Basically all main infrastructure and functional requirements of preparedness and subsequence elimination in case of accident are legalized in Lithuanian Republic. These legal instruments regulate general preparedness for extreme situation and special preparedness for radiation accidents:

Lithuanian Republic Law on civil protection (15th December 1998) establishes legal and organisational principles of Lithuanian Republic civil protection and rescue system organisation and operation, the duties and rights of state and municipal institutions, economic entities, public organisations and residents.

Lithuanian Republic Law on nuclear energy (14th November 1996) establishes responsible institutions functions in field of nuclear accidents prevention and management and subsequence elimination.

Lithuanian Republic Law on radiation protection (12th January 1999) regulates relations of legal and natural persons arising from activities involving sources of ionising radiation and radioactive waste management. There is established the legal basis of radioactive protection allowing to safeguard people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation.

Lithuanian Republic Law on the management of radioactive waste (20th May 1999) regulates the relations of legal and natural persons in the management of radioactive waste, and also establishes the legal grounds for the management of radioactive waste. According this law organization that operates radioactive waste disposal gear is responsible for

Lithuanian Republic plan for people protection in case radiation accident in Ignalina nuclear power plant is approved by Defence minister order of 11th April 2000 No. 371. There are established in detail functions, responsibility and reciprocal interaction and relations of state and municipalities institutions that respond to radiation accident in this national plan. There is preparing a new plan version in which it is planed to take into account the requirements of International atomic energy agency (thereinafter – IAEA) Safety series No. GS-R-2 and the recommendations of TECDOC-953. Fire and rescue department under the Ministry of the Interior coordinates arrangement of new plan version among responsible institutions.

Following the Convention on early notification about nuclear accident (26th September 1986) and implementing the European Union Council directive 89/618/Euratom Lithuanian Republic government decree No. 559 Considering approval of general public information order in case radiological or nuclear accident was approved in 2002. In the decree it is established early information rendering order and general public conveyance in case extreme radiological situation.

Following provisions of IAEA Safety series No. 120 and No. 115 and European Union Council directives 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom it was validated protective intervention employment in case emergency exposure and doses levels when protective intervention is employed in any conditions in Lithuanian hygiene norm HN 73:2001 Basic standards of radiation protection. Also it was established license holders obligatory preparation for protective intervention employment, requirements of accidents elimination plans preparation and etc.

Declarant who wants to get license for practice with ionizing radiation sources or radioactive waste apart other documents renders plan of radiation accidents prevention and elimination. Therein intended actions and implements whose will be betaken in case of radiation accident. Performing state supervision and control of license holders underway practice radiation emergency plans, theirs renewal are assessing. Also it is assessing how emergency preparedness plans are tested in practice (organizing and leading trainings in this field).

Operative protective intervention levels, iodine prophylaxis organization, food and drinkable water control, dosimetric control of general public who are polluted with radioactive materials and procedures of deactivation and others are validated in Lithuanian hygiene norm HN 99:2000 Protective actions of public in case of nuclear or radiological accident. This hygiene norm is prepared following recommendations of IAEA Safety series No. 109, No. 55 and others.

In Dosimetric control regulations in case nuclear or radiological accident it is established dosimetric control order of persons who eliminating accident, vehicles, equipments and other objects in nuclear or radiological accident focus. In these regulations it is established dosimetric control methods whereby it is reaching to obviate precarious high exposure of persons who eliminate accident, to estimate how long they can work in high exposure territory and etc. regulations prepared following IAEA TECDOC-1162 General evaluation and investigation procedures of radiological accidents.

Following IAEA-1092 it is prepared Rules of sampling in case of nuclear or radiological accident which is approved by order No. V-584/486 of Lithuanian Republic Health care minister and Lithuanian Republic Environmental minister on 6th October 2003. Samples sampling methods, same forms protocols to facilitate data processing and analysis, to help to institutions in advance to prepare for samples sampling and radioactive pollution measurements and to vouch data rendering by the same order in case of nuclear or radiological accident are validated by rules.

Civil protection trainings and practices order is approved by Lithuanian Republic Government decision No. 111 on 1st February 2000. In the decision it is validated trainings and practices types, trainings and practices planning, arrangement, conduct and generalization, periodicity and duration and sponsorship.

More information about emergency preparedness you can get from cheaf specialists M. Lemežis and A. Ūsaitė:
phone +370 5 210 58 17, fax. +370 5 276 36 33, e-mail: m.lemezis@rsc.lt