Ionising radiation

Regulatory oversight of practices involving NORM materials in Greece

The regulation and supervision of organisations carrying out, amongst other things, practices involving NORM materials (naturally occurring radioactive materials) falls within the current regulatory framework that has been in force in the country since 2018. More specifically, these activities are divided into those subject to notification and those subject to registration. There are also cases where activities are exempt.

The EEAE contacted the industries that use NORM materials, and following a series of measures and briefings, the required information for their inclusion within the regulatoryregulatory framework.

Summary data for the seven industries that have been incorporated into the regulatory framework are presented at study by the Hellenic Association of Environmental Engineers (EEAE) covering the period 2020–2021. This report records and analyses the categories and types of practices involving NORM materials carried out in Greece, as well as the corresponding number of organisations implementing these practices.

Detailed data are also presented regarding the quantity of NORM materials, their activity concentration and the method of their management or disposal.

Finally, specific reference is made to the maximum and minimum doses that workers may receive whilst handling NORM materials, by industrial sector, in specific job roles and under adverse exposure scenario assumptions.

NORM Waste Management

NORM waste in Greece is mainly generated during the production of oil, phosphate fertilisers, bauxite mining and concrete production. According to a study by the Hellenic Association of Environmental Engineers (EEAE), during the two-year period 2020–2021, the quantities of ash already deposited in Greece exceed the quantities of phosphogypsum and bauxite residues by at least an order of magnitude, whilst the quantities of oil-contaminated sludge are significantly smaller and are stored temporarily in concrete tanks.

In accordance with Annex VII of Presidential Decree 101/2018 (Government Gazette 194/A/2018), NORM waste with activity concentrations below 1 Bq/g (or 10 Bq/g for ⁴⁰K) is exempt from classification as radioactive and may be released. NORM waste with activity concentrations between 1 and 10 Bq/g is subject to further assessment, as it may be classified as radioactive, depending on the dose rate. In this case, its management falls within the framework of the waste management hierarchy, as defined by European Directive 2008/98/EC. The hierarchy comprises the following stages:

  1. Prevention:
    Implementation of treatment methods at the source of production to reduce the generation of high-concentration waste.
  2. Reuse:
    Promoting the use of NORM waste in safe and approved applications, such as building materials, in accordance with regulatory requirements.
  3. Recycling:
    Supporting research into the conversion of NORM materials into useful products.
  4. Recovery:
    Use of NORM waste for energy recovery or the recovery of valuable metals, such as rare earth elements, where technically and environmentally feasible.
  5. Disposal:
    For NORM waste with activity concentrations between 1 and 10 Bq/g, disposal at authorised facilities or at the sites where it was generated is permitted, provided that the dose rate does not exceed the limit of 1 mSv/year for the general public. Otherwise, or in the case of waste with concentrations exceeding 10 Bq/g, such waste is classified as radioactive and managed in accordance with regulatory framework for radioactive waste.