The one-day symposium on “Radiation Safety in Nuclear Power” organized by the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care in partnership with the Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź was held on November 29, 2023.
The event was attended by more than 280 participants, included General Sanitary Inspector of the Polish Armed Forces as well as representatives of Polish Centre for Accreditation, Air Ambulance Service, State Fire Service, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Sieradz Municipal Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Company, representatives of the State Sanitary Inspectorate from Łódź, Gdańsk, Katowice, Opole and Rzeszów and representatives of National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care. The large group of participants included scientists, academics, students at the University of Łódź, Lodz University of Technology and Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences, teachers and students at senior secondary schools, as well as other people interested in the topics discussed.
A series of six lectures was presented by Przemysław Żydak (Sotis Advisors LLC, Warsaw University of Technology), Jarosław Perkowski (Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety, University of Łódź), Krzysztof Kozak (Laboratory of Radiometric Expertise, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow), and Marek Krzysztof Janiak (radiobiologist, immunologist and epidemiologist, formerly the Department of Radiobiology and Radiological Protection, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw).
Małgorzata Wrzesień, Vice-Dean for Teaching and Quality of Education of the Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź, gave the opening speech. The introduction speeches were also given by Łukasz Korporowicz, Vice-Rector for Research, the 1st Deputy of the Rector of University of Łódź, Paweł Maślanka, Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź, and Dariusz Kluszczyński, Director of the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care.
Topics covered in the first part of the symposium included: concepts for the development of nuclear energy in Poland, legal, organizational, and technical issues related to the decision-making process, project development, selection of technologies, locations, and contractors, as well as legal requirements and the status of implementation of nuclear power plant construction projects in the country. The future of nuclear power and the current directions of its development in Poland and in the world were also discussed. The lectures ended with a question-and-answer session from the audience.
In the second part of the symposium, the health effects of absorbing low doses of ionising radiation were analysed in detail, citing numerous research results conducted around the world over the last several decades and presenting the results of own laboratory and comparative tests. A wide range of issues related to emissions of radioactive substances during the operation of nuclear power plants was also presented, indicating the types of emissions and their observed levels, applicable limits, and methods of monitoring emissions in the context of potential threats to people and the environment.
The summary of the symposium was another question-and-answer session, followed by a discussion with the audience, during which many important topics and problems related to the development of nuclear power plants were raised.
Both the large number of participants, the lively discussion and numerous questions indicate great interest in the issues discussed, confirming the need to organize further meetings on nuclear power.
