The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority works towards protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation, now and in the future. The task of protecting covers both you as a private person and as a professional. The authority is also the national metrology institute for ionising radiation.
The authority works within a very broad area: nuclear power, the phasing out of nuclear power, nuclear waste, the transportation of radioactive substances, ultraviolet radiation from the sun and sunbeds, electromagnetic fields, lasers, radon, cosmic radiation, preparedness against incidents and accidents involving radiation, biofuel and the use of radiation within care, research and industry.
Work involving radiation is regulated in a series of regulations, based on The Radiation Protection Act, the Radiation Protection Ordinance, the Act on Nuclear Activities and the Swedish Environmental Code. The requirements are also based on the international recommendations for ionising radiation mentioned below:
Justification: No unnecessary use of radiation is permitted, which means that the advantages must outweigh the disadvantages.
Limitation: Each individual must be protected against risks that are far too large through individual radiation dose limits.
Optimisation: Radiation doses should all be kept as low as reasonably achievable. This means that it is not enough to remain under the radiation dose limits. As permit holder, you are responsible for ensuring that radiation doses are as low as reasonably achievable, which means that the actual radiation doses are often much lower than the permitted limit.
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority works towards ensuring a secure radiation environment in society by:
- having emergency preparedness 24 hours a day against accidents involving radiation and against deliberate dispersion of radioactive substances, in Sweden as well as abroad
- publishing statutes and checking that they are being observed
- issuing permits for activities involving radiation
- inspecting activities involving radiation
- conducting investigations and stopping harmful activities
- setting radiation dose limits for the general public and for those who work with radiation
- measuring and monitoring the radiation in the environment
- following-up and evaluating the effects of emissions of radioactive substances
- monitoring all nuclear technology activities in Sweden: the production, possession, handling and transportation of radioactive substances as well as the operations at nuclear technology facilities and the ultimate storage of radioactive waste
- working to ensure that safety work at the nuclear technology facilities is developed, nationally and internationally
- initiating, supporting and evaluating research
- increasing knowledge about radiation and radiation protection through information, training, advice and recommendations
- taking part in international cooperation.
The authority’s work contributes to fewer serious mishaps or accidents involving radiation occurring in society.