Risk-oriented approach to analysis of safety living in the vicinity of atomic energy facilities. Review

At present much attention is paid to the development of safe, ecologically pure and cost-effective atomic energy industry. To ensure the safe living in the vicinity of the atomic energy facilities it is very important to carry out environmental expertise at all levels of the facilities construction, beginning from project designing, constructing, operation and decommissioning of the facilities. Risk-oriented approach is considered as the most effective approach to the assessment of consequences of the human impact on the environment and the management of environmental safety. This approach is based on analysis risks to public health, and allows comparison of impacts of different factors. Estimates of risk to public health are integral elements of the environmental expertise of projects of newly constructed or reconstructed atomic energy facilities, recovery of contaminated areas are used in the USA and in the West Europe. This approach is widely used in Russia. From analysis of the present-day hygienic standards it is seen that regulation of chemical substances effects is less strong as compared with the regulation of radiation effects. Analysis of carcinogenic risk of radiation and other environmental factors, as well as health effects of different environmental factors on the population living nearby of the Leningrad and Novovoronezh NPPs and in the City of Angarsk revealed that health risks from radiation were negligible (10-6) and considerably less than risks from other harmful factors.