The Ionising Radiations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

Notification of certain occurrencesN.I.

31.—(1) An employer shall immediately notify the Executive in any case where a quantity of a radioactive substance which was under its control and which exceeds the quantity specified for that substance in column 5 of Part I of Schedule 7—

(a)has been released or is likely to have been released into the atmosphere as a gas, aerosol or dust; or

(b)has been spilled or otherwise released in such a manner as to give rise to significant contamination.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply where such release—

(a)was in accordance with a registration under section 10 of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 M1 or which was exempt from such registration by virtue of section 11 of that Act; or

(b)was in a manner specified in an authorisation to dispose of radioactive waste under section 13 of that Act or which was exempt from such authorisation by virtue of section 15 of that Act.

(3) Where an employer has reasonable cause to believe that a quantity of radioactive substance which exceeds the quantity for that substance specified in column 6 of Part I of Schedule 7 and which was under its control is lost or has been stolen, the employer shall immediately notify the Executive of that loss or theft, as the case may be.

(4) Where an employer suspects or has been informed that an occurrence notifiable under this regulation may have occurred, it shall make an immediate investigation and, unless that investigation shows that no such occurrence has occurred, it shall immediately make a notification under the relevant paragraph of this regulation.

(5) An employer who makes any investigation in accordance with paragraph (4) shall make a report of that investigation and shall, unless the investigation showed that no such occurrence occurred, keep that report or a copy of the report for at least 30 years from the date on which it was made or, in any other case, for at least 2 years from the date on which it was made.