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Grete Rindahl
Sector Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) shall supervise and ensure that Norwegian legislation and internal requirements are fulfilled. The Departments in sector HSE conducts independent internal audit of Safety and Quality in IFE’s activities in Halden and at Kjeller. Moreover, the sector is responsible for the development of IFE quality system, including the HSE system, and system for physical protection.
IFE is subject to a strict body of regulations on safety and emissions. Our safety is closely monitored both nationally and internationally. In the case of emissions, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority sets limits for how much we are allowed to discharge to air and water. The emissions licence sets specific emission limits. In addition, limits are set for the maximum dose of radiation to which individuals in the most vulnerable population group can be exposed. The limits are very low since this is a question of safety. Nevertheless, the emissions are kept far below the limits set. In 2017, radioactive emissions to air and water from the Kjeller facilities amounted to 1.99 per cent and 0.008 per cent of the applicable dose limit, and for Halden 1.97 per cent and 0.09 per cent of the limits set.
Ongoing surveillance of radioactivity
The Health and Safety Department at Kjeller and the Radiation Protection Department in Halden have wide-ranging expertise in radiation protection, radioecology and radioactive waste, and play a key role in Norway’s nuclear emergency preparedness. We conduct research and provide assistance to industry, the public health service, the authorities and
research institutes using expertise developed at IFE. IFE has laboratories for measuring radioactivity in a variety of sample types, for dosimetry and calibration of radiation protection instruments in addition to its own electronics laboratory.
The responsibility of the Radiation Protection Department is to ensure that all use of radioactive sources and materials is in accordance with national laws, regulations and guidelines. Moreover, the department evaluates and follows up the recommendations of international organisations. The aim is to limit and reduce any radiation doses for employees at work, and check that emissions during normal operations do not exceed the emission limits. The Radiation Protection Department plays an important role in IFE’s emergency preparedness should unforeseen events occur.
IFE’s environmental monitoring ensures that we have a full overview of our total footprint. This takes place through the environmental monitoring programmes at Kjeller and in Halden. Every year, IFE issues a report on the environment with a detailed environmental audit and a description of IFE’s work with health, safety and the environment.