the future.
