The approaches used by plants producing radioactive medicinal products and university hospitals with departments of nuclear medicine are safe for both people and the environment. However, there is still room for improvement regarding the storage of radioactive materials and sources. These are the findings from the ANVS’s 2024 and 2025 inspections of 12 Dutch plants with complex licences for these purposes. That’s nearly half of all complex licence holders in the Netherlands.
Image: © ANVS
Reasons for inspection
Developments in nuclear medicine (in Dutch) are progressing rapidly. There are more procedures taking place. New types of radioactive medicinal products are also being produced and in use. That can create risks to people and the environment, for example due to radioactive materials’ discharge into the air. We monitor these activities to make sure they are happening safely and in accordance with the applicable rules.
Monitoring rules and practice
We checked that the complex licence holders have good internal systems for radiation protection, such as internal supervision. We also considered such aspects as the presence of a radiation protection unit, or group of external specialists, and this unit’s functioning. We further reviewed the licence holders’ safe handling of radioactive waste resulting from activities involving radioactive medicinal products, such as used gloves, tissues and residual radioactive materials.
Careful handling of radioactive waste
The 12 plants we examined are cautious in their handling of radioactive waste. They are taking sufficient measures to ensure that radioactive materials are disposed of as radioactive waste and not as general waste. Discharges into the air or sewer system do not exceed legal limit values.
The amounts of radiation exposure resulting from the various applications are also safe for people and the environment. Local residents are protected against exposure to excessive doses of ionising radiation. Furthermore, the plants all have properly functioning radiation protection units. This is mandatory for holders of complex licences.
Room for improvement in use of storage facilities for radioactive materials
With regard to the plants’ storage of radioactive materials, the findings are less positive. Designated storage facilities are not being used consistently. Not all storage facilities can provide the required 60 minutes of fire resistance. Moreover, registration of radioactive materials stored in a specific facility isn’t always satisfactory. That means it can be unclear which types of sources or radioactive materials are present in a storage facility. While there is no imminent danger to people or the environment due to these deficiencies, they do need to be addressed.
Praise for organisations’ professionalism
Annemiek van Bolhuis, chair of the ANVS board, took part in one of the inspection visits and is satisfied with the results. “The inspected organisations are handling radiation safely on all the most important aspects. There are also still some concerns. However, they are actively working to address these areas. This is the type of attitude we like to see, particularly for plants with a complex licence and a radiation protection unit. We also praised several organisations’ willingness to go further than the minimum requirements. This approach to radiation protection sets a positive example for other companies and plants in the same field.”
Inspections of industry and scientific education planned for 2026
In 2026, we plan to inspect the remaining plants and companies with so-called complex licences in fields including industry and scientific education.
Would you like to find out more?
Visit our website for more information about the 2024-2025 inspection results for complex licence holders (in Dutch).