Research activities (RTD)
Following the Fukushima accident needs for research have been
identified on a European level. This comprises operational aspects
of emergency management procedures, methods and tools as well as
purely scientific investigations that may become operational beyond
the framework of the three year project.
The following tasks have been identified and will be performed in
six research work packages:
-
Operational procedures for long lasting releases:
Following the Fukushima Daiichi accident a review of existing
procedures for long lasting releases and identification of possible
needs for improvements by performing scenario calculations will be
performed on a European level. (WP1)
-
Platform for information collection and exchange: The
objective of this activity is to develop scientific methods and tools
that could be used by a European Platform (i.e. focal point) for the
collection of and analysis of information from any nuclear or
radiological event, particularly regarding the consequences and any
further developments. The intention is to set up such a Platform on a
scientific level and discuss within the three years of the project
whether such a platform should be formalised either as part of the
NERIS Platform or as a tool of the European Commission. (WP2)
-
Contamiated goods: Following the Fukushima accident it became
obvious, that the recommendations or requirements to deal with
contaminated goods already existing worldwide (IAEA, Codex
Alimentarius) and in Europe (Euratom regulations) were apparently
too simple (based only on criteria in activity concentration) and
not so easy to implement. Improvements should be proposed at least
on a European level (WP3)
-
Improvement to terrestrial aspects of decision support systems:
Fukushima clearly demonstrated the importance of a source term
estimation that is not only based on information from the plant
operators. Lessons from Chernobyl showed deficits in the representation
of the physico-chemical properties of radionuclides emitted in the
atmospheric dispersion models of ARGOS and RODOS (WP4)
-
Improvement to aquatic aspects of decision support systems:
The aquatic models in decision support systems are far less developed
than those for terrestrial ecosystems. This was apparent for the
Fukushima accident as during the first month, there was no simulation
of the activity released into the ocean. In this respect we intend
to integrate state of the art aquatic models into the RODOS DSS and
couple them with countermeasure simulation models. Further to this
the new capabilities will be tested for several important European
aquatic systems. (WP5)
-
Communication with the public: The overall objective of the
work package is to investigate the conditions and means for relevant,
reliable and trustworthy information to be made available to the
public at the appropriate time and according to its needs, both during
the nuclear emergency as well as in the post-emergency phases.
Information needs in this context refer to the understanding (by the
members of the public) of the evolution of the accident, its
management (and the related potential risks) and the capacity of
the population and communities to prevent or mitigate individually
and collectively harm arising from the threat. (WP6)
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