Activities with Radiation

A permit or notification is required for all handling of radioactive substances or equipment that can produce ionizing radiation, unless the activity has been exempted from the Radiation Protection Act. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten) is the supervisory authority and receives permit applications and notifications.

Activities requiring permits include nuclear installations, medical X-ray and radiation treatment, industrial radiography and handling of high-activity radiation sources. Activities requiring notification include dental X-rays, veterinary X-rays of small animals and handling of low-activity radiation sources. Activities may not begin until a permit has been granted or notification has been confirmed.

Activities Requiring Permit and Notification

  • Permit required: Nuclear reactors, medical X-ray and radiation treatment, industrial radiography, HASS (high-activity sealed sources), accelerators
  • Notification required: Dental X-ray (intraoral), veterinary X-ray of small animals, sealed sources (not HASS), low-activity open sources, workplaces with radon above 200 Bq/m³
  • Basic obligations: Apply even to activities neither requiring permit nor notification

Procedure

  • Application/Notification: Submitted to Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten
  • Processing: Authority examines application or registers notification
  • Start time: Activity may not begin before permit or confirmation of notification
  • Supervision: Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten supervises the activity