The General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") has recently issued the Provisions for Radiological Environmental Protection in Uranium Mining and Milling (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek opinions from the entities concerned by October 22, 2018.
The Draft for Comment contains main revisions in the following aspects, compared with the previous version. The first is renaming the standard from the previous "Provisions for Radiation and Environmental Protection in Uranium Mining and Milling" into the "Provisions for Radiological Environmental Protection in Uranium Mining and Milling". The second is adding the terminology and definitions, such as "uranium mine and mill facilities", "shut-down", "environmental improvement", "restricted release or use" and "unrestricted release or use". The third is updating requirements on the limits for wastewater discharges. The fourth is revising provisions in respect of accident prevention and emergency management. The fifth is adding radiological environmental protection requirements for the design of heap leaching fields, in-situ leaching fields, acid pools and liquid storage tanks and the setup of discharge outlets. The sixth is updating items of effluent monitoring. The seventh is updating items of radiation monitoring. And the eighth is removing contents regarding the radiation protection and environmental impact assessment.