Jurisdiction: Great Britain

Commencement: 1st October 2024

Amends: The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017


Mini Summary

The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 apply to employers and those administering ionising radiation:
  • as part of their own medical diagnosis or treatment;
  • as part of research;
  • as asymptomatic individuals undergoing exposure for early diagnosis; and
  • as carers and comforters* of individuals undergoing medical exposure.

*Carers and comforters refer to individuals who knowingly and willingly support and comfort a person undergoing medical exposure (e.g. an x-ray), thereby incurring exposure to ionising radiation themselves. This does not include anyone comforting others as part of their occupation.


These Regulations revoke the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000.


Duties

Various duties apply and are available to view in full on the Legislation Update Service.


 

Amendment


Duties are updated that require employers and operators of ionising radiation equipment to:

  • co-operate with each other and share information; and
  • ensure each dose of ionising radiation is as low as reasonably practicable and consistent with the intended diagnostic or therapeutic purpose.

Additional changes:

  • update definitions, including expanding the meaning of ‘equipment’ to include software;
  • make corrections to cross-references due to omissions in The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (a previous update);
  • increase the fees for licences for employers;
  • amend training requirements for medical practitioners and operators; and
  • make minor technical amendments.

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Jurisdiction: UK

Commencement: 1st November 2021

Amends:

Mini Summary

The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019 transfer the emergency preparedness and response elements of Directive 2013/59/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation (“Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive”) for premises in which work with ionising radiation takes place.

The Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive establishes basic safety standards for the protection of the health of individuals subject to occupational, medical and public exposures against the dangers arising from ionising radiation.

The aim is that they will strengthen Great Britain’s emergency preparedness and response arrangements for radiological emergencies. It will also improve public protection and reduce adverse consequences in the event of an emergency.

These Regulations apply to any work with ionising radiation which involves a radioactive substance containing more than the quantity specified in relation to radionuclide (is an atom that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable) in Schedule 1, or in the case of fissile material (fissile materials are composed of atoms that can be split by neutrons in a self-sustaining chain-reaction to release enormous amounts of energy), more than the mass of that material specified in Schedule 2.  They do not apply where the operator can demonstrate that the quantity present on the premises would not allow, in a radiation emergency, an annual effective dose to persons off-site of more than 1 mSv (millisievert – unit of measurement for the effective dose of radiation absorbed by the body).

These Regulations do not apply in respect of:

(i.e. radiation that carries enough energy to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, thereby ionising them)


 The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009 (“CDG”) govern:

CDG implements Directive 2008/68/EC on the Inland Transport of Dangerous Goods (“Dangerous Goods Directive”) and revokes The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2007. The 2008 Directive required Member States to implement into national legislation the requirements of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (“ADR”) and the Regulation Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (“RID”)CDG implements the Directive by making the provisions of ADR and RID enforceable in Great Britain.

CDG also re-transposes Directive 1999/36/EC on transportable pressure equipment. (Note that the Directive has since been replaced by Directive 2010/35/EU on transportable pressure equipment, which has in turn by transposed by The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2011).
CDG also transposes parts of:

both of which relate to measures to be taken in connection with a radiological emergency.
Amendment

Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, is being abolished and all its functions will be transferred to the UK Health Security Agency. There are no changes to duties for organisations.

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