Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Regulations 7(4) and (5); 8(5) and (6); and 9(11) and (12)

SCHEDULE 8 Principles and purposes of intervention

Part I Principles to which emergency plans shall have regard

An emergency plan drawn up pursuant to regulation 7, 8 or 9 respectively shall, in so far as it applies to any radiation emergency, be drawn up having regard to the following principles—

(a) the intervention shall be undertaken only if the reduction in the detriment due to the radiation resulting from the radiation emergency is sufficient to justify the harm and costs, including the social costs, of the intervention; and

(b) the form, scale and duration of the intervention shall be carried out in such a way as to ensure that exposures to radiation are kept as low as is reasonably practicable so that the benefit of the reduction in health detriment less the detriment associated with the intervention will be maximised.

Part II Purposes of intervention

The purposes of intervention referred to in regulations 7(5), 8(6) and regulation 9(12) are—

(a) reducing or stopping at source direct radiation and the emission of radionuclides;

(b) reducing the transfer of radioactive substances to individuals from the environment; and

(c) reducing the exposure and organising the treatment of persons who have been subject to exposure to radiation.