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The transport of radioactive material is an essential activity worldwide. To ensure the protection and safety of people, property and the environment, appropriate regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material, both at the national level and at the international level, are necessary. Competent authorities regulate the transport of radioactive material through the application of national regulations, which should be consistent with relevant international regulations. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on actions that competent authorities should take to ensure compliance with the applicable regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material.

This study was carried out to evaluate the distribution of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and radiological risk indexes in aerosol dust in Nicosia, Cyprus utilizing a high-resolution HPGe gamma-spectrometry. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K in the selected aerosol dust samples ranged from 25.9–52.4, 21.7–46.3, to 471–1302 Bq kg −1 , respectively. The average activity concentrations of 40 K were found to be above the Earth's crust average. The internal and external hazard indexes are well below the acceptable limit in most dust samples. All investigated samples met the exemption dose limit of 0.3 mSv y −1 .

A properly established governmental, legal and regulatory framework for safety provides for the effective regulatory control of facilities and activities with radiation sources. An important aspect of a regulatory framework is to ensure that the implementation of the regulatory programme is commensurate with the radiation risks associated with facilities and activities, in accordance with a graded approach. This publication provides practical guidance on the application of a graded approach in regulating the safety of radiation sources. Examples of applying this approach in some Member States are included. The proposed methodologies promote a systematic and consistent approach to regulating in accordance with the IAEA safety standards.

The growing application of radioactive materials in various industries, such as nuclear power, oil and gas, and research labs, has led to an increase in the amount of radioactive material present in waste liquids. This poses a risk to both the environment and human health through exposure to radiation. Current methods for treating these types of waste liquids, aside from membrane technology, are not economically feasible. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate ways to effectively treat liquid radioactive waste to comply with environmental regulations. Membrane technology is a cost-effective and energy-efficient method for treating radioactive waste. This review focuses on the utilization of membrane technology for the treatment of radioactive waste, discussing various collective membrane techniques, including nanofiltration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, membrane distillation, and reverse osmosis. The review also evaluates selective membrane separation techniques such as ion-exchange membranes, supported liquid membranes, and polymer inclusion membranes. Previous studies' findings are summarized, and potential areas for future development are highlighted.

Mining is responsible for the release of metallic pollutants and radioactive materials into the environment, which have the potential to disrupt ecosystems and pose significant risks to human health. Significant mining activity is concentrated in the municipality of Caetité (northeastern Brazil), where Latin America’s only active uranium mine and significant iron ore deposits are located. Although previous studies have shown that the regional soil and water resources are highly contaminated by various toxic elements and that exposure to these elements is known to have adverse effects on human health, the health risks in this mining region have never been assessed. The aim of this unprecedented comprehensive investigation was to assess the health, radiological and ecological risks in this mining region, which is home to nearly 100,000 people. To achieve our goal, soil and water samples were collected in the vicinity of the mines and in the main settlements in the region. Fifteen metallic toxic elements were determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. The HERisk code, which follows the main methodological guidelines for risk assessment, was used to quantify human health, radiological and ecological indices. The average values of the total risk and cancer risk indices indicated that region falls into the moderate risk category (1.0 ≤ HI tot  < 4.0). However, 63% of the sites had high risk values, with Fe, Co and As being the metals contributing most to total and cancer risk, respectively. Near the mining areas, the potential ecological risk can be considered extreme (PERI ≥ 600). The values of the calculated radiological indices correspond to typical values ​​in natural uranium areas. However, in the communities near the mine, the dose values are slightly above the permissible limit (1 mSv y −1 ), so they must be continuously monitored, and risk mitigation measures must be taken.

This report summarizes the findings of a workshop held at the safeND Research Symposium and hosted by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (BASE) in Berlin in September 2023. The workshop aimed to channel perspectives from various fields of expertise to discuss key sustainability concepts in terms of radioactive waste management. Therefore, the report highlights that current sustainability concepts, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as the concept of Planetary Boundaries, neglect challenges arising from the production and storage of human-made radioactive materials. The workshop consisted of three group tasks. The first attempted at identifying the interrelations between “sustainability” and radioactive waste management. The second was to map the global nature of the challenges. The third took first steps to determine a human-made radioactive material as a potential planetary sub-boundary for “novel entities”. All three groups identified valuable knowledge gaps that should be addressed by future research and concluded that radioactive waste management is underrepresented in these sustainability concepts.

Evaluation of potential annual effective doses (PAED) for a radiation worker and a public adult due to inhalation of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) were conducted around NORM sites in the northern Vietnam. The value of PAED is the most important indicator for radiation safety assessment. The values of PAED due to inhalation for a radiation worker and a public adult were found as 6.02 mSv/y and 6.01 mSv/y, respectively. The NORM site can be categorized into “type A” and a “controlled area”.

While reducing industrial environmental impacts, it is essential to verify that the perceived improvements do not cause unexpected side effects. In the construction materials sector, certain circular economy practices may potentially increase the exposure from natural radioactivity due to the elevated radionuclide content in processed naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). This study presents the development of a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodology accounting for NORM impacts in construction material life cycles from cradle to use. The methodology builds upon the LCA-NORM life cycle assessment framework previously established by the research group. The novel contributions include enhancements in (1) the dose units, (2) the use-stage exposure scenario, (3) the inclusion of radionuclide inhalation as an occupational exposure pathway and (4) the revisions of key parameters, including the dose conversion coefficients (DCCs). The updated characterisation factors yielded more conservative values at the use stage (e.g., 7 times higher exposure under pessimistic conditions due to radon inhalation) compared to the previous LCA-NORM outputs. An important advancement is the implementation of the new methodology in a novel custom-developed Python package (i.e., NORMIA) to integrate the custom elementary flows into LCA calculations of the Python library Brightway v.2.5. NORMIA generates characterisation factors that quantify the equivalent stochastic risk for human health and non-human biota per unit radionuclide emission and activity, based on user-defined inputs such as construction material type and density. With this study, a more holistic and accurate assessment of the environmental sustainability of construction materials is targeted.

A case of illegal possession of suspect material at the Karasovići border crossing in Croatia was recently recorded and resolved. An increased activity of 226 Ra was detected in the suspect material. The seized material consisted of 2 types of samples, black powder and jewellery. The material was analysed by the high-resolution gamma spectrometry method in the Laboratory for Radioecology of the Ruđer Bošković Institute. The seized material was confirmed to contain uranium. The material was additionally analysed by the X-ray diffraction method. Identified mineral phases have not been found in Croatia so far, therefore it is not possible that the material in question originates from Croatia.