The IAEA is currently preparing a new Technical Reports Series (TRS) Handbook on the Transfer of Radionuclides to Wildlife. Key deficiencies have been identified and one is the lack of data for birds. In this study we measured the transfer of a range of elements measured by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and gamma analysis in four Barn owls (Tyto alba) and one Tawny owl (Strix aluco) from archived samples available from the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme, http://pbms.ceh.ac.uk. Transfer was quantified as the whole organism concentration ratio (CRwo-soil) and values for Co, Fe, Rb, Sc, Zn and 137Cs are presented. The work demonstrates the potential for existing sample archives to be exploited for radioecological purposes. They represent a cost effective means to derive CRwo-media values for organism-radionuclide combinations relevant to radiological assessments without the requirement of field sampling.

Following the confirmation that Mr Litvinenko had received a large dose of 210Po, the Health Protection Agency began to prepare for public health monitoring of potentially contaminated people. Alpha counting of urine was the only practicable means of monitoring exposure. As the incident developed it became apparent that the number of samples would be likely to exceed the HPA's capacity. Therefore other UK laboratories were contacted and several agreed to assist. To validate the analyses each potential collaborator analysed a cross check sample that was the remainder from 24 hour samples that had already been measured at the HPA. The results were in good agreement. In the first four weeks of the programme, about 600 samples were collected and all were analysed using the resources in the UK. Later, the quality assurance exercise was extended to include laboratories in the UK and abroad that could potentially become involved in the analysis of samples arising from the incident. The factors underlying the success of the programme are set out. These included having a well founded Quality Assurance system in place during normal circumstances and having pre-existing links at the appropriate working level with other laboratories in the UK and abroad.

We performed an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) to evaluate the impact on non-humanbiota from liquid radioactive effluents discharged by the Belgian Nuclear Power Plants(NPPs) of Doel and Tihange. A deterministic risk assessment for aquatic and terrestrialecosystems was performed using the ERICA tool and applying the ERICA screening value of 10µGy.h-1. The ERA was performed for the radioactive discharge limits and forthe actual releases (maxima and averages over the last 10 years, 1999-2008). All ERICAreference organisms were considered and depending on the assessment situation, additionalreference organisms were included in the analysis. It can be concluded that the currentdischarge limits for the Belgian NPPs do not result in significant risks to the aquaticand terrestrial environment and that the actual discharges, which are a fraction of theliquid discharge limits, are unlikely to harm the environment.


Les conséquences d'un rejet radioactif accidentel sur les productions agricoles et d'élevage dépendent dans une large mesure du contexte dans lequel se sont effectués les dépôts deradioactivité : conditions et occurrence du dépôt dans les calendriers agricoles et d'affouragement des animaux. 
Ces paramètres contextuels sont une source de variation des résultats des modèles souvent plus grande que les incertitudes liées aux facteurs de transfert eux-mêmes. Ainsi, la contaminationdu lait de vache évolue sur plusieurs décades dans les mois qui suivent le dépôt en fonction des pratiques zootechniques d'alimentation des animaux. De même, un plant de blé qui recevrait undépôt d'éléments radioactifs en phase de maturation aura, à la récolte, des grains 103 à 104 plus contaminés que si le dépôt était intervenu avant la montaison.
Pour élaborer un outil d'aide à la décision comme le logiciel ASTRAL, il a été nécessaire de réaliser une modélisation de la prise en compte de ces paramètres contextuels. De plus, afin d'assisterl'expert dans ses évaluations, des bases de données par défaut relatives aux pratiques agricoles et d'élevage sont proposées pour la France métropolitaine. Toutefois dans le cas d'un accidentréel, pour affiner les résultats, il serait important de rapidement mettre à jour ces paramètres contextuels, qui peuvent varier d'une année à l'autre.


The Multi-scale Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry Model (MATCH) is used in the RODOS(Real-time On-line decision Support) system since more than 10 years for the long rangeatmospheric transport and dispersion calculations. With the start of the EURANOS project,several functionalities of the model at that time should be further enhanced. Thisincluded the better use of the meteorological information available in the numericalforecast data and the coupling to the source term data base of the RODOS system.

The Søve site is a disused mining complex in Telemark County, Norway, exhibiting enhanced levels of naturally occurring radionuclides from the 238U and 232Th decay series. The nascent General Assessment Methodology Process (‘GAMP’), developed under IAEA’s EMRAS II programme, has been applied at the site. The a priori fixed screening criteria were exceeded in the scenario, precipitating the requirement to undertake a more detailed assessment. The USDOE’s RESRAD-OFFSITE code was employed to investigate potential changes in activity concentrations in various environmental compartments over time and the contribution of various exposure pathways to effective doses. Owing to problems associated with model parameterisation and results interpretation a simple leaching and groundwater migration compartmental model was also applied. This allowed activity concentrations in three waste compartments to be calculated with time. Furthermore, an existing external dose-rate model that correlates information on activity concentrations with depth in soil to dose rates in air above ground has been used to estimate prospective external dose-rates to humans and evaluate the efficacy of applying various remediation options.

La perception d'un risque par l'individu dépend de nombreux facteurs, certains propres à l'individu (psychologie, connaissance, expérience), d'autres descriptifs du contexte sociétal (culture, idéologie), d'autres enfin relatifs à la nature du risque. Le mot risque possède des sens divers et il est appréhendé de façon différente par les trois catégories d'intervenants impliqués dans la maîtrise du risque, à savoir les techniciens, les gestionnaires et les individus du publicPlusieurs modèles pour décrire comment s'élabore la perception sont présentés. Les dimensions intervenant dans la perception sont énumérées et une classification des divers risques est proposée. A partir d'enquêtes faites au sein du public, la perception du risque nucléaire est située par rapport à celle d'autres risques. Enfin, des résultats sont donnés concernant la confiance dans l'information diffuséeet la crédibilité des organismes et institutions.

Le Laboratoire de Biogénotoxicologie et Mutagenèse Environnementale a pour objectifs la détection précoce des effets génotoxiques des nuisances environnementales, la validation de biomarqueurs et la biosurveillance de salariés exposés à un environnement professionnel potentiellement cancérogène. Les travaux menés par le laboratoire dans le domaine des rayonnements ionisants, associant mesures environnementales et évaluation de la génotoxicité dans un objectif de prévention, concernent les travailleurs exposés en radiographie industrielle et en milieu hospitalier. La caractérisation des expositions repose ainsi sur l'analyse des activités avec dosimétrie physique, le recueil des enregistrements dosimétriques et la mise en œuvre de biomarqueurs d'effets génotoxiques tels que le test des micronoyaux sur lymphocytes, permettant de détecter des remaniements chromosomiques de structure ou de nombre. Les données d'analyse de poste associées à des modélisations ont également permis d'établir un tableau de doses de référence, pour chaque étape constitutive d'un tir en gammagraphie industrielle, ce qui constitue un outil intéressant pour la dosimétrie prévisionnelle.

Conservative no-effect concentrations were derived for nine radionuclides, four generic organisms (terrestrial plant and animal and aquatic plant and animal) and six environmental compartments (air, soil, fresh water, marine water, freshwater sediments and marine sediments). The concentrations were calculated using the concentration ratio (CR) approach that is used in both FASSET and RESRAD-BIOTA. In the CR approach, a single transfer factor is used to predict concentrations in plants or animals from concentrations in soil or water. Most of the CR values required for the calculations were taken from FASSET documentation. Because of the importance of tritium and C-14 in the context of CANDU reactors, CR values for these radionuclides were derived from specific activity (SA) concepts. Sediment partition coefficient (Kd) values, which were used to derive no-effect levels for sediments from the levels for water, were chosen to be the best-estimate values from the IMPACT database. Dose conversion coefficients (DCCs) were taken from FASSET and the dose rate benchmarks used were those recommended by UNSCEAR. The results provide environmental concentrations below which no detrimental effects are expected on non-human biota at CANDU sites in Canada.

Dans l’industrie nucléaire française, les doses engagées après inhalation de radionucléides sont généralement évaluées à partir de mesures biologiques dont l’analyse peut permettre de remonter (démarche ascendante) à l’incorporation initiale puis à la dose par application de la dose par unité d’exposition (DPUI). Une valeur spécifique de la DPUI peut être attribuée à chaque contamination. Cet article présente une synthèse des données de la littérature et de résultats de recherches en cours concernant les incertitudes sur l’estimation de l’incorporation, de la biocinétique des radionucléides et sur les doses après une exposition à des aérosols renfermant des actinides. Une comparaison des incertitudes a été réalisée après une application ascendante et descendante des modèles. Dans ce dernier cas, la contamination interne est évaluée à partir de prélèvements atmosphériques effectués au poste de travail. Les incertitudes les plus élevées sont calculées après une application descendante des modèles. L’interprétation des différents résultats qui sont ici rapportés souligne l’intérêt de la connaissance des incertitudes pour évaluer de manière réaliste l’impact dosimétrique d’une contamination accidentelle. Par ailleurs, différents exemples illustrent les limites de l’application de certainsmodèles de la Commission internationale de protection radiologique (CIPR) qui sont utilisés en radioprotection. Au-delà, cette synthèse souligne les difficultés de l’estimation du risque de cancer à partir d’un calcul de doses, notamment, du fait de l’hétérogénéité de leur distribution au sein des différentes régions cible du tractus respiratoire.

Over the last 30 years there has been a reduction in the radioactive discharges from the UK’s Sellafield site. Radionuclide activity concentrations in the environment around Sellafield have declined as a result. However, routine monitoring results from the nearby Esk Estuary show a less clear trend, with fluctuations in gamma dose rate measurements being reported from year to year. A comprehensive survey (n = 576) of gamma dose rates in the Esk Estuary was undertaken in 2007 and the data compared to a similar survey carried out in 1989. There was a highly statistically significant decrease in the external gamma dose rates within the Esk Estuary between 1989 and 2007. The measured total gamma dose rate range in 2007 was 0.064 – 0.235 μGy h−1with a mean of 0.123 μGy h−1. This equates to a maximum exposure of 0.200 μSv h−1. There was no evidence of large-scale sediment redistribution under current conditions. However, there was limited evidence to suggest that part of the reason for the reduction in measured dose rates was the burial of contaminated sediment deposits by uncontaminated sediments transported by tidal processes.

In the frame of IRSN's French radioactivity observatory, aerosol samples are collected in a ten-days basis in different locations and measured by gamma spectrometry. For some studies, it is necessary to have the average of a radionuclide in aerosol samples, i.e. monthly or annually. Gamma spectrometry measurement of artificial radionuclides such as 137Cs is becoming more difficult due to decreasing radioactivity levels. Individual measurements are sometimes below the minimum detectable activity (MDA) even when low-background measurement procedures are used. In these cases, how can a MDA in an average computation be taken into account? In order to acquire this mean value, the analysis can be performed on the annual spectrum corresponding to a running sum of each individual spectrum. As for the sample, the summing is applied for the background spectrum. In this way, the 137Cs concentration in aerosols corresponding to the annual mean value is obtained. For aerosols collected in La Reunion, a mean concentration of $0.029 \pm 0.010 \mathrm{\mu}$Bq.$\textrm{m}^{-3}$ for 137Cs is obtained, when 25 measurement results on 26 samples are below the MDA. For radionuclides always detected, a good agreement between summing spectrum results and computed mean value is observed.

Interventional cardiology procedures (ICPs), while providing important benefits topatients, also contribute to their radiation exposure, in particular for the organssurrounding the heart. This paper addresses the issue of radiation exposure to the lungand bone marrow related to coronary interventions in terms of organ doses for coronaryangiography (CA) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), and riskassessment of potential radiation-induced cancer. Dosimetric information on 2095 ICPs fromFrench patients was collected. The median lung dose for CA alone was 34 mGy for men and 22mGy for women and the median bone marrow dose was 8 mGy and 4 mGy, respectively; doseswere slightly higher for CA and ad hoc PTCA and nearly twice as high forCA and elective PTCA. Based on the French national mortality registry and BiologicalEffects of Ionising Radiation VII models, spontaneous and radiation-induced lung cancersand leukaemia were estimated. For men and women aged at least 60 years old at the firstICP, excess risk of potentially fatal cancers attributable to radiation ranged from 0.4%to 4%. This study provides evidence of the potential risk of radiation-induced cancerafter an ICP. The limitations of such calculations are due to the difficulty of takinginto account patients’ possibly shorter life expectancy than in the general population,linked to their comorbidities and coronary disease. Nevertheless, risk estimates can beused to illustrate the beneficial role of optimisation of doses delivered to thepatient.

The Urban Areas Working Group is part of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s EMRAS II (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) Programme. The goal of this Working Group is to test and improve the capabilities of models used in assessment of radioactive contamination in urban settings, including dispersion and deposition events, short- and long-term contaminant redistribution following deposition events, and potential countermeasures or remediation efforts for reducing human exposures and doses. The Working Group has developed three modeling exercises, which are designed to permit intercomparison of model predictions and, in one case, comparison of model predictions with measurements. This paper describes the scenarios and provides comparisons of initial modeling results. Reasons for similarities and discrepancies among model predictions are discussed in terms of the modeling approaches, models, and parameter values used by different assessors. Preliminary conclusions emphasize the value of explaining individual approaches and the importance of understanding the effects of different assumptions and parameter values on the modeling results.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) monitors airborne radioactivity concentrations at ten stations throughout Ireland, of which nine are equipped with low volume particulate samplers and one, in Dublin, with a high volume particulate sampler. The low volume particulate samples are assessed for total beta activity. In the period 1998-2003 the total beta activity concentrations observed have been consistently low, ranging between 0.03 and 1.33 mBq m-3 with a mean over all sampling sites of 0.26 ± 0.15 mBq m-3 (n = 2361). High volume particulate samples have been assessed for caesium-137 and beryllium-7. A mean caesium-137 activity concentration of 2.3 ± 2.2 mBq m-3 (n = 26) was observed in samples taken since 1993 while the mean beryllium-7 activity concentration over this period was 3.0 ± 1.6 mBq m-3 (n = 42).In addition, air sampled at the RPII's laboratory in Dublin, is monitored for krypton-85, a radioactive noble gas, released into the environment primarily as a result of the reprocessing of nuclear fuel at installations such as Sellafield in the UK and Cogema La Hague in France. Analysis of the krypton-85 monitoring data, along with additional backward air trajectory modelling, demonstrate the influence of the reprocessing plants on the krypton-85 concentrations in Ireland. 


Future development of nuclear energy in the frame of climate change and sustainable development needs an increased safety and consequently, robust models of environmental transfer of radionuclides. Tritium and Carbon are life elements and must be treated separately from trace elements. The IAEA promoted EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) project in order to decrease uncertainties in the predictive capability of environmental models, including the cases of aquatic and biota. To understand the processes and models reliability, nine scenarios have been developed. The Working Group contributed to the Revision of “Handbook of parameter values for the prediction of radionuclide transfer in temperate environments” TRS 364, as well. The main task of this paper is to propose ways for models' predictive power improvements, based on lessons learnt from EMRAS' exercises.

Le développement en France d'un nouveau procédé d'enrichissement par laser de l'uranium nous a conduits à étudier en situation industrielle les risques radiotoxiques liés à la formation d'un aérosol de type UO2+Umétal. Le but de ce travail est de déterminer pour ce mélange d'oxydes d'uranium les paramètres physico-chimiques et biocinétiques spécifiques à ce composé et nécessaires ultérieurement pour le calcul de dose, ceci en fonction du nouveau modèle pulmonaire décrit par la CIPR 66. Les résultats concernant les mesures de diamètre aérodynamique médian en activité (DAMA) donnent des valeurs comprises entre 5,2 et 10 µm avec jusqu'à 20 % de particules inférieures à 1 µm, tandis que les concentrations au poste de travail varient de 1,8 à 125 Bq m-3 et le calcul des périodes biologiques conduit à 48 j pour les tests de dissolution in vitro et à 77 j pour les expériences d'inhalation in vivo, les valeurs de taux de dissolution obtenues permettent d'affirmer que ce composé est de type W suivant la classification de la CIPR 30 et de type M suivant la CIPR 66.

Le syndrome hématopoïétique induit par une irradiation accidentelle reste difficile à traiter, essentiellement du fait de l’hétérogénéité de l’irradiation. La conséquence est qu’il y a toujours un territoire médullaire partiellement protégé de l’irradiation. Le choix d’une stratégie thérapeutique va dépendre essentiellement de l’évaluation des dommages radio-induits à la moelle osseuse, telle qu’elle peut être faite à partir de différents bio-indicateurs de dose ou de dommages comme le suivi de la concentration sanguine de Flt3 ligand. Les options thérapeutiques restent limitées à la greffe de cellules souches hématopoïétiques ou aux traitements de soutien. Récemment, de nouvelles approches de thérapie cellulaire autologue ont été proposées, et ont apporté un éclairage nouveau sur le syndrome de défaillance multi-viscérale radio-induit. D’autres résultats récents du laboratoire montrent que parmi les choix possibles, la stimulation de l’hématopoïèse résiduelle par l’injection de cytokines telles que le G-CSF reste l’une des options thérapeutiques les plus intéressantes. Ces donnés nouvelles soulignent l’importance de la notion d’hématopoïèse résiduelle, mais aussi le fait que les mécanismes de régulation de l’hématopoïèse résiduelle après irradiation restent mal connus.

The decision support system RODOS (Ehrhardt and Weis, 2000) contains a large set ofsimulation models, data bases, user interfaces and system functionalities. However thesemany options resulted in heavy-weight and complex user interfaces difficult to handle bynon-experts. For this reason a user friendly and light-weight access to the RODOSfunctionalities was requested by the end users. This was fulfilled by the design andimplementation of a new user interface named RODOS-Lite. The main purpose of thisredesigned user interface is to gently lead operators through a sequential line of inputmasks, hiding rarely used parameters (defaults are set) from the operator but stillproviding the possibility to access them if necessary. Additionally, the interface isstrongly safeguarded to prevent operators from entering wrong input values. This isachieved by systematically checking input values and even suggesting occasionally bestestimate parameters. RODOS-Lite is complemented by various simple but neverthelessextremely useful features such as online access to Google maps or source termvisualisation.

Depuis sa création en 1928, la Commission internationale de protection radiologique (CIPR) produit régulièrement des recommandations sur la protection contre les rayonnements ionisants ; ces recommandations sont habituellement reprises par les organisations internationales et par les États. Depuis 1990, date des recommandations les plus récentes (Publication 60), la progression des connaissances scientifiques, les développements techniques, le retour d’expérience et le souci d’adhérer à l’évolution de la société, ont incité la CIPR à modifier son système de protection. Le tout dernier projet de recommandations, récemment rendu public pour consultation et appel de propositions, est décrit et discuté.