Working Better Together: The Benefits of
European Collaboration in Radiation Protection
Working Better Together: The Benefits of
European Collaboration in Radiation Protection
Kelly Jones is Acting Head of the Radiation Assessments Department at the UK Health Security Agency( UKHSA), specialising in emergency response, environmental radiological assessment, and policy support. With over 30 years of experience in radiation protection, she provides expert advice on radiological incidents, has collaborated on international projects ranging from NORM to public protection from nuclear fallout, and has contributed to IAEA guidance on radiological assessments.
One of the real strengths of working in radiation protection is that we ' re never doing it alone. Across Europe, scientists, regulators and emergency planners routinely share expertise, compare methods and learn from each other.
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency( UKHSA) – often alongside other UK partners – takes part in many of these initiatives, contributing UK expertise while learning from a wider network.
One major example is the European PIANOFORTE Partnership for Radiation Protection Research launched in 2022 and running until 2029. Its mission is simple but ambitious: to improve protection of the public, workers, patients and the environment from ionising radiation through coordinated, collaborative research.
Two of PIANOFORTE’ s projects are:
PREDICT- this focuses on imPRovements in atmospheric dispErsion moDellIng and proteCTive action strategies in case of nuclear detonations. Partners across Europe are comparing model outputs and working together to reduce uncertainties – all with the aim of giving emergency planners clearer, faster and more reliable advice.
GIROSCOPE- Guidance for Innovative Reactor Off-Site COnsequences, Planned and Emergency. This looks ahead to the new wave of advanced and small reactor designs being considered across Europe. These technologies bring unfamiliar source terms, new siting possibilities and different safety considerations. The project brings together experts from 12 institutions, including from Canada, to understand these reactors more fully – from environmental transport modelling to societal factors. The project is developing practical guidance for emergency preparedness and environmental impact assessments, giving every country a stronger, shared evidence base and avoiding duplication of effort.
Other Networks A longstanding example of European collaboration is the EURADOS network, which supports collaboration in dosimetry across many specialties – environmental, internal, computational and medical. Through intercomparisons, benchmark studies and training, EURADOS promotes harmonised methods and shared learning. This helps ensure that if an emergency does happen, our measurements, assessments and interpretations are aligned across borders.
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