Selenium is essential for most of living organisms. In normoxic to moderately hypoxic freshwaters, Se exists predominantly in the (+VI) and (+IV) oxidation states as selenate and selenite respectively, whereas in the biota it is incorporated as Se (-II) or Se (0). At low concentrations, it acts against oxidative damages, but it may be toxic at higher levels. In filter feeders, such as the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea, the ventilatory activity is a primary limiting step that controls the water influx and therefore the delivery of contaminants. A number of different parameters such as algal food density or presence of contaminant can influence the ventilation and hence the bioaccumulation potential of the contaminant. We report here a set of short-term experiments performed to study the effects of different forms of dissolved Se (selenite, selenate, selenomethionine) and algal-bound Se on the ventilatory activity of Corbicula fluminea and to evaluate the Se bioaccumulation. All experiments were performed on a 3-day exposure period after acclimatizing the organisms during a 7-day period to the synthetic water, at a regulated algal density. Both bioaccumulation and ventilatory activity of Se exposed groups, in comparison to these of the reference group, varied greatly according to the form of Se used.

L'analyse des données sur les niveaux de l'irradiation naturelle en Chine apermis de recommander des valeurs types pour l'irradiation gamma terrestre, àl'intérieur et à l'extérieur des habitations, ainsi que l'équivalent de dose efficacepour les produits de filiation du radon et du thoron. On estime à 2,3 mSv l'équivalent de dose efficace annuel dû à l'irradiation naturelle des habitants, dont 0,54 mSv dû au rayonnement gamma terrestre et environ 0,8 mSv dû au radonet à ses descendants à vie courte.

This paper is intended to present the experience feedback of the IRSN's involvement in the reflection on the management of a nuclear crisis. It sums up some results of the French FARMING working group, corresponding to the mobilization of a wide range of Agricultural Technical Institutes and to the appraisal of a compendium of agricultural countermeasures for the rehabilitation of rural contaminated territories in post accidental situations. Indeed, in France, since a few years, this problem has been almost exclusively considered by radiation protection experts, with no involvement of the other concerned actors. But according to the weight of the agro industrial sector in this country and to the problems related to the management of contaminated food in post accidental situations, the cooperation between radiation protection experts and agro industrial stakeholders appeared more and more necessary. Indeed, above all, farmers and other local actors would take a significant part to the rehabilitation actions from the short term to long term of a nuclear crisis period and then share the responsibilities of the crisis management. The working group has therefore opened new debates at the national level and valuable results have been obtained from the meetings at technical and strategic levels.

Les catastrophes technologiques entraînent des troubles psycholo giques plus ou moins marqués et durables au sein des populations concernées. Cet article présente une revue des étudesépidémiologiques effectuées après les accidents de Three Mile Island, de Goiânia et de Tchernobyl pour en évaluer les conséquences psychologiques. Elle montre, dans des contextes culturels etaccidentels très différents, une augmentation significative et durable des symptômes psychologiques dans différents groupes de population exposée, en faveur d'une détresse psychologiqueréelle. Il y a moins de résultats en faveur de l'existence d'une augmentation des syndromes psychiatriques, mais ces effets ont été beaucoup moins étudiés. Des groupes où les effets semblentavoir été plus marqués ont été identifiés tels les mères de jeunes enfants, les personnes relogées, les personnes ne pouvant bénéficier d'un soutien social de qualité ou en situation de précaritééconomique. La détresse psychologique observée peut favoriser le développement de troubles psychiatriques et donner lieu à des changements de comportement à l'égard de la santé. Desrecherches restent nécessaires pour mieux préciser la nature des troubles rencontrés et leurs déterminants. Elles devraient s'appuyer sur la construction d'outils mieux adaptés notamment àl'évaluation des circonstances individuelles d'exposition et au diagnostic des effets.

Soil-grass-milk is one of the main food chains leading radioactivity in man in Finland. From 1963 onwards dairy and farm milk and from 1972 deposition have been regularly collected at several sites in Northern Finland; some grass and AIV-silage samples have been taken simultaneously. 137Cs and 90Sr have been analysed by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in the Regional Laboratory in Northern Finland. In this study the activity concentrations and decrease rates of 90Sr and 137Cs were studied in the years following the atmospheric nuclear weapon testings and after the Chernobyl accident in 1986 until 2008. Also the transfer factors were calculated and the ecological half-lives were estimated in the study. The concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs were highest in the beginning of 1960 due to the nuclear weapon tests. The radioactive fallout in Finnish Lapland from the Chernobyl accident in April 1986 was low. The increase of the 137Cs concentrations in milk was found out in July 1986 and it decreased rapidly after summer 1987. There was no increase of 90Sr concentrations in milk and in deposition after Chernobyl fallout.

Le détecteur solide de traces nucléaires CR39 a été utilisé pour déterminer le seuil de détection du bore. La réponse du détecteur CR39 a été établie grâce à des concentrations connues de boreobtenues par implantation ionique du 10B dans l'aluminium, et en variant les durées d'irradiations dans le canal thermique du réacteur nucléaire universitaire de Strasbourg. Il a été observé que ladensité des traces dans le CR39 est une fonction linéaire de la quantité de bore implanté et de la durée d'irradiation. Des considérations pratiques sur le comptage optique des traces conduisent àestimer un seuil de 1011 atomes cm-2 de 10B. Cette limite est d'un facteur mille inférieure à la quantité minimale requise par la boroneutrothérapie.

The results of investigation of radioactive contamination of the river Yenisei bed pebbles in an influence zone of the KMCC (especially in its near-field part) are presented in this work. It is demonstrated, that pebbles can contain up to 30 % of the total amount of γ-emitting technogenic radionuclides (TRN) in the places with overlying soils. In addition, river bed pebbles, situated in permanently washing riverside sections of islands and banks, can contain significant amount of TRN too. These facts considerably increase an estimation of TRN reserves in the Yenisei floodplain. Without the contribution of the river bed pebbles the fraction of TRN, accumulated in the underlying and tow path pebbles in the near and far-field influence zones of the KMCC, can reach 7,9% for 137Cs, 5,8% for 152Eu, 5,6% for 154Eu and <3% for 60Co of their total amount.

The unusually strong earthquake in Japan on 11 March 2011 and the following extremetsunami caused enormous damage in the buildings of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) situated on the Pacific coastline of Japan. The accident led to the release of alarge amount of radioactive material into the environment. According to the measurementsof the Radiological Monitoring and Data Acquisitions Network (RAMDAN) the radioactiveplume reached Hungary on 24 March 2011. The main volatile fission products –131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs radioisotopes – were measurable in aerosoland fallout samples in Hungary. Their activity concentration in air reached the maximumvalue in the last days of March and returned to the background level in the first half ofMay. As a consequence of respiration of contaminated air, a maximum of 1 Bq per capita of131I could be accumulated in the thyroid gland of the Hungarian population during thegiven period. The calculated upper limits of the committed effective dose from inhalationof 131I were 4 nSv and 10 nSv to the Hungarian adults and infants,respectively. These values are a hundred thousand times less than the annual radiationdose from natural sources to the Hungarian population. The radiation dose from radioactivecaesium isotopes originating from Fukushima was even less, around 1 nSv on average, toHungarian residents. No health deterioration can be expected from this radiationburden.

Les dispositions du code de la santé publique concernant les rayonnements ionisants seront prochainement mises à jour pour achever la transposition de la directive 2003/122/Euratom du Conseil du 22 décembre 2003 relative au contrôle des sources radioactives scellées de haute activité et des sources orphelines et prendre en compte les nouvelles prérogatives accordées à l’Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN). À cette occasion, des mesures de simplification administrative seront introduites dans le régime d’autorisation et de déclaration des sources de rayonnements ionisants et les contrôles réalisés par les organismes agréés par l’ASN seront renforcées.

The dry deposition to several leafy vegetables (endive, head lettuce, red oak leaf lettuce, spinach) was studied. Particles with attached 134Cs were used for testing the particulate deposition, gaseous elemental 131I was the tracer for gas deposition. The particle deposition was the highest for rough and structured leafs as red oak leaf lettuce has, but as well for spinach with many open stomata. The stomatal uptake seamed to be the most important process for gas deposition, the deposition to spinach was for Radioiodine the highest as compared to all other species. The lowest deposition was always found to the closed heads of head lettuce. The difference in deposition to the various species was up to a factor 9.

In France, the mining and milling of uranium ore and the disposal of uranium mill tailings involved nearly 200 sites of very different nature. Being in charge of both the review of some remediation reports and the routine monitoring of the environment provides IRSN with selective data on most sites. The data collected by IRSN as well as those available from other data sources often remain incomplete therefore preventing IRSN from presenting a global view or answering some specific questions. In order to overcome this difficulty, it was decided, under the aegis of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, that IRSN should develop a program of investigations organized in two parts: Part 1, called “State of knowledge" is aimed at assessing the amount of information available and at consolidating it into a user-friendly computerized database. The main goal is to identify the occurrence of significant enhanced radiological levels in the environment and to detect any lack of information concerning the various sites. This paper gives an overview of the information already collected. Part 2, called “specific studies" is aimed at fixing the gaps in the database by implementing new investigations on specific sites. It could lead to improvements in networks for the monitoring of radioactivity in the environment.

The global framework of this study is to go further in the understanding of the involved mechanisms of uranium and selenium internalisation at the subcellular level and of their toxicity towards several aquatic organisms. In this context, the applications and performances of a Scanning Transmission Electronic Microscope (STEM), which is fitted with a CCD camera and an Energy-Dispersive-X-Ray (EDX) analysis are reported. This equipment provides a direct correlation between a histological image (0.34 nm resolution) and a clear expression of element distribution. Demonstration of the usefulness of this method to understand the bioaccumulation mechanisms and to study the effect of the pollutant uptake at the subcellular level has been performed for target organs of a metal (U) and a metalloid (Se) in various biological models: a freshwater crayfish (Orconectes Limosus) and a unicellular green alga (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii)). TEM-EDX analysis revealed the presence of U-deposits in gills and digestive gland in crayfish. In the alga, the accumulation of Se was found in electron-dense granules within the chloroplast with ultrastructural changes and starch accumulation.

The present study is the second part of a program of characterization of the site surrounding the SoGIN Garigliano Nuclear Power Plant (Southern Italy), which is currently involved in decommissioning activities. In the first phase of the project the reference groups of the population were established on the basis of a socio-economical study of the site; the radiological doses due to the assumed radioactive releases during the decommissioning phase were calculated by using climatological, hydrological, geomorphological parameters of the studied area; transport and diffusion specific models of some radionuclides in the environment were implemented to calculate the dose using specific evaluation software. The second part of the study focuses on the project of an environmental network designed in order to ensure the continuous monitoring of the radioactive release concentrations. All the criteria for the choice of grid points, by considering specific paths of transfer in the environment, were established for all the environmental compartments. A field campaign was carried out aiming to assess the “zero level" due to the natural radioactivity and past anthropogenic activities.

The research activities under the work package CAT2 – improvement of decision supportsystems, focused on the one hand to improve the operability of the RODOS system but on theother hand to enhance RODOS and ARGOS with simulation models still missing in theportfolio of these two decision support systems. For RODOS, the work focused on theimprovement of the atmospheric dispersion modelling in complex terrain and the improvementof the data assimilation functionalities. For both systems, the later phase models dealingwith countermeasures in inhabited areas and food production systems have been considerablyenhanced.

Cette étude se rapporte à une démarche de réhabilitation des forêts contaminées par les retombées dues à l'accident de la centrale nucléaire de Tchernobyl. La démarche de réhabilitation et d'assainissement radiologique préconise etimplique à la fois l'incinération des parties de l'arbre contaminé et des branchages, et la transformation en pâte à papier de la partie faiblement contaminée du tronc. En utilisant des moyens industriels existants, l'action de réhabilitationpeut se justifier et s'amortir grâce à la vente de sous-produits tels que la production d'électricité et de cartons. Le retour sur investissement des moyens industriels nécessaires à la réhabilitation radiologique est estimé à 5 ans.

CBPP Kakanj is one of the most important Coal Burning Power Plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina (producing power of 450 MW, waste storage site of 5 000 000 tons). Mapping of the measured gamma-dose rate has been performed with the goal of identifying the hot spots in the area of 3×3 km surrounding CBPP Kakanj, with special emphasis on the waste storage site (1×1 km). Maximum measured of the gamma-dose rate surrounding CBPP Kakanj was 140 nGy h-1 and in the area of waste storage site 210 nGy h-1. Average levels of natural radionuclide in agricultural soil samples in vicinity of CBPP Kakanj are: for 238U is 41 ± 4 Bq kg-1, 232Th is 32 ± 1 Bq kg-1, 226Ra is 27 ± 2 Bq kg-1 and 40K is 486 ± 9 Bq kg-1. Obtained results in soil-plant-animal products chain does not show significantly increased levels of natural radionuclides due to the fact that mentioned radionuclides, in general, have a low transfer factors in soil-plant-animal products chain.

Objectifs : évaluer l’état des connaissancesdes usagers et des professionnels de la santé sur les risques d’irradiationde la femme enceinte au cours des explorations radiologiques etl’observation de l’application des règles de radioprotection relativeà la femme enceinte par les utilisateurs de rayons X. Matériel etméthodes : notre étude prospective, réalisée au CHU de Yopougon,a duré 6 mois. Nous avons interrogé 60 femmes en grossesse ou susceptiblesde l’être, 30 médecins prescripteurs non-radiologues, 29 techniciensd’imagerie médicale et 21 aides soignants sur les risques d’irradiationet les mesures de protection de la femme enceinte avant et pendantla réalisation d’un examen radiologique utilisant les rayons X. Résultats :73,68 % des médecins prescripteurs n’ont pas de culture en radioprotectionchez une femme enceinte ou en âge de procréer. 93,10 % des patientesenceintes ou en âge de procréer ignoraient l’existence des rayonsX en radiodiagnostic et leur nocivité pour leur état. 80 % des manipulateursde radiologie ne respectaient pas les règles élémentaires de radioprotection.Conclusion : la sensibilisation des usagers des rayons X sur lesrisques d’irradiations chez une femme enceinte ou susceptible de l’êtreest nécessaire au CHU de Yopougon.

L'Association internationale de protection radiologique (IRPA) a invité, en 1999, les sociétés nationales à participer au débat sur l'évolution du système de protection radiologique proposé par la CIPR. Répondant à cette invitation, le conseil d'administration de la Société française de radioprotection (SFRP) a créé un groupe de travail spécifique. Ce groupe s'est réuni d'avril 1999 à juillet 2000, et les résultats de ses travaux ont été présentés lors du congrès IRPA-10 en mai 2000. Pour continuer cette réflexion, le conseil d'administration de la SFRP a décidé de créer un deuxième GT qui a débuté ses travaux en septembre 2001. Ce GT est composé d'une trentaine de membres représentant les parties prenantes de la radioprotection en France : autorités, experts et professionnels des domaines nucléaire, médical et de la recherche, ainsi qu'une personne issue du mouvement associatif. L'objectif de ce GT est de formuler des propositions sur des questions clés qui pourraient être abordées, en particulier par la CIPR, dans le développement de nouvelles recommandations de radioprotection. Le choix des sujets prioritaires résulte de l'expérience des membres du GT ainsi que de l'analyse des propositions de la CIPR. Cet article présente les principales conclusions du GT dans une formulation cherchant à refléter les diverses opinions qui ont pu être exprimées lors des séances de travail.