Does the use of reference organisms in radiological impact assessments provide adequate protection of all the species within an environment?

Bounding uncertainties around the conceptual representation of species in radiological assessment in the context of routine atmospheric release

“…As previously demonstrated, regardless of the size and the habitat of the SOs, the potential discrepancy between a site-specific organism and its corresponding SO will be less than a factor of 30 for the worst case scenario, for a single radionuclide, in the case of routine atmospheric releases. Previous studies to this analysis qualitatively demonstrated that the mass differences of an organism have relatively little impact on the dose rate value [7,9,13,16,40] but it was not shown quantitatively. It is clear from the present analysis that the impact of size (mass and/or geometry) on dose rate is not linear, with size differences of several orders of magnitude causing dose rate variations of only a fraction.…”

“…In the same manner used to account for the diversity of biota, the analysis evaluated multiple chronic release scenarios for a wide range of nuclear activities. Radionuclides were selected based on the work conducted in MODARIA I and II, IAEA safety reports series n°64 [19], of the Euratom commission [20] and current literature [9,11,21]. Distinctions were made between research centers, fuel fabrication facilities, nuclear power plants (NPPs), decommissioning activities for NPPs, waste disposal facilities, radiopharmaceutical facilities, and hospitals.…”

“…ROs or RAPs), but it is considered that they are still adequately represented [8]. However, in radiological risk assessments on fauna and flora for different purposes, it is not uncommon to find that site-specific organisms need to be considered in addition to the SOs (ROs or RAPs) [9][10][11]. The selection of specific organisms is primarily a function of the surrounding environment but may also take into account societal factors.…”

“…In view of the low level of radiological risk related to routine releases from activities and facilities, it is generally not practical for an assessment to take into account all living species and populations within an area of interest. Some selection criteria are therefore necessary to identify a manageable number of organisms sufficient to address assessment objectives [9]. Despite of the wide range of geometric characteristics, habits, and habitats observed in the compendium of site-specific species and SOs, in numerous cases, no important differences were noted in the predicted dose rate (DR) [9][10][11].…”

Collaboration network, technology network and technological development: a patent analysis in the Chinese green technological field of energy saving

“…Faced with the globalization of the energysaving market, more and more energy-saving enterprises have adjusted their development strategies and turned their attention to the international market. In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and four other ministries and commissions jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of the Green Belt and Road, which provided policy support for China's energy conservation industry to "go global" (Charrasse et al, 2019). Key energy conservation and environmental protection enterprises, such as CNPC Energy Saving, Sander Environment and Beijing Water Control, have obtained many overseas project orders, opened up multiple national markets, and accumulated rich experience in construction and operation.…”