Protection of the environment from ionising radiation in a regulatory context—an overviewof the PROTECT coordinated action project

Abstract

The outcome of the PROTECT project (Protection of the Environment from IonisingRadiation in a Regulatory Context) is summarised, focusing on the protection goal andderivation of dose rates which may detrimentally affect wildlife populations. To carry outan impact assessment for radioactive substances, the estimated dose rates produced byassessment tools need to be compared with some form of criteria to judge the level ofrisk. To do this, appropriate protection goals need to be defined and associatedpredefined dose rate values, or benchmarks, derived and agreed upon. Previousapproaches used to estimate dose rates at which there may be observable changesin populations or individuals are described and discussed, as are more recentderivations of screening benchmarks for use in regulatory frameworks. We haveadopted guidance and procedures used for assessment and regulation of otherchemical stressors to derive benchmarks. On the basis of consultation with manyrelevant experts, PROTECT has derived a benchmark screening dose rate, usingdata on largely reproductive effects to derive species sensitivity distributions, of10 µGy h − 1 which can be used to identify situations which are below regulatory concern with a highdegree of confidence.