Services related to regulations on radioactive pollution and waste
Contact us
Regulations concerning the application of the Pollution Control Act to radioactive pollution and radioactive waste (Regulations 11-01-1394) were made applicable from 01.01.2011. The regulations mean that activities that entail or can lead to the supply of radioactive substances with total activity or specific activity that are greater or equal to the values stated in Appendix II, in relation to the Pollution Control Act § 8 last paragraph, shall always be considered to result in notable damage or disadvantages, and cannot take place without permission pursuant to section 11 of the Pollution Control Act.
This means that almost all Norwegian industry that processes minerals / rock material thus needs permission to release radioactivity to the environment, since all rocks contain some uranium and thorium. The limits are set so low that in practice they mean that emission permits are required for emissions of only a few kilograms of rock material.
IFE can assist in specifying the degree of radioactivity when analyzing raw material, product, emissions and waste. We offer analyzes of anthropogenic and natural radionuclides in a number of types of test material in connection with emission control, environmental monitoring, research projects and on behalf of external customers. Mineral industry players can enter into a framework agreement with IFE on specific services or a framework for services and follow-up. Note that finished products are regulated by the Radiation Protection Regulations.
IFE has laboratories and measuring equipment for analyzing samples with very small amounts of radioactivity, as low as a few mBq (thousands of Becquerel). The laboratory is one of Norway’s largest in this field and is a qualified member of the IAEA’s ALMERA (Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity) network. To be a qualified member here, the laboratory must participate with good results in so-called ALMERA proficiency tests organized by the IAEA.