Challenges of the EURATOM basic standards implementation in Germany

The transposition of the new Council Directive laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation will entail a comprehensive revision of the German Radiation Protection Ordinance, the X-Ray Ordinance and the Precautionary Radiation Protection Act. This is, inter alia, due to the treatment of practices involving naturally-occurring radioactive material as planned exposure situations; the requirement to establish dose constraints for occupational, public and - partly - medical exposure; the new provisions against indoor exposure to radon in dwellings and at workplaces; new provisions on building materials emitting ionizing radiation and the very detailed provisions on emergency. Particularly those areas for which also at international level a need to address radiation protection has been identified will benefit from the new legislation. (orig.)