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Overview of Post-treatment of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
Last Update: Dec 09, 2024
Overview of Post-treatment of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
According to the results of the current detection and assessment, all identified radioactive contaminated buildings were built during 1982–1984, with user licenses issued from November 1982 to January 1986.
In compliance with Article 24, paragraph 3, of the “Ionizing Radiation Protection Act” and Article 8 paragraph 1 of the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, when the annual radiation dose of the building reaches 1 mSv or more, the competent authority (NSC) shall update and tabulate the dose annually. Furthermore, these tables will be sent to local government land offices for public inquiry.
In case of any further questions related to radiation detection of contaminated buildings built during the above-mentioned period, you may inquire through following channels：
1.Ask the building owner to provide the original radiation inspection certificate.
2.Select a qualified radiation inspection company licensed by NSC to conduct a radiation inspection and issue a radiation inspection certificate.
3.Contact NSC’s free consulting service for radioactive contaminated buildings at 0800-076-678 / 02-8231-7919 # 2216 during business hours.
Regulations related to Post-treatment of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
According to the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, the post-treatment procedures for radioactive contaminated buildings (hereinafter referred to as“ contaminated buildings”) are as follows：
1.Offer free health examination and long-term care for residents (Article 9)：radiation dose of any year during residency > 1 mSv
2.Acquire contaminated buildings (Article10)：annual radiation dose > 15 mSv
3.Compensate (Article11)：
annual radiation dose > 15 mSv and unwilling to be acquired: NTD 200,000~ 500,000
annual radiation dose between 5~15 mSv :NTD 200,000
4.Issue engineering improvement subsidy (Article12)：
annual radiation dose > 15 mSv : NTD 500,000
annual radiation dose between 5~15 mSv : NTD 400,000
5.Reduce housing tax (Article13)：Annual radiation dose > 5 mSv
6. Dismantling and Reconstruction (Article14)：If the annual radiation dose of a contaminated building reaches 1 mSv, an application for approval may be made to the local municipal or county (city) government for demolition and reconstruction.
Post-treatment Situation of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
NSC has inspected and assessed 1,670 households of contaminated buildings. Among them, 130 households have already been dismantled. In addition, all buildings that met the criteria for acquisition or improvement have been processed. No one lives in the buildings which were acquired by NSC, so the original residents are free from the risk of radiation forever. Besides, the radioactive steel in these buildings has been replaced through engineering improvements, ensuring radiation safety for the residents.
The rest of buildings that do not met the criteria for acquisition or improvement don’t need to be handled, because the radiation dose is far below 1 mSv due to long-term natural radioactive decay.
For instance, in the community on Qionglin Rd., Xinzhuang Dist., New Taipei City, 20 households of contaminated buildings were acquired by NSC. The reconstruction committee automatically initiated the plan of dismantlement and reconstruction in 2004, reaching a consensus among all owners. National Property Administration then acquired the ownership portion of the contaminated buildings and sold them to the committee. After that, a 15-floor mansion was reconstructed on the same site in 2008.
Based on the above, after the domestic event of radioactive contaminated buildings, NSC actively enacted “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings” in1994. According to this regulation, NSC acquired contaminated buildings, executed free health examinations for residents, and provided long-term tracking. These qualified buildings with dismantling and reconstruction plan within three years could apply for 30% extra floor area ratio as a reward. For buildings which did not undergo any improvements, these are not influential to residents’ health because of natural decay. Acquired buildings don’t have radiation risk because no one lives there . NSC positively coordinates with National Property Administration to receive untransferred contaminated buildings. Once contaminated buildings are dismantled and reconstructed, NSC will offer technical assistance for radiation protection, so as to clean the contaminated buildings thoroughly.
In order to better improve prevention and treatment of radioactive contaminated buildings, NSC periodically inspects contaminated buildings, detects buildings which have concerns about radioactive contamination, and examines radiation safety of steel plants. In 2017, 5 households of radioactive contaminated buildings were found to have been dismantled. According to the data from NSC, the dose of radiation from the steel in the buildings is low and has undergone long-term natural radioactive decay, so the concerns about radiation safety are very slight.
In order to avoid secondary contamination from dismantlement, NSC has already convened relevant construction management authority to discuss the mechanism for strengthening dismantlement notification and further included into regulations. In addition, NSC inspects the radiation safety of steel plants and check the functionality of vehicle radiation detection system every year. There have been no abnormal situations regarding steel products in the steel plant since then. It shows that the treatment of radioactive steel products has reached the expected effects. For buildings which have concerns about radioactive contamination, NSC also continuously strengthens propaganda and performs free radiation detection. The detected rate is up to 99.1%, and the number of households decreases from 2,930 to 25 by the end of 2024.
Medical care of residents of contaminated buildings
According to the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, NSC has examined and evaluated residents’ health. For residents who found pathological signs or symptoms, hospitals will follow national health insurance system to arrange more meticulous examinations and necessary treatments.
In the aspect of medical examination result interpretation, Ministry of Health and Welfare held a clinical judgement meeting on Oct. 28th,1996. The conclusion of the meeting was that the correlation between health examination results and radiation exposure should be conservatively interpreted. Given the health effects of long-term low-dose radiation exposure, the health situation of exposed residents should be long-term tracked in order to conduct an indeed evaluation. Therefore, it’s necessary to sustain the regular health examinations for residents of contaminated buildings.
In order to provide continuous health care for residents living in contaminated buildings, NSC has entrusted National Taiwan University Hospital and Changhua Christian Hospital to establish a special clinic and consulting center for the residents and arrange health examinations annually since Feb. 1999. And since 2000, National Taiwan University Hospital has established a medical consulting service window for residents living in contaminated buildings to provide long-term medical follow-up and answer questions related to health. So far, NSC has accomplished more than 17,000 free health examinations and follow-up health checks for residents.
According to the results of the current detection and assessment, all identified radioactive contaminated buildings were built during 1982–1984, with user licenses issued from November 1982 to January 1986.
In compliance with Article 24, paragraph 3, of the “Ionizing Radiation Protection Act” and Article 8 paragraph 1 of the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, when the annual radiation dose of the building reaches 1 mSv or more, the competent authority (NSC) shall update and tabulate the dose annually. Furthermore, these tables will be sent to local government land offices for public inquiry.
In case of any further questions related to radiation detection of contaminated buildings built during the above-mentioned period, you may inquire through following channels：
1.Ask the building owner to provide the original radiation inspection certificate.
2.Select a qualified radiation inspection company licensed by NSC to conduct a radiation inspection and issue a radiation inspection certificate.
3.Contact NSC’s free consulting service for radioactive contaminated buildings at 0800-076-678 / 02-8231-7919 # 2216 during business hours.
Regulations related to Post-treatment of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
According to the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, the post-treatment procedures for radioactive contaminated buildings (hereinafter referred to as“ contaminated buildings”) are as follows：
1.Offer free health examination and long-term care for residents (Article 9)：radiation dose of any year during residency > 1 mSv
2.Acquire contaminated buildings (Article10)：annual radiation dose > 15 mSv
3.Compensate (Article11)：
annual radiation dose > 15 mSv and unwilling to be acquired: NTD 200,000~ 500,000
annual radiation dose between 5~15 mSv :NTD 200,000
4.Issue engineering improvement subsidy (Article12)：
annual radiation dose > 15 mSv : NTD 500,000
annual radiation dose between 5~15 mSv : NTD 400,000
5.Reduce housing tax (Article13)：Annual radiation dose > 5 mSv
6. Dismantling and Reconstruction (Article14)：If the annual radiation dose of a contaminated building reaches 1 mSv, an application for approval may be made to the local municipal or county (city) government for demolition and reconstruction.
Post-treatment Situation of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings
NSC has inspected and assessed 1,670 households of contaminated buildings. Among them, 130 households have already been dismantled. In addition, all buildings that met the criteria for acquisition or improvement have been processed. No one lives in the buildings which were acquired by NSC, so the original residents are free from the risk of radiation forever. Besides, the radioactive steel in these buildings has been replaced through engineering improvements, ensuring radiation safety for the residents.
The rest of buildings that do not met the criteria for acquisition or improvement don’t need to be handled, because the radiation dose is far below 1 mSv due to long-term natural radioactive decay.
For instance, in the community on Qionglin Rd., Xinzhuang Dist., New Taipei City, 20 households of contaminated buildings were acquired by NSC. The reconstruction committee automatically initiated the plan of dismantlement and reconstruction in 2004, reaching a consensus among all owners. National Property Administration then acquired the ownership portion of the contaminated buildings and sold them to the committee. After that, a 15-floor mansion was reconstructed on the same site in 2008.
Based on the above, after the domestic event of radioactive contaminated buildings, NSC actively enacted “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings” in1994. According to this regulation, NSC acquired contaminated buildings, executed free health examinations for residents, and provided long-term tracking. These qualified buildings with dismantling and reconstruction plan within three years could apply for 30% extra floor area ratio as a reward. For buildings which did not undergo any improvements, these are not influential to residents’ health because of natural decay. Acquired buildings don’t have radiation risk because no one lives there . NSC positively coordinates with National Property Administration to receive untransferred contaminated buildings. Once contaminated buildings are dismantled and reconstructed, NSC will offer technical assistance for radiation protection, so as to clean the contaminated buildings thoroughly.
In order to better improve prevention and treatment of radioactive contaminated buildings, NSC periodically inspects contaminated buildings, detects buildings which have concerns about radioactive contamination, and examines radiation safety of steel plants. In 2017, 5 households of radioactive contaminated buildings were found to have been dismantled. According to the data from NSC, the dose of radiation from the steel in the buildings is low and has undergone long-term natural radioactive decay, so the concerns about radiation safety are very slight.
In order to avoid secondary contamination from dismantlement, NSC has already convened relevant construction management authority to discuss the mechanism for strengthening dismantlement notification and further included into regulations. In addition, NSC inspects the radiation safety of steel plants and check the functionality of vehicle radiation detection system every year. There have been no abnormal situations regarding steel products in the steel plant since then. It shows that the treatment of radioactive steel products has reached the expected effects. For buildings which have concerns about radioactive contamination, NSC also continuously strengthens propaganda and performs free radiation detection. The detected rate is up to 99.1%, and the number of households decreases from 2,930 to 25 by the end of 2024.
Medical care of residents of contaminated buildings
According to the “Regulations on the Prevention and Management of Incidents of Radioactive Contaminated Buildings”, NSC has examined and evaluated residents’ health. For residents who found pathological signs or symptoms, hospitals will follow national health insurance system to arrange more meticulous examinations and necessary treatments.
In the aspect of medical examination result interpretation, Ministry of Health and Welfare held a clinical judgement meeting on Oct. 28th,1996. The conclusion of the meeting was that the correlation between health examination results and radiation exposure should be conservatively interpreted. Given the health effects of long-term low-dose radiation exposure, the health situation of exposed residents should be long-term tracked in order to conduct an indeed evaluation. Therefore, it’s necessary to sustain the regular health examinations for residents of contaminated buildings.
In order to provide continuous health care for residents living in contaminated buildings, NSC has entrusted National Taiwan University Hospital and Changhua Christian Hospital to establish a special clinic and consulting center for the residents and arrange health examinations annually since Feb. 1999. And since 2000, National Taiwan University Hospital has established a medical consulting service window for residents living in contaminated buildings to provide long-term medical follow-up and answer questions related to health. So far, NSC has accomplished more than 17,000 free health examinations and follow-up health checks for residents.
