National presentation Latvia RER 9153 Enhancing the Regional

National presentation Latvia RER 9153 Enhancing the Regional Capacity to Control Long Term Risks to the Public due to Radon in Dwellings and Workplaces 14 -17 January 2019 Vienna, Austria

Republic of Latvia • • • Location: Eastern Europe, borders Estonia in the north, Lithuania in the south, the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Riga in the west, Russia in the east, and Belarus in the southeast Area: 64 589 km 2 Population: 1, 934 200 (2018 by the Central Statistical Bureau data) Government: Parliamentary democracy Language: Latvian 2

Legal framework (1) • Law «On Radiation Safety and Nuclear Safety» – sets basic principles for protection • Regulations «Protection against Ionizing Radiation» (No. 149) • Chapter 8 «Protection Against Natural Sources of Ionizing Radiation» - buildings, workplaces, water, construction materials and construction products» sets following limit values/levels: – radon reference level – 200 Bq/m 3 (existing dwellings and newly designed dwellings) – radon action level/limit value - 600 Bq/m 3 year average – radon workplace - reference level of 400 Bq/m 3 – radioactivity level of natural sources in construction materials 3

Legal framework (2) • Regulations «Mandatory Harmlessness and Quality Requirements for Drinking Water, and the Procedures for Monitoring and Control Thereof» (No. 235) o radon reference level – 100 Bq/l • Environment Policy Strategy 2014 -2020 determines a task - to carry out assessment of radon • No special strategies or radon control • In 2018 the working group on radon assessment and radon action plan decided not to develop a radon action plan and not to establish radon prone areas, taking into account assessment results. 4

Institutions & responsibilities (natural sources/radon) Authority Area of responsibility Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MEPRD) radiation safety policy Ministry of Economics building policy Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health drinking water policy Radiation Safety Centre of the State Environmental Service (RSC SES) regulatory body State limited Liability Company "Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre» (LEGMC) environmental monitoring Health Inspectorate control of public drinking water supply objects 5

Technical capabilities of radon measurements in Latvia Indoor air Water Soil Building materials • currently no accredited measurements available. Indicative measurements can be ensured by Riga Stradins University and State Ltd. LEGMC • in future - RSC SES. • State Ltd. LEGMC • currently not available • State Ltd. LEGMC 6

Recent activities • Ministry with the Radiation safety centre and State Ltd. LEGMC prepared informative report «Assessment of radon gas results and future follow-up of ensuring radon gas monitoring in Latvia» . Accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers on July 3, 2018; • Update of publicly available information (homepages of involved institutions) • Results of public building and workplace assessment have been presented in Riga Stradins University Scientific Conference on March 22 -23, 2018 and II International scientific and practical Forum «Health and safety at the workplace» in Minsk, Belarus, June 6 -8, 2018; • In spring 2018 a procurement of radon detection equipment for the Radiation safety centre with IAEA support was launched; • In spring 2018 EU JRC published Indoor Radon Map of Latvia and included the data in European Atlas of Natural Radiation. 7

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Challenges and further activities (1) • Re-measurement of radon gas concentration levels for housing, public buildings and workplaces should be repeated in the time period from 2030 to 2031 • Health Inspectorate and Riga Stradins University, in collaboration with the Radiation Safety Centre have to prepare informative material on radon gas, including information on the effects of smoking on human health • Update of publicly available information – improvement of the webpage of the Radiation Safety Centre (LV/EN) • Continuing the work of the working group „Radon assessment and radon action plan”. Focus on ensuring public awareness, supplementing and accessing information on radon gas on the minisry’s homepage, exchange of current information between members of the working group and industry experts. 10

Challenges and further activities (2) • Preparation of updated informational materials about radon survey in dwellings, public buildings and workplaces; • Education of building professionals on radon prevention and remediation and health professionals of radon risks, improving study programmes; • Riga Stradins University plans to publish a scientific article in 2019 on the results of the radon gas assessment; • Procurement of equipment for the Radiation Safety Centre with the IAEA support: 1) small, light-weight, electronic handheld device for quick radon monitoring in buildings; 2) Alpha. GUARD type instruments, for radon monitoring with high sensitivity. 11

Thank You ! Alda Ozola Deputy State secretary +371 67026583 Alda. Ozola@varam. gov. lv www. varam. gov. lv