protectfp6-036425 ceh, uk (co-ordinator) ssi, sweden irsn, france nrpa, norway ea, england &...

FP6-036425FP6-036425PROTECT PROTECT

CEH, UK (Co-ordinator)

SSI, Sweden

IRSN, France

NRPA , Norway

EA, England & Wales


ICRP statements• 1977 “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 “… individual members of non-human species might be harmed but not to the extent of endangering whole species or creating imbalance between species”


But… some reservationsNo evidence is given by the ICRP in support

of this assertion……..– may be invalid in certain situations, where

human populations are non-existent or far removed.

– issues related to radioactivity and/or radioactive waste and the environment are increasingly being addressed in conventions on environmental protection in contexts going beyond narrow compliance with radiological criteria.

Need to demonstrate that protecting humans protects wildlife

Legal requirements to regulate appearing in various countries


ICRP Committee 5

• Radiological protection of the environment - will aim to ensure that the development and application of approaches to environmental protection are: – compatible with those for radiological protection of man, – and with those for protection of the environment from

other potential hazards.


UNSCEAR

• report on authoritative scientific basis for future international efforts in international radiation protection

- currently preparing a report on radiation doses and their effects on wildlife


• In response, IAEA develop Plan of Activities on Radiation Protection of Environment (approved by Board of Governors Sept 2005)– The revision of the IAEA Basic

Safety Standards will include the drafting of a requirement on radiation protection of the environment in line with Principle 7 of the Safety Fundamentals.

Stockholm conference 2003: “the time is ripe for launching a number of international initiatives to consolidate the present approach to controlling radioactive discharges to the environment by taking explicit account of the protection of species other than humans”


England and Wales: an example of regulation

UK: Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 Implements the EC Habitats Directive in the UK on conservation of natural habitats, flora and fauna. - There is a requirement to assess the impacts of consents and authorisations affecting Natura 2000 sites under the Habitats Regulations (1994)Environment Agency took the view, based on legal advice and with the support of statutory consultee English Nature, that this should include ionising radiation


Habitats Directive Assessments

• About 430 Natura 2000 sites in England & Wales currently being assessed


PROTECT - Overall Objectives• Evaluate the practicability and relative merits of different

approaches to protection of the environment from ionising radiation.

• Compare these with methods used for non-radioactive contaminants, particularly on the adequacy with respect to the European framework defined for chemicals.

PROTECT will provide • A basis on which the EC could develop protection

policies and revise its Basic Safety Standards, • Ensure a fruitful collaboration with, and constructive

input into, current ICRP and IAEA task groups.


WP1 Protection Concepts (1)

• Consult widely with industry and regulators to review regulatory approaches to chemical and radioactive substances. Emphasis on

• Regulatory instruments • Procedures• Underlying principles • Criteria • What is on the horizon (policy

development)? • Send questionnaires to regulators and industry


WP1 Protection Concepts (2)

• Identify similarities and differences in approaches between chemicals and radioactive substances

• Define the endpoints for chemicals and radioactive substances

• Make recommendations for generating common approaches to the protection of the environment


First workshop March 07 – mainly regulators

• 8 Regulators• 1 NGO• 2 Industry• 4 International

organisations• 11 consortium


Issues Discussed (in part defined by

questionnaire responses) Questions were each discussed in three separate breakout groups:• Justification for regulating the nuclear industry• Alignment of chemical and radioactive substances regulation• Appropriate targets for protection• Demonstration of compliance against protection goals• Credibility of currently suggested benchmark values for ionising radiation and appropriateness of methods used to derive them• Treatment of background exposure within assessments


Purpose of the Workshop• Before the meeting a questionnaire had been sent to both regulators and

industry and >20 responses had been received• The workshops main focus was to elicit views from regulators. • A summary document, which outlined responses to a questionnaire on

current regulatory approaches and requirements, was circulated prior to the workshop.

• The aim of the workshop was to discuss and explore in more detail areas relating to the protection of the environment and, in particular, obtain views on the following:

1. Expectations or requirements of environmental protection (as a whole)2. Expectations or requirements of both chemical and radioactive approaches3. Suitability of any approaches that derive numerical values for use as criteria

or standards4. Suitability of any numerical values currently applied as criteria or standards


Examples of methods and derived values (µGy/h)

Organisation Approach used, value ((µGy/h)

Environment Canada Review, safety factor on the lowest available radiotoxicity value

Aquatic species Values range from 20-220

Terrestrial species Values range from 100-220

UsDoE Review based on NCRP 1991, IAEA 1992, UNSCEAR 1996

Terrestrial plants and Aquatic animals 400

Terrestrial animals 40

Environment Agency, Uk Critical review for screening purposes from IAEA 1992

Terrestrial Plants 400

Terrestrial Animals 40

fSU Review of contaminated environments

Vertebrates and cytogenetic effects 4-20

Vertebrates and morbidity 20-80

Vertebrates and reproduction 80-200

ERICA Species sensitivity distribution

All species 10


Record of the Workshop – a working document only

• The report records discussions during the meeting and does not necessarily reflect the views of members of the PROTECT consortium (N.B. no attempt has been made to comment on (or ‘correct’) the discussions during the preparation of this document).

• It is now for the PROTECT consortium members to review and extract relevant information for PROTECT from the record of the meeting for use in other phases of the PROTECT project.


WP2 Objectives

• Evaluate practicability of existing and developing approaches • Consider acceptability and relevance of current approaches compared to needs of industry and regulators and different situations •Test available approaches against any relevant ICRP recommendation or outputs from WP3•Assess the availability, usability and transparency of available approaches to groups other than those involved in their development


WP3: Objectives

• Derive and propose numerical target values for an extended list of ecological targets and protection levels,

• Analyse implications of derived values for society


WP3 Meeting: Aix, France 13th-16th May 2008

• A workshop will be held to discuss proposed numeric values for protection of the environment against ionising radiation with a wide audience of interested parties. This will allow us to identify areas of consensus and dissent, common grounds for further work, and make recommendations for the future.

• The scientific basis used to derive target values by different national and international organisations and projects.

• The dose rates currently used within environmental assessments.• The numeric target values and their application as proposed by

PROTECT.• Implications for industry, regulators and society in general: costs

and benefits of assessment.• The workshop is open to regulatory, industrial or non-governmental

organisation with an interest in environmental protection. Numbers will be limited by the venue. We try to insure all parties are adequately represented. However, we will not be able to financially support all attendees at this workshop.

• Contact [email protected]


PROTECT information

• Web site: www.ceh.ac.uk/protect• Newsletters• Deliverables• Presentations and tutorials

– derivation of species sensitivity distributions used in ERICA to derive the benchmark of 10 µGy/h value for Tier 1 & 2


Deliverable datesWP Deliverable Draft Due

1 D3: A review of approaches to protection of the environment from chemicals and ionising radiation – requirements & recommendations for a common framework

Nov 07

2 D4: Evaluation of the practicability of different approaches for protecting the environment from ionising radiation in a regulatory context and their relative merits

Jul 08

3 D5: Aims and associated secondary numerical targets, for protecting biota against radiation in the environment

A: Recommendations for further actions

B: Proposed levels and underlying reasoning

C: Records of end users’ views on feasibility of proposed targets

Jan 08

Sept 08

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