1. HELCOM Meeting
May 2019
OSPAR’s monitoring and assessment in reducing discharges of radioactive substances to the North-East Atlantic
Kinson Leonard
(Vice chair - OSPAR)

2. Introduction
OSPAR is the mechanism by which 15 Governments and the European Union co-operate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic
First Ministerial meeting under the 1992 OSPAR Convention was held in 1998 (at Sintra, Portugal) - agreement was reached on:
i) a complete and permanent ban on all dumping of radioactive waste and other matter; and
ii) a strategy to guide the future work of the OSPAR Commission on protecting the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic against radioactive substances arising from human activities
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

3. The “Strategy” or RSS
The OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy provides that
In accordance with the general objective [of the OSPAR Convention], the objective of the Commission with regard to radioactive substances is to prevent pollution of the maritime area from ionising radiation through progressive and substantial reductions of discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances, with the ultimate aim of concentrations in the environment near background values for naturally occurring radioactive substances and close to zero for artificial radioactive substances.
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

4. The “Strategy” or RSS (continued)
In achieving this objective, the following issues should, inter alia, be taken into account:
1. legitimate uses of the sea;
2. technical feasibility;
3. radiological impacts on man and biota.
The Strategy further provides that:
This Strategy will be implemented in accordance with the Programme for More Detailed Implementation of the Strategy with regard to Radioactive Substances (“RSS Implementation Programme”).
In order to achieve [its objective] by the year 2020, the Commission will ensure that discharges, emissions and losses of radioactive substances are reduced to levels where the additional concentrations in the marine environment above historic levels, resulting from such discharges, emissions and losses, are close to zero.
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

5. The RSS Implementation Programme
The RSS Implementation Programme and the agreements made at the second OSPAR Ministerial meeting in 2003 provide that:
the Contracting Parties will each prepare a national plan for achieving the objective of the Strategy;
they will monitor and report on progress in implementing those plans; and
the OSPAR Commission will periodically evaluate progress against an agreed baseline.
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

6. OSPAR Marine Regions
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

7. The RSS Implementation Programme
Approach
The implementation of this strategy requires attention to
discharges (reductions in which are the main means of action), concentrations (the measure of the ultimate aim) and
doses to the public and biota (consequence of the two preceding factors, and essential as quality status indicators)
Assessment: Derivation of data for the baseline and assessment periods
i.e. for discharges.
baseline period for discharges and concentrations from the nuclear sector would comprise the 7-year period 1995 to and 2005 to 2011 for the non-nuclear oil and gas sub-sec tor
Assessment period for discharges from the nuclear sector was a 7-year period 2007 to 2013 for the assessment period of the Fourth Periodic Evaluation
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

8. Periodic Evaluations
Fourth Periodic Evaluation of Progress Towards the Objective of the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy Year: 2016 No: 687
Results - clear evidence of substantial reductions (35 out of 53 assessments across the nuclear sub-sectors (2007 – 2013, compared to the baseline period ( ). Furthermore, none of the other assessments showed any evidence of increased discharges.
Towards the Radioactive Substances Strategy objectives:
Third Periodic Evaluation Year: 2009
Second Periodic Evaluation of Progress towards the
Objective of the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy
Year: 2007
Revised First periodic evaluation of progress towards
the objective of the OSPAR Radioactive Substances Strategy
Year: 2006
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

9. Examples of Procedures Developed for Assessment Purposes
Close to Zero (ICG CTZ)
A method for assessing “additional concentrations in the marine environment above historic levels are close to zero”
Environmental Assessment Criteria (ICG EAC)
A methodology for deriving criteria for the radiological
environmental assessment of concentrations (originally developed by the IAEA)
MODelling of NORM in seawater from discharges of produced water from the offshore oil and gas sector (ICG MOD)
A methodology for deriving additional NORM concentrations in the near and far fields from offshore installations
And the use of statistical tests to evaluate between results obtained in the baseline and assessment periods
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019

10. Thanks for your attention
That’s all folks
Thanks for your attention
HELCOM Meeting, May 2019