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Radio-protection and Environmental Monitoring

Medidor de corpo inteiro These are part of the assurance that, both the mining activities and the essentially industrial activities are being developed at no risk to workers, the society and the environment. INB controls, by means of dosimetric films, have evidenced that the company operates with annual levels 20 times lower than the indexes set by the Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN (Brazilian nuclear regulatory authority).

Also excellent are the results obtained by the environmental monitoring programs measuring potential influences of INB activities on the quality of soil, air, river, lake and rain waters, besides systematically evaluating the region flora and fauna behavior.

INB RESENDE

Control, through lab analysis, enabling the evaluation and prevention of possible environmental impacts to the region's environment from the activities at FCN - Components and Assembly and FCN -Conversion and UO2 Pellets. It is also a way to ensure that the release of liquid and gaseous effluents from these units is under control, complying with CNEN, FEEMA and CONAMA release standards.

How is it done?
The region's environment is controlled, through weekly, monthly, bi-annual and annual analyses, within a 20 km radius, from the INB property area that goes from the municipality of Areias (SP) to the municipality of Resende (RJ), with a total of 35 sampling points, 15 within the plant area and 20 in the surrounding areas.

During the pre-operational stage (2 years), a survey of the chemical and physical-chemical parameters of the environmental samples was performed.In the operational phase, the conventional and radiometric analysis are routinely performed, defining the natural radioactivity levels and assessing the contribution of these activities in this bottom radiation.

Samples are collected as frequently as established for each type of analysis and are subsequently analyzed in the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory.

Who performs the control?
A team of specialists at the Coordination of Licensing, Safeguards, Radiological Protection and Environment.

Which are the parameters analyzed? All the parameters analyzed with their relevant matrixes, the frequencies and respective locations, comprise facilities Environmental Monitoring Program , which release limits are set forth in the current standards.
Different parameters are analyzed in rain, drinkable, underground and surface waters.
Conventional Analyses: Acidity, Alkalinity, Ammonia, Bicarbonate, Calcium, Carbonate, Chloride, Conductivity, Color, DBO, DQO, Hardness, Iron, Fluoride, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Nickel, Nitrate, dissolved Oxygen, pH, dissolved solids, total solids, Sulfate, Temperature and Zinc. Radiometry Analysis: Total uranium (Fluorimetry) -Alfa Spectrometry (U234, U235 and U238).
Fluoride, total uranium and its isotopes are analyzed in the air.
In milk, sediments and muds; in the soil and vegetables: fluoride, total uranium and its isotopes are analyzed.

Also, there are TLD (thermoluminescent dosimeters) installed in various points of the region integrating the environment gamma radiation doses (natural radiation) coming from the soil, the air, and cosmic radiation, as well as the contribution to the FCN bottom radiation.

Besides the above controls, FCN has a modern 60 m high tower, with several meteorology sensors. At 10m level, the wind direction and speed, relative humidity and temperature are measured, at 60 m level the wind direction and speed and temperature are measured. Atmospheric pressure, sun radiation and rainfall are measured at ground level. Atmospheric stability classes (Pasquill) are calculated in function of temperature gradient and sun radiation. Meteorological data feed calculation models for the control of gaseous effluents.

Results The twenty-year history of environmental monitoring in the INB Resende region show that the Nuclear Fuel Factory activities have caused no alterations to the environment.