Field Report: Discover pragmatic examples of customer benefits
24 hours in La Hague
12th shipment of vitrified nuclear waste from France to Germany (in french)
Health and Safety Policy 2011-2013
Institutional film Clean-up operations
Environmental protection in La Hague (France)
Compacting structural and technological waste processing active liquid effluents
Social support for populations of Mounana (Gabon)
Eleventh shipment of vitrified nuclear waste from France to Germany (in french)
MELOX, world leader in the fabrication of MOX
Balance: human impact
The radio active elements present in the natural environment are partially absorbed by flora and fauna. Part of these radio active elements can therefore reach humans, via their environment and food. This is why monitoring is based around three possible transfer areas: atmospheric diffusion, hydrological and hydro-geological diffusion and marine diffusion.
Transfer of radioactivity
Man is exposed to the effects of radio active elements through three separate mechanisms:
- The level of ambient radioactivity in the environment (cosmic radioactivity, telluric radioactivity, etc.)
- Radioactivity in breathable air (presence of radon, krypton, etc).
- Natural and artificial radioactivity in foodstuffs (fish, crustaceans, vegetables, etc).
Transfer mechanisms
How can we measure the human impact of radioactivity ?
The human impact of radioactivity present in the environment can be precisely measured, radio active element by radio active element:
- By analyzing samples from the air, agricultural products, marine produce, etc. to find out the level of radioactivity present in each environmental element.
- by calculating the level of radioactivity to which different groups of people (known as reference groups) are exposed Based on behavioral models describing their lifestyles and eating habits.
- By determining, radio active element by radio active element, the real impact on all of us, thereby translating their biological effects on the organism.
The calculation methods used to determine the impact levels from radioactivity levels are set out by a group of international experts - the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection).
We therefore obtain the total impact on humans of all radio active elements present in our living environment. This impact can be expressed in millisieverts per year and by inhabitant.
| Comparison elements | |
|---|---|
| Impact of naturally occurring radioactivity | Around 2,400 µSv in France |
| Regulation of the European Community for nuclear facilities | < 1000 µSv |
| Impact of discharges on the reference group (2006) | <10 µSv |
The impact of the AREVA La Hague plant on people with the greatest exposure stands at one hundredth of the regulatory limits and almost 300 times lower than local natural radioactivity. This is a result of AREVA's efforts to reduce the impact of its discharges as much as is reasonably possible.
