Radiation environment

According to The 2019 National Quality Report of Radiation Environment, the general quality of China's radiation environment is as follows:

In 2019, the quality of radiation environment in China was generally good. The real-time continuous air absorbed γ radiation dose rate and the activity concentration of natural radionuclides of the environmental medium was within the fluctuation range of natural baseline value. There was no abnormal situation of the activity concentration of artificial radionuclides. The environment electromagnetic radiation level was lower than the controlling limits for an electromagnetic environment.

Ionizing radiation

The environmental ionizing radiation level in China remained within the fluctuation range of natural background level in 2019. The real-time continuous air absorbed γ radiation dose rate and accumulated dose rate were within the fluctuation range of natural baseline value. The natural radionuclide activity concentrations in the air were within the natural background level. There was no abnormal situation of artificial radionuclide activity concentrations in the air. The activity concentration of natural radionuclides of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Songhua River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, Liaohe River, rivers in Zhejiang and Fujian, rivers in Northwest China, rivers in Southwest China and major lakes (reservoirs) remained at the baseline level, and there was no abnormal situation of the activity concentration of artificial radionuclides.

Electromagnetic radiation

In 2019, the environment electromagnetic radiation level of state monitoring sites in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), and that of radio and television signal emitting facilities, power transmission and transformation facilities and antenna of mobile communication base stations were all lower than the public exposure limit specified in the Controlling Limits for Electromagnetic Environment (GB 8702-2014).

Responses

China has strengthened relevant laws and regulations on nuclear and radiation governance to provide a legal basis for creating an excellent radiation environment. On July 11, 2007, the State Council issued the Regulation on the Supervision and Management of Civil Nuclear Safety Equipment; in 2009, the National Nuclear Safety Administration established a regulatory and standard review committee, which is divided into two professional groups, for nuclear safety and radiation safety. On Sept 14, 2009, the Regulations on the Administration of Transport Safety of Radioactive Articles was promulgated. After deliberation by the regulations and standards review committee in 2010, the National Nuclear Safety Administration issued the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Regulations System (Five-year Plan), which strengthened the overall planning and guidance of the construction of regulations. On Dec 20, 2011, the Regulations on the Safety Management of Radioactive Waste was promulgated. As of April 2014, China's nuclear safety regulatory system consists of one law, seven administrative regulations, 27 departmental regulations, and 89 guidelines, and forms a pyramid structure with the Radioactive Pollution Prevention and Control Law as the top level. The nuclear and radiation safety legal system is basically complete.

China is building automatic monitoring stations for the atmospheric radiation environment to provide technical support for radiation control. Since December 2015, the websites of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (now renamed the Ministry of Ecology and Environment), the National Nuclear Safety Administration and the Radiation Monitoring Technical Center of the Ministry of Ecological Environment have published online real-time data on the air absorbed dose of the radiation environment automatic monitoring stations in 79 cities at prefecture level and above, as well as 88 automatic radiation environment monitoring stations around nine nuclear power bases in Qinshan, Daya Bay, Tianwan, Fuqing, Ningde, Yangjiang, Changjiang, Hongyanhe and Fangchenggang.

China has specially built a key laboratory for studying the radiation environment to provide scientific guidance for radiation treatment. China currently has two key laboratories monitoring the radiation environment, namely: the National Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Radiation Environmental Monitoring and the Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Radiation Environmental Safety Monitoring.