Portugal

Nuclear regulatory authority

The Independent Commission for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (CIPRSN), created by Decree Law 139/2005 of 17 August, is an independent body currently working towards the creation of a national regulatory authority. The President of the CIPRSN is nominated by the Prime Minister, and is entitled to represent Portugal in ENSREG.

The Portuguese representatives in ENSREG are members of the following institutions:

• The Centre for Nuclear Physics of the Lisbon University
• Nuclear Technology Institute

Nuclear activities

Portugal has one research reactor located in the National Nuclear Research Centre. Nuclear energy activities are not planned in the near future.

Other nuclear activities:

Medical applications (radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine), as well as use of industrial radioactive sources.

Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management

Presently Portugal has no spent fuel. In September 2007, the core of the Portuguese Research Reactor (RPI) was converted from high enriched to low enriched fuel and all HEU as well as all spent fuel has been shipped to the USA in the framework of the “United States Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Acceptance Program”.
Liquid effluents produced in the RPI, as well as effluents of medical applications are locally stored and later on discharged in accordance with national law.
Solid radioactive waste and discarded sealed sources are centrally stored in the national intermediate radioactive waste storage.

Main legal instruments

The main legal instruments on these issues are:
The Ministerial Order 10A/MCT/96, which regulates the activities of the Portuguese research reactor RPI; the Decree-Law 165/2002 of 17 July, which partially revises Decree-Law 348/89 and establishes the new competencies of all authorities connected to radiological protection and nuclear safety, partially transposing Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996; Decree-Law 167/2002 of 18 July, which regulates the licensing and functioning of service providers in the field of radiological protection, partially transposing Council Directive 96/29/Euratom; Decree-Law 174/2002 of 25 July, which establishes the national measures for intervention in case of a radiological emergency, partially transposing Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996; Decree-Law 180/2002  of 8 August 2002, which transposes Council Directive 97/43/Euratom on the application of ionizing radiation during medical exposures; Decree-Law 38/2007 of 19 February 2007, which revises Decree-Law 153/96 of 30 August, which foresaw the protection of people and the environment against the risks arising from the utilization of sealed radioactive sources; Decree-Law 222/2008 of 17 November, which completes the transposition of Council Directive 96/29/Euratom; and Decree-Law 198/2009 of 26 August 2009, which transposes EU Council Directive 2006/117/Euratom of 20 November 2006; Decree-Law 178/2006 of 5 September, which establishes the general regime for waste management and transposes the Directive 2006/12/EC and Directive 91/689/EEC; Order 242/96 of 13 August, which establishes the legal framework for the management of clinical waste.