The site of temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, situated at Andreeva Bay in Northwest Russia, was developed in the 1960s, and it has carried out receipt and storage of fresh and spent nuclear fuel, and solid and liquid radioactive waste generated during the operation of nuclear submarines and nuclear-powered icebreakers. The site is now operated as the western branch of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, SevRAO. In the course of operation over several decades, the containment barriers in the Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste storage facilities partially lost their containment effectiveness, so workshop facilities and parts of the site became contaminated with radioactive substances. This paper describes work being undertaken to provide an updated regulatory basis for the protection of workers during especially hazardous remediation activities, necessary because of the unusual radiation conditions at the site. It describes the results of recent survey work carried out by the Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Centre, within a programme of regulatory cooperation between the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority and the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia. The survey work and subsequent analyses have contributed to the development of special regulations setting out radiological protection requirements for operations planned at the site. Within these requirements, and taking account of a variety of other factors, a continuing need arises for the implementation of optimisation of remediation at Andreeva Bay.

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Currently, the problem of environmental pollution by toxicants of industrial origin has great ecological, social and economic importance. The research aim is to analyze the soils contamination in the Samara region with industrial toxicants. The objectives of the research included: to reveal the soil pollution dynamics with nitrates and sulfates over the years, to assess their content in the areas of soil contamination and in the background areas. The studies were carried out in 2014-2018 in the Samara city (near the territory of JSC “Arkonik SMZ”) and in the background areas (FSBI “National Park Samarskaya Luka” and Povolzhskaya AGLOS-Branch of FSC Agroecology RAS). In 2014-2018 the content of nitrate ions in the soils of the background plots and in the areas adjacent to JSC “Arkonik SMZ” varied from 7 to 66 mg/kg (1-9.4 F), sulfate ions from 13 to 303 mg/kg (0.4-8.7 F). During the studied observation period, there is a tendency to a decrease in the content of nitrates in the soils, the MPCs were not exceeded, which makes it possible to classify these soils as a pollution acceptable category. Exceeding the MPC of sulfates in research certain years (2014 in soils 5 km from JSC Arkonik SMZ and soils of FSBI National Park Samarskaya Luka, 2017 in soils 5 km from JSC Arkonik SMZ, 2018 in soils of the Volga region AGLOS-Branch of the Federal Research Center of Agroecology RAS) had a local character.

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Purpose: Development of recommendations on the use in medical practice of institutions under FMBA of Russia of operational values of radioactive skin contamination in the event of radiological accidents. Material and methods: The easily measured radiation parameters were used as operational values: ambient dose equivalent rate (ADER) of γ-radiation, density of skin contamination with γ-, β- and α-emitting radionuclides. Operational values ​​of skin contamination were estimated on the basis of experimental data described in the literature and models on the kinetics of radioactive substances transport in the body, accepted values ​​of dose criteria for deterministic and stochastic effects. The estimation of radioactive material resorption through the skin was based on the results of experimental studies in laboratory animals (mainly piglets) for a limited set of chemical compounds of radionuclides. Results: The values of γ-ADER of the main dose-forming radionuclides measured at a distance of 10 cm from the skin surface in the range of 10–1000 μSv/h and the possible health effects due to the skin exposure and the intake of radioactive substances into the body were presented. In the IAEA recommendations, the level of skin contamination at 1 µSv/h is considered as a significant operational value according to the criterion of radioactive substances intake through the mouth from the contaminated surface of the hands. However, in our opinion, this estimate is excessively conservative; therefore it is not included in the recommended operational values. If the skin is contaminated with γ-β-emitting radionuclide solutions at a surface contamination higher than 106 Bq/cm2 (ADER ≥1000 µSv/h), the out of turn emergency decontamination should be carried out. Obligatory indications for the whole body counter examination after thorough decontamination and conducting biophysical analysis of bioassay are the following operational values: γ-ADER from the skin > 10 µSv/h; surface contamination of intact skin with β-active radionuclides > 20 000 β-part./(cm2·min); surface contamination of intact skin with α-active radionuclides > 200 α-part./ (cm2·min). Conclusion: The recommended operational values allow preliminarily and promptly to assess the health risk not only in the case of external (contact) exposure of the skin and underlying tissues, but also due to the intake of soluble radioactive substances into the body through intact and damaged (injured) skin. Taking into account the high degree of uncertainty of the estimates obtained, the operational values ​​should be considered as strictly conservative. They should be used only to determinate of urgency of decontamination carrying out for the provision of medical care during the prehospital and early hospital periods with the obligatory follow-up dosimetry examination for the final assessment of absorbed dose.

Control of the radiation safety of workers is the one of the principal tasks of regulatory bodies responsible for the radiation safety and protection. This task is solved through the implementation of a set of organizational and technical measures, including:1) Organization and the execution of radiation monitoring; 2) Prediction of exposure doses to workers; 3) Selection of workers for the execution of radiation hazardous operations including emergency remedial works; 4) Planning of activities to implement the principle of the optimization of radiation protection; 6) Development and establishment of reference levels of exposure to radiation factors; 5) Organization of education and training of the personnel; 7) Continuous improvement of the occupational safety culture etc. The paper describes main actions of the management of radiation facilities aimed at the implementation of the above mentioned measures. Special attention is paid to the selection of the personnel of the required qualifications, possessing a sufficient reserve of an individual dose, to carry out radiation hazardous operations, to predict radiation doses to justify the development of the necessary protective measures and to plan actions to implement the principle of optimization of the radiation protection. The active use of the computer information and analytical system for the management of the protection from the occupational radiation is recommended. This system should include: 1. Database of individual occupational doses; 2. Database of radiation parameters characterizing the situation in workshops and at the industrial site of the radiation facility; 3. Software package for education and training of the personnel. The making of managerial decisions for the radiation protection of the personnel is aimed at increasing in the occupational reliability and, ultimately, improving the safety of radiation facilities, maintaining health and increasing the professional longevity of workers.

Purpose: The aim of work is to substantiate methodological approaches in establishing the parameters of the radiation situation at the workplaces of staff and radiation doses. Results: Methodological approaches to establishing the following types of control levels (CL) are presented: - the maximum possible CL, established from the conditions of guaranteed not exceeding the permissible values of the parameters of the radiation situation and the limits of radiation doses; - CL, established from the condition of fixing the achieved values of the parameters of the radiation situation at a level below acceptable values; - CL, exceeding the permissible values of the parameters of the radiation environment, established in those cases when the time of radiation exposure is short, and the decrease in existing levels is associated with significant labor and dose costs. Regulatory documents of the sanitary-epidemiological standardization system require the establishment of CL for radiation facilities for all monitored parameters with the aim of operational monitoring of the radiation situation, preventing exceeding the basic dose limits for personnel and the public, fixing the achieved level of radiation safety and ensuring further reduction of exposure levels for personnel and the public. In this case, the interpretation of the results of radiation monitoring should be carried out taking into account the uncertainty of the measurement result of the parameters of the radiation situation and radiation doses.