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- Safety, Environmental Protection and Health
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Radiation Safety and Environmental
Protection at the IAEC Nuclear Research Centers
All of the IAEC's centers operate according to rigorous international standards,
and in accordance with Israeli laws and regulations.
The IAEC has adopted the IAEA's revised Standard on Nuclear Safety and operates
accordingly.
Israel's unique security situation requires strict implementation of the requirements
regarding the security of the nuclear facilities in Israel.
IAEC personnel undergo training and are equipped with everything necessary to protect
their health and safety as well as the environment.
Nuclear safety at the IAEC's Research Centers is supervised on several levels:
- The Safety Supervisors oversee and enforce the rules concerning radiation
safety, as well as other fields of safety. They monitor and follow up on employees'
personal exposures to radiation, regularly test the air, water and plantlife
within the Centers' premises. The safety supervisors act as safety aides to
the Directors of the Centers, and report them directly.
- The Licensing and Safety Division of the IAEC Headquarters oversees
the nuclear safety in the centers, as well as the safety of radioactive waste
management. The division advises other state entities on matters of nuclear
standardization, and participates in the supervision of radiation risks in Israel.
In addition, the division is in charge of establishing the safety objectives,
as well as technical rules and regulations regarding safety matters, according
to which nuclear power plants will be designed, built and operated in Israel,
and examines the safety aspects associated with setting up such plants.
- The Commission on Nuclear Safety constitutes an external control on
the safety in the nuclear centers. It comprises of independent experts including
nuclear safety specialists from the fields of medicine, industry and academia.
In addition to the safety measures taken by the IAEC, the Ministry of the Environment
conducts regular inspections around the centers, and periodically tests the air,
water and plantlife.
A report, issued by the Ministry of the Environment, and covering the 1999-2001
period, states that the level of radio-nuclides in the soil, water and plantlife
around NRCN is normal, and similar to that measured in other areas of the country.
Employee health at the Nuclear Research Centers
The National Center for Disease Control conducted a survey, designed to compare
the rate of cancer patients in NRCN personnel with the rate among the general population.
The survey, covering 1960-1994, was conducted by the Ministry of Health, following
a NRCN initiative, and was accompanied by a committee of experts appointed by the
Director-General of the Ministry of Health.
The survey concluded that:
- The cancer rates (of both men and women) among NRCN employees are not different
from the rates in the general population.
- The general death rates (of both men and women) among NRCN employees are lower
than those of the general population.
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