Radiological Protection Ordinance (RPO) (RPO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Chapter 1 Supervision
Art. 184 Supervisory authorities
1 The FOPH, Suva and ENSI are responsible for supervision in accordance with this Ordinance. 2 The FOPH shall supervise those enterprises which are not supervised by Suva or ENSI, in particular: a. medical enterprises; b. research and teaching establishments. 3 ENSI shall supervise: a. nuclear installations; b. geological investigations as specified in Article 35 of the NEA; c. the receipt and shipment of radioactive substances at or from nuclear installations; d. the decay storage of radioactive waste from nuclear installations and all related activities. 4 Suva shall supervise industrial and commercial enterprises. 5 The supervisory authorities shall coordinate enforcement and resolve any uncertainties regarding responsibility by mutual agreement. They shall meet regularly for this purpose.
Para. 3 let. b — SR 732.1 Para. 3 let. d — Inserted by No II of the O of 7 Dec. 2018, in force since 1 Feb. 2019 (AS 2019 183).
Art. 185 Supervisory authorities’ archiving duties and duty to provide information
1 The archiving of documents concerning the granting and modification of licences and concerning supervision is governed by the Archiving Act of 26 June 1998. 2 The supervisory authorities shall make the required documents available to the licensing authorities at any time upon request.
Para. 1 — SR 152.1
Art. 186 Research
1 The supervisory authorities may, by mutual agreement, commission research projects concerning the effects of radiation and radiological protection, or participate in such projects. 2 The PSI, the Spiez Laboratory and other federal establishments shall, as far as possible, place themselves at the disposal of the supervisory authorities to carry out research projects concerning the effects of radiation and radiological protection.
Chapter 2 Enforcement
Section 1 Monitoring
Art. 187 Principle
The FOPH, Suva and ENSI shall monitor by means of spot checks, graduated according to the hazard potential, whether regulations are complied with and the protection of people and the environment against dangers arising from ionising radiation is assured.
Art. 188 Cooperation duties
1 All information must be provided and all devices, articles and documents required for inspections must be made available, at no cost, to the FOPH, Suva and ENSI. 2 They must be granted access to installations, equipment and areas, insofar as this is necessary for conducting inspections.
Art. 189 Engagement of third parties
The FOPH may request third parties to carry out inspections, in particular: a. firms which conduct quality assurance of diagnostic equipment; b. experts who coordinate, prepare and conduct clinical audits.
Art. 190 Monitoring of import, export and transit
1 In the course of import, export and transit controls, the customs offices shall check whether a licence has been obtained for the transport of radioactive material. 2 If so requested by the licensing authority, they shall check whether goods undergoing import, export and transit comply with the provisions of this Ordinance. 3 The FOPH shall organise the conduct of periodic targeted screening of goods undergoing import, export and transit and of persons entering the country; for this purpose, it shall consult in particular the Directorate General of Customs. 4 It shall coordinate, in particular with the Spiez Laboratory, requirements for, and the procurement and maintenance of, the necessary measuring equipment and shall prepare deployment in special situations. 5 It is responsible for approval of agreements concerning the possible take-back of exported radioactive waste as specified in Article 25 paragraph 3 letter d of the RPA. 6 The Directorate General of Customs, in consultation w
Para. 7 — The name of this administrative unit was changed on 1 Jan. 2022 pursuant to Art. 20 para. 2 of the Publications Ordinance of 7 Oct. 2015 (SR 170.512.1) (AS 2021 589).
Section 2 Monitoring of Ionising Radiation and Rad
Art. 191 Responsibilities
1 The FOPH shall monitor ionising radiation and radioactivity in the environment. 2 ENSI shall additionally monitor ionising radiation and radioactivity in the vicinity of nuclear installations. 3 To assess public exposure to radioactivity in the environment, the FOPH shall carry out measurements in appropriate sampling media such as airborne particulates, water intended for human consumption, or foodstuffs. To this end, it may collaborate with the cantons. 4 To protect the health of consumers, the cantons shall monitor radioactivity in foodstuffs and in articles of daily use. 5 The FDHA, in consultation with ENSI and after a hearing with METAS, shall issue technical provisions for environmental dosimetry.
Art. 192 Automaticnetwork for monitoring radioactivity in Switzerland
1 The FOPH shall operate an automatic network for the general monitoring of radioactivity in the environment. This network shall also measure immission levels in the vicinity of enterprises which discharge radioactive substances to the environment or could discharge larger quantities thereof. 2 The FOPH, in cooperation with the competent supervisory authority, shall specify requirements for the monitoring network with regard to monitoring in the vicinity of enterprises as specified in paragraph 1. 3 Enterprises where a substantial release of radioactivity cannot be ruled out shall bear the costs of purchasing and operating those monitoring stations within the automatic network which are used to monitor radioactivity in their vicinity. 4 The costs of purchasing equipment, excluding planning costs, are deemed to be acquisition costs. The costs of site rental, assurance of information security, maintenance and repair, and electricity are deemed to be operating costs. 5 The FOPH shall char
Art. 193 Sampling and measurement programme
1 The FOPH, in cooperation with ENSI, Suva, the NEOC and the cantons, shall prepare a sampling and measurement programme for planned and for existing exposure situations. 2 For the implementation of the sampling and measurement programme, the federal laboratories, in particular the PSI, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and the Spiez Laboratory, are required to cooperate and to make available at all times the necessary human and material resources. 3 Third parties may be engaged if needed to implement the sampling and measurement programme
Art. 194 Collection of data, radiological assessment and reporting
1 ENSI, Suva, the NEOC, the cantons and the participating laboratories shall make available to the FOPH the monitoring data generated and interpreted. 2 On the basis of the results of the sampling and measurement programme specified in Article 193, the FOPH shall assess the radiological situation. It shall calculate and assess the doses accumulated by the public. This is without prejudice, in emergency exposure situations, to the provisions of the CCMBO. 3 The FOPH shall determine public radiation exposure in accordance with Annexes 3–6. 4 It shall prepare and publish an annual report on the monitoring data and the resultant radiation doses to the public.
Para. 2 — SR 520.17
Art. 195 Investigation thresholds in environmental monitoring
1 If concentrations of artificial radionuclides in the environment are detected which could lead to an effective dose of more than 10 µSv per year for a given exposure pathway and for members of the public, the FOPH shall seek to identify the cause. 2 If the radionuclides were discharged by an enterprise which has a licence, the FOPH shall inform the supervisory authority concerned. Where possible and appropriate, this authority shall request the implementation of optimisation measures to reduce the discharge. 3 If the radionuclides were discharged by an enterprise which does not have a licence, if the radionuclides originated abroad, or if the cause is unclear, the FOPH shall appropriately supplement its measurement programme, if necessary, and inform the public.
Section 3 Further Enforcement Provisions
Art. 196 Provision of information on events of public interest
The FOPH shall ensure that the persons and cantons concerned and the public are informed in a timely manner about events of public interest.
Art. 197 Monitoring of occupationally exposed aircrew
The FOCA shall supervise aircraft operators with regard to the monitoring of occupationally exposed aircrew.
Chapter 3 Federal Commission for Radiological Prot
Art. 198
1 The KSR is a standing advisory commission within the meaning of Article 8a paragraph 2 of the GAOO. 2 It shall advise the Federal Council, the FDHA, the DETEC, the DDPS, ENSI, interested public offices and Suva on radiological protection matters. It has the following duties: a. regularly informing the public about the radiological protection situation in Switzerland; b. providing advice on the following matters in particular: 1. the interpretation and appraisal of international recommendations in the field of radiological protection with regard to their application in Switzerland, 2. the elaboration and development of harmonised principles for the application of radiological protection regulations, 3. environmental radioactivity, the results of monitoring, their interpretation and the resultant radiation doses for the public; c. in collaboration with the professional and sectoral associations concerned, preparing and publishing recommendations on the justification of diagnostic or th
Para. 1 — SR 172.010.1 Para. 2 let. c — www.ksr-cpr.ch
