Effects of ionising radiation on biota: do we need more regulation?

Findings and recommendations from an international comparison of models and approaches for the estimation of radiological exposure to non-human biota

There is general international acceptance of the need to demonstrate that the environment is protected from ionising radiation. In some countries requirements and guidelines for the protection of non-human biota are already in place. As a consequence a number of models and approaches have been proposed for the estimation of the exposure of non-human biota to ionising radiation. The IAEA EMRAS p...

RBE and radiation weighting factors as applied in the context of protection of the environment from ionising radiation

It has long been recognized that the degree of biological impact on an organism resulting from a given absorbed dose of ionising radiation can vary depending upon the type of radiation involved. This difference has been experimentally quantified and reported as the “relative biological effectiveness” (RBE) of specific radiation types. RBE values have been measured for a variety of end points in...

Journal of Radiological Protection MEETING REPORTS SRP Meeting on Protecting Biota from Ionising Radiation DisTec

Effects of acute gamma irradiation on soil invertebrates in laboratory tests

An understanding of the dose-effect relationships of ionising radiation for nonhuman biota establishes important baselines for the radiological protection of ecosystems. We used standard laboratory tests to examine the dose-effect relationships of gamma radiation on the survival, growth and reproduction of the earthworm, Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta). Adult E. fetida were acutely irradiated with...

Protection of the environment: how to position radioprotection in an ecological risk assessment perspective.

The development of a system capable of ensuring adequate protection of the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation is at present particularly debated. This need comes both from a restrictive consideration of the environment in the so far existing system for human radioprotection, and the planetary-wide growing concerns about man's technogenic influence on his environment whic...