SITUATION OVERVIEW

In Croatia, 519 sealed sources in 75 institutions, 1503 X ray units in 551 institutions and nine accelerators are in use. In industry and similar sectors, 323 sealed sources are in use, of which 113 are used for industrial radiography.

Other sources are used in medical institutions and laboratories. X ray units are used for medical diagnostics (753), in dentistry (528), in veterinary medicine (27), for luggage and shipment control (114) and in industrial radiography (55).

It is estimated that basically all sealed sources are registered and recorded in the SORP database. It is necessary to examine the sources that have not been used for a longer period of time and are not encompassed in regular annual surveillance checks.

Additionally, there are about 250 sources installed in lightning rods.

These are primarily ^152,154Eu and a smaller number of ⁶⁰Co sources with activities ranging from 10 to 25 GBq. The legal obligation of the owners is to remove them by the end of 2005. The situation is relatively difficult because the records about them are out of date and a great number of sources are not regularly examined. The SORP has records on all sources installed in lightning rods, and these records are being updated to determine the present situation.

The list is also compared with the list of sources disused and deposited in temporary storage. A special problem is that not all owners of these sources are known (some registered owners have ceased to exist for various reasons, e.g.

bankruptcy), or the owners lack the financial resources to remove the sources installed in lightning rods as stipulated under the law.

Further, a certain quantity of radioactive material (unsealed sources) is used in nuclear medicine and research laboratories. The total quantity imported during the past year was 6613.04 GBq.

There is no nuclear facility in Croatia, nor is there production of or a depository for nuclear fuel, or production of other radiation sources. There are two temporary storages for radioactive material, one being still in use. It is

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149 properly organized and has accurate records on all the sources. About 300 sources deposited in other storage, as well as disused sources kept in hospitals (150) and in industry (30), have to be taken care of.

There have been four reports related to orphan and lost sources submitted since 2000:

— In 2002, 16 sources (¹³⁷Cs) were found in a small village. It was discovered that they had been used in a nearby factory (aluminium production) that was closed decades ago.

— In 2003, a lightning rod removed as a part of regular construction waste during the demolition of an old hotel in Dubrovnik was lost (and never found).

— In 2004, smoke detectors were found after a building renovation.

— In 2004, a lightning rod was discovered by Slovenian Customs and returned to Croatia. Its origin was found.

3. LEGISLATION

The regulations enacted cover the areas of authorization for use, surveil-lance, protection, transport, import and export of radiation sources. The areas of health surveillance and required qualification, including supplementary education for work with radiation sources, are also covered. Intervals and methods for personal exposure monitoring, reporting and response in the event of an accident have been defined. The regulation on radioactive waste management and the emergency preparedness law are in the phase of prepa-ration. The Act on Protection against Ionizing Radiation and the Amendment of the Act on Protection against Ionizing Radiation define the State Office for Radiation Protection as an independent regulatory body and give it authority as defined in the BSS, paragraphs 19–22 of the Code of Conduct and IAEA-TECDOC-1067. Inspection is still within the competence of the MH. The new Act is in preparation, by which the SORP would take over these tasks. With that change, the legal framework would be harmonized with the requirements of the Code of Conduct and the BSS in all their main elements.

The following laws and regulations related to radiation protection are valid:

— Act on Protection against Ionizing Radiation (Official Gazette No. 27/

99);

— Amendment of the Act on Protection against Ionizing Radiation (Official Gazette No. 173/00);

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— Regulation on the Exposure Limits, on the Conditions of Exposure for Special Purposes and on the Intervention Levels (Official Gazette No. 108/99);

— Regulation on the Conditions and Measures for the Protection against Ionizing Radiation for Conducting Practices Involving X Ray Units, Accelerators and Other Devices Generating Ionizing Radiation (Official Gazette No. 84/00);

— Regulation on the Conditions and Measures for the Protection against Ionizing Radiation for Conducting Practices Involving Radioactive Substances (Official Gazette No. 84/00);

— Regulation on the Conditions and Manner of Obtaining the Professional Qualifications as a Precondition for Work with the Sources of Ionizing Radiation (Official Gazette No. 7/00);

— Regulation on the Health Conditions, Criteria, Contents, Methods and Intervals of Maintaining of the Records about Health Surveillance of Persons Who Operate Sources of Ionizing Radiation (Official Gazette No. 76/00);

— Regulation on the Conditions, Methods, Premises and Intervals of Systematic Environmental Radiological Monitoring (Official Gazette No. 86/00);

— Regulation on the Ionizing Radiation Protection of Patients in Medical and Dental Care (Official Gazette No. 113/99);

— Regulation on the Methods and Time Intervals of the Surveillance of the Sources of Ionizing Radiation, Personnel Monitoring, Monitoring of Exposure of the Patients, on Maintaining Records and Registers and on Reporting (Official Gazette No. 63/00).

The following documents are in the drafting stage:

— Regulation on Radioactive Waste Management;

— National Plan and Programme of Ionizing Radiation Protection in the Case of Emergency Situations.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE

The central institution for radiation protection is the SORP. It has been given the authority and the powers of a regulatory body as defined under paragraphs 20–22 of the Code of Conduct. The SORP manages the central national register of radiation sources. Besides the basic data about sources, data are kept about the equipment in which they are used, their location, all

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151 surveillance examinations and the decisions issued. By connecting with the office management module, an overview of all documents sent and received in relation to a source can be obtained. The SORP issues licences for performing practices with radiation sources, approvals for procurement and licences for the use of radiation sources. To obtain a licence, a user must submit a safety assessment and in some cases a security plan, as defined in item (b) of paragraph 20 of the Code of Conduct. The licence for use is renewed each year with submission of the regular surveillance examination report. The SORP may forbid use (suspend authorization) and order removal of a source, as well as request (according to the new law it will also conduct) an inspection. The user is obliged to report the end of use of a source, indicate the method of its disposal and submit the appropriate documentation.

An institution that manages a temporary storage where spent or disused sources are deposited is obliged to inform the SORP of the receipt of any source as well as to send once a year a report with a list of all deposited sources and their activities.

Three institutions are performing technical and expert tasks in the field of radiation protection, which includes regular examination of sources and the conditions of their use, as well as dosimetric surveillance (IAEA-TECDOC-1067). They are authorized to perform the activities of paragraph 9 of the Code of Conduct, except for intervention in the event of an accident or malicious act (which is within the competence of the SORP) and for calibration of radiation monitoring equipment. In connection with the latter, activities towards estab-lishing a second standard laboratory have been initiated. It is expected to start operation this year.

There are 23 institutions authorized for import, export and transport of radiation sources, and 47 institutions are authorized for assessment of health conditions.

The qualification of workers to perform tasks with radiation sources has been stipulated. Supplementary education, as well as periodic knowledge renewal and examinations, are organized and conducted by the SORP in the form of regular courses.