Transcript Environmental Radiation Protection

RADIATION PROTECTION
OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Radiation Protection of the Environment
(Environment Agency Course, July 2015)
Outline
Historical perspective of environmental
radiological protection
 Why this has changed - prime motivations
 International initiatives in key international
bodies
 The UK perspective
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Environmental Radiation Protection ‘the
history’
1977 International statement
‘Although the principal objective of radiation
protection is the achievement and maintenance of
appropriately safe conditions for activities
involving human exposure, the level of safety
required for the protection of all human individuals
is thought likely to be adequate to protect other
species, although not necessarily individual
members of those species. The Commission
therefore believes that if man is adequately
protected then other living things are also
likely to be sufficiently protected.’
1991 Statement
The Commission believes that the standard of
environmental control needed to protect man
to the degree currently thought desirable will
ensure that other species are not put at
risk. Occasionally, individual members of nonhuman species might be harmed, but not to the
extent of endangering whole species or
creating imbalance between species.
No requirement to access the impact of
released radionuclides on the
environment….
Sellafield
SSSI & LNR
Marine ‘conservation’ areas
Is that OK?
Is that OK?
c. year 2000 various national ‘regulators’ begin to
require environmental radiological assessments:
USA, UK, Sweden, Finland, Canada ............
What is the issue?
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Human radiological protection:
Focus on worker/most exposed
individual
 Environment more as a route for
transfer to humans
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Incomplete ecological information
 What’s the protection goal?
 Evidence needed for or against
ICRP statement
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Challenges to anthropogenic approach
Lack of demonstration that the
environment is being protected
 May not be valid for some environments
(e.g. those with no humans)
 Incompatible with management of other
environmental chemical stressors
 Requirement for assessment under
some national legislation
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National (e.g. UK)
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EC, 1979. EC Birds Directive 79/409/EEC
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EC, 1992. EC Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC
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UK Parliament, 1994. Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations
Requires demonstration of
protection of designated
sites and species from
‘hazardous substances’
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UK Parliament, 1981. Wildlife and Countryside Act
Interpreted (in UK) to include
ionising radiation
Use Initial Radiological
Assessment Tool (IRAT) which
is based on R&D128
Internationally, from 2007 ICRP
‘the Commission considers that it is now
necessary to provide advice with regard to all
exposure situations. It also believes that it is
necessary to consider a wider range of
environmental situations, irrespective of any
human connection with them. ...... The
Commission therefore believes that the
development of a clearer framework is required in
order to assess the relationships between
exposure and dose, and between dose and effect,
and the consequences of such effects, for nonhuman species, on a common scientific basis.’
ICRP Publication 108 (2008)
Provides a Concept and Use of Reference Animals and Plants
 Transfer, Dosimetry, Effects to biota
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=> Derived Consideration Reference Levels
Ideas for application
Protection targets
 Maintain biological diversity
 Conservation of species
 Protect health and status of
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Targets are all related to
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Natural habitats
Communities
Ecosystems
Living organisms
Populations or higher organisational levels
Not on individuals (except for endangered species)
Demonstration through a set of Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs)
Planned, Existing and Emergency exposure situations
Environmental radionuclide concentrations
Reference Male & Female
Reference Animals and Plants
Dose limits, Constraints and
Reference levels
Derived Consideration
Reference Levels
Decision-making regarding public health and environmental protection for the
same environmental exposure situation using representative individuals and
representative organisms
Human assessment (overview)
RADIONUCLIDE
SOURCE
PATHWAY OF
EXPOSURE
HABITS DATA
REFERENCE
PERSON
TOTAL
ABSORBED
DOSE
Compare predicted dose to
known biological effects &
dose limits
IMPACT
Application of a
weighting factors for
RBE & different
tissues
Wildlife assessment (overview)
RADIONUCLIDE
SOURCE
PATHWAY OF
EXPOSURE
ECOLOGICAL
HABITS
DATA
PARAMETERS
REFERENCE
ANIMAL OR
PLANT
Compare predicted dose to
known biological or
ecological effects & guideline
values
TOTAL
ABSORBED
DOSE
IMPACT
Application of a
weighting factors for
RBE & different
tissues
ICRP 108 - RAPs
For human protection, the reference individuals and Reference Person are
idealised models developed for the specific purposes of relating
exposure to dose, and dose to effect.
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They do not represent any specific type of human being (the reference
individuals are phantoms, and the Reference Person is a
hermaphrodite), but nevertheless have to be discretely defined to serve
their basic purpose.
To be consistent with the original concept of Reference Man, a Reference
Animal or Plant can be described as follows:
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“A Reference Animal or Plant is a hypothetical entity, with the assumed
basic biological characteristics of a particular type of animal or plant, as
described to the generality of the taxonomic level of family, with defined
anatomical, physiological, and life-history properties, that can be used
for the purposes of relating exposure to dose, and dose to effects, for
that type of living organism.”
RAPs
•Considers 12 RAPs (adult life stages) and 39 elements
•RAPs defined at taxonomic level of Family
Further ICRP published work
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ICRP, 2003. A Framework for Assessing the
Impact of Ionising Radiation on Non-human
Species. ICRP Publication 91. Ann. ICRP 33
(3).
ICRP, 2008. Environmental Protection - the
Concept and Use of Reference Animals and
Plants. ICRP Publication 108. Ann. ICRP 38 (4-6).
ICRP, 2009. Environmental Protection: Transfer Parameters for
Reference Animals and Plants. ICRP Publication 114. Ann. ICRP
39 (6).
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CRP, 2014. Protection of the Environment under Different
Exposure Situations. ICRP Publication 124. Ann. ICRP
43(1).
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And future…
UNSCEAR
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of
Atomic Radiation
 Established in 1955
 UN Scientific Committee reports to General
Assembly
 Assesses global levels and effects of ionizing
radiation
 Provides scientific basis for radiation protection
 Governments and organisations rely on
Committee's estimates as the scientific basis for
evaluating radiation risk and establishing protective
measures
UNSCEAR 2011 conclusions
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As in its 1996
recommendations, UNSCEAR
considers that chronic dose
rates of
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less than 100 μGy h-1 to the most
highly exposed individuals would
be unlikely to have significant
effects on most terrestrial
communities; and
that maximum dose rates of
400 μGy h-1 to any individual in
aquatic populations of organisms
would be unlikely to have any
detrimental effect at the population
level
UNSCEAR 2011 conclusions
Overall summary of (illustrative) chronic effects data for plants, fish and mammals
Category
Plant
Dose rate
Effects
Endpoint
100 - 1000 μGy h-1
Reduced trunk growth of pine trees
Morbidity
400 -700 μGy h-1
Reduced numbers of herbaceous plants
Morbidity
100 -1000 μGy h-1
Reduction in testis mass and sperm production,
lower fecundity, delayed spawning
Reproductive
200 – 499 μGy h-1
Reduced spermatogonia and sperm in tissues
Reproductive
< 100 μGy h-1
No detrimental endpoints have been described
Morbidity,
Mortality,
Reproductive
About 80 μGy h-1
A new statistical approach (species sensitivity
distribution, SSD) was applied to radiation
effects data to estimate the hazardous dose rate
(HDR5), the dose rate at which 95% of the
species in the ecosystem are protected
Morbidity,
Mortality,
Reproductive
Fish
Mammals
Generic
ecosystems
(terrestrial and
aquatic)
Plan of Activities on Protection of the Environment 2005
IAEA Safety Fundamentals (2006)
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Biota Co-ordination Group
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Revision of Basic Safety Standards
Approaches
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Environmental Modelling for Radiation
Safety (EMRAS I & II), MODARIA
Application
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Technical cooperation on wildlife
regulation RER 7005
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Safety objective is:
“The fundamental safety
objective is to protect
people and the
environment from harmful
effects of ionizing
radiation”
IAEA Fundamental Safety Principles
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Principle 7 Protection of present and future
generations
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People and the environment, present and future,
must be protected against radiation risks
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Environment = Ecosystems and populations
Basic Safety Standards
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Objectives
 Prevention of radiological effects
on flora and fauna
 Man is an integral part of the
environment
 Ensure the sustainable use of
natural resources now and in the
future
 Agriculture
 Forestry
 Fisheries
 Tourism
EC
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Euratom Basic Safety Standards
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on 29 September 2011 the European Commission
adopted the Proposal for a Council Directive laying
down basic safety standards for protection against the
dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation
[COM(2011)593].
Euratom projects
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FASSET
ERICA
PROTECT
FP7 – STAR Network
European Basic Safety Standards
Last minute removal of most of the
protection of the environment text
 Aim to protect people and the environment
but lacks detail
 Available copy of BSS if anyone wants to
read it
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A Generic
Framework for
Environmental
Radiation Risk
Assessment
Stakeholder
input
Target of
protection =
Population
Tiered approach
TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
Risk screening
Generic quantitative
Detailed Quantitative
Environmental and health protection
Data needs
Conservatism
Resources
Tiered approach
TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
Risk screening
Generic quantitative
Detailed Quantitative
Environmental and health protection
Data needs
Conservatism
Resources
Assessment tools
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AECL
DosDiMEco
EA R&D128
ECOMOD
EDEN 2
EPIC DOSES3D
ERICA
FASSET
LIETDOS-BIOTA
RESRAD-BIOTA
SÚJB
Bruce
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Australia
Belgium
England and Wales
European Project
Outputs
France
Lithuania
Russia
UK
USA
Environment Agency
Air
 Sewer
 Coastal
 River
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Multiple authorisation Radiological
assessment Tool (MRT)
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Developed for SEPA
ERICA Tool
http://www.erica-tool.eu/