Requirements and recommendations on the implementation of the principle of the optimisation of radiological protection in the maintenance of nuclear power plants

In the field of Radiological Protection, Spanish legislation, in keeping with international practice, requires that the management of nuclear installations should reduce doses to a level as low as reasonably achievable, and always below the individual dose limits. In practice, this requirement is implemented once the installation has begun operations, by means of work programmes for the reduction of doses. The application of these programmes is supervised by the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear. This paper summarizes the standard content and structure of these programmes, their application in the operations of a nuclear plant and the differences in implementation between the different Spanish nuclear power stations, depending on their date of commission. The paper concludes by describing the established objectives in the area of dose reduction