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Development and application of techniques to establish intervention levels for use in nuclear accidents

Ziel

The major objective of this project is to use, inter alia, the experience of the countermeasures taken following the Chernobyl accident to establish a more coherent and rational framework for establishing intervention levels for use in response to future accidents should the need arise. The importance of taking due account of both scientific and socio-political factors and of their complex interaction, when establishing intervention levels, was well demonstrated both in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere following the Chernobyl accident.

Historical portrayal of countermeasures taken following the Chernobyl accident

The first year of this sub-project was directed towards gaining a better understanding of the concepts and factors that determined the criteria adopted for introducing countermeasures. Subsequent analysis and investigation should be focused on the period, 1989-92, with the objective of gaining a more detailed understanding of the dynamics and evolution of the decision process. Both the scientific and socio-political inputs to the process should be evaluated and their relative importance assessed for the longer term management of post-accidental situations.

Investigation of social and psychological factors

The main objective of this sub-project is to identify the important human responses among those who may be affected by longer term countermeasures taken after a nuclear accident. The main part of the study should comprise an investigation and analysis, by means of field studies, of the social and psychological concerns of the populations affected by the countermeasures taken after the Chernobyl accident, both among those still living in contaminated settlements and those who have been relocated; the influence, inter alia, of cultural and other factors, official information, the media on perceptions of risk and the risk communication process should be addressed. The nature and content of these field studies will be determined by the outcome of a pilot study to be undertaken in the summer of 1992. This investigation should be complemented by a review of the literature on human reactions and social consequences of catastrophic events, especially those related to involuntary relocation and perceived threats to human health. In addition, part of the resources for this project should be assigned to the transfer of western experience and techniques in the area of social surveys to co-workers in the CIS and to training in their use.

Conceptual framework for intervention

Conceptual and terminological misunderstandings contributed to the difficulties encountered in the former Soviet Union in achieving a broadly acceptable policy for a return to normal living conditions in contaminated regions following the Chernobyl accident. The main objectives of this sub-project are to improve the conceptual basis for establishing intervention criteria, for food restrictions and relocation in particular, and of clarify some of the more common misunderstandings. The focus for this sub-project is to establish basic principles for setting intervention levels and to demonstrate their practical application; use should be made of data obtained in the first year of the project on the costs and doses averted by various countermeasures taken post-Chernobyl. Costing schemes for the monetary value of unit radiation dos applicable to post-accident situations should be explored and consideration given to the many factors that may influence the management, control and acceptability of continuing exposure to enhanced levels that may arise after an accident. Both radiological and the less tangible social factors should be addressed in this analysis in addition to how they can be best integrated into policy decisions in this area.

Distribution of exposures in affected populations

In general, the average dose in the group affected will be the relevant quantity to use in comparison with the intervention level in judging whether a particular countermeasure should be introduced. Where the distribution of doses, or indeed the risks from the countermeasure itself, is very non-uniform this generalisation may no longer by applicable. The main objective of this sub-project is to evaluate the distribution of doses in a representative range of settlements contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident to ascertain to what extent policy based on consideration of average dose among those affected is appropriate or whether it should be qualified in some respects. Differences in habits, eg, diet, recreational pursuits, occupation, etc, should be considered in the estimation of the distribution of dosses. In addition, the potential for exposure from "hot particle" should be assessed and the extent to which this might influence decisions on relocation. Some provision should be made within this project for experimental work and/or field work to determine the relevant habits, occupations, etc, of those affected and possibly to explore further the potential importance of "hot particles", in so far as adequate data on their biological transportability, etc, do not exist.

Decision Aiding System for establishing intervention levels

The objective of this sub-project is to develop further and implement, both in the EC and the CIS, a computerise decision aiding system capable of practical application in the pre-planning intervention levels and in determining actual intervention levels in response to the particular circumstances of an accident. Multi-attribute decision analysis should be used as the basis of the system which will build extensively on previous and ongoing work undertaken in this field within the CEC Radiation Protection Research Programme. The system should have the capability to take account of inputs from each of the sub-projects set out above.

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Finanzierungsplan

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Koordinator

CENTRE D'ETUDES SUR L'EVALUATION DE LA PROTECTION DANS LE DOMAINE NUCLEAIRE
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Adresse
Route Du Panorama 18
92263 FONTENAY AUX ROSES
Frankreich

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Letzte Aktualisierung: 15 Dezember 1993

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/COSU0021/de

European Union, 2024