Demonstrating the use of a framework for risk-informed decisions with stakeholder engagement through case studies for NORM and nuclear legacy sites

The international community has come a long way in developing a consensus that the remediation and management of naturally occurring radioactive materials and nuclear legacy sites will benefit from the use of the framework for risk-informed decision-making. Such a framework should ideally integrate risk assessment and decision-making. The framework presented in this paper specifically addresses the needs and expectations in the wider socio-economic and environmental context, as well as a narrower human health context. The framework was demonstrated as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s second Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments Programme. Three case studies, which have used or could use this integrative approach, are used for illustration. The first concerns remediation from uranium mining activities at Beaverlodge Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, engaging stakeholders (also called ‘interested parties’) in the decision-making process on further options. The second case study suggests how decision analysis could support the selection of the best option for waste disposal for uranium ore processing at Žirovski vrh, Slovenia, taking into account a potential landslide and migration of waste throughout the adjacent valley in the event of flooding. The third case study presents the process and results of radiological safety assessment of the Kepkensberg sludge basin in Tessenderlo area, Belgium both before and after the disposal of material from remediation of the nearby Winterbeek River. It illustrates how such assessments could interface with decision analysis for the purpose of supporting the regulatory decisions related to future approval of a waste disposal option. Results show that formal stakeholder engagement in decision analysis provides a strong contribution to objective, robust, and transparent decision-making not only for radiation protection area but also in others where health and environmental impacts are of concern. A number of recommendations for future work have also been made

The sensitivity of the model for determination of aerosol black carbon sources to selected input parameters

Z obdelavo podatkov meritev v okviru projekta DECOMBIO v treh krajih (Chamonix, Passy, Marnaz) doline reke Arve v Franciji smo določili nihanje koncentracije črnega ogljika (ČO). Z uporabo aethalometrskega modela smo določili prispevke ČO, ki izvira iz uporabe fosilnih goriv (ČOf) in ČO, katerega vir je kurjenje biomase (ČOb). Naredili smo raziskavo občutljivosti aethalometrskega modela na izbrane kombinacije vhodnih parametrov α (Ångströmov absorpcijski eksponent) za fosilna goriva (αf) in biomaso (αb). S pomočjo podatkov meritev dnevne koncentracije levoglukozana smo za vse tri kraje določili najustreznejšo kombinacijo αf in αb. Za kraj Marnaz smo naredili raziskavo vpliva dnevnih temperatur zraka in količine padavin na nihanje koncentracije ČO. Ugotovili smo, da je nihanje koncentracije ČO, ČOb in ČOf opazno med dnevom, odvisno od letnega časa in se razlikuje med delavniki in nedeljami. V zimskem obdobju je povprečen prispevek ČOb okoli 40 %. V poletnem obdobju prevladuje ČOf. Aethalometrski model je bolj občutljiv na izbiro αb v zimskem času, poleti je zaradi manjšega prispevka ČOb bolj pomembna izbira primerne vrednosti αf. Najustreznejše vrednosti parametrov αf in αb se ujemajo z vrednostmi v drugih raziskavah in najpogosteje uporabljenimi vrednostmi αf = 1 in αb = 2. Padavine in temperatura zraka vplivata na nihanje koncentracije ČO, ČOf in ČOb.We determined the changes in black carbon (BC) concentration by processing the data obtained by DECOMBIO project measurements in three locations (Chamonix, Passy, Marnaz) in Arve valley, France. We used Aethalometer model for the determination of BC contribution, resulting from the use of fossil fuels (BCf) and contribution of BC, that originates from biomass burning (BCb). We did the sensitivity analysis of the Aethalometer model to selected combinations of input parameters α (Ångström absorption exponent) for fossil fuels (αf) and biomass (αb). We determined the optimal combination of αf and αb, with respect to the daily levoglucosan concentration data. We studied the effect of daily air temperatures and precipitation on the BC concentration in Marnaz. The variations in BC, BCf and BCb are noticeable during the day, depend on the season and are different between workdays and Sundays. During winter the contribution of BCb is around 40 %. The contribution of BCf dominates in the summer. In winter the Aethalometer model is highly sensitive to the use of the appropriate value of αb. Due to lower contribution of BCb it is more important to choose the appropriate value of αf in the summer. The most appropriate values of αf and αb are consistent with the values obtained in other studies and with the most commonly used values (αf = 1 and αb = 2). The concentration of BC, BCf and BCb is affected by air temperature fluctuations and precipitation

Practical Opportunities to Improve the Impact of Health Risk Assessment on Environmental and Public Health Decisions

Following alerts about the diminishing role of health risk assessment (HRA) in informing public health decisions, this study examines specific HRA topics with the aim of identifying possible solutions for addressing this compelling situation. The study administered a survey among different groups of stakeholders involved in HRA or decision-making, or both. The responses show various understandings of HRA in the decision-making context—including confusion with the health impact assessment (HIA)—and confirm recurring foundational issues within the risk analysis field that contribute to the growth of inconsistency in the HRA praxis. This inconsistency lowers the effectiveness of HRA to perform its primary purpose of informing public health decisions. Opportunities for improving this situation come at the beginning of the assessment process, where greater attention should be given to defining the assessment and decision-making contexts. Both must reflect the concerns and expectations of the stakeholders regarding the needs and purpose of an HRA on one side, and the methodological and procedural topics relevant for the decision case at hand on the other. The HRA process should end with a decision follow-up step with targeted auditing and the participation of stakeholders to measure its success

Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) diverstiy and agricultural land use in Solčava area, N Slovenia

The article presents a contribution to the knowledge of butterfly diversity (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of the Solčavsko, an important area for nature conservation in Slovenia. Survey took place from June to August 2014 at six localities. Field observations were performed twice per month. The localities are characterised by different agricultural land use: pastures and meadows. Altogether 50 butterfly species were recorded at the surveyed localities. Eight species are reported for this area for the first time, two of them threatened and/or protected in Slovenia: Boloria selene and Lycaena alciphron. The study shows that surveyed pastures have predominantly higher butterfly diversity than meadows.Članek predstavlja prispevek k poznavanju pestrosti dnevnih metuljev (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) na Solčavskem, ki je pomembno območje ohranjanja narave v Sloveniji. Podatki so bili zbrani v obdobju med junijem in avgustom 2014 na šestih lokacijah, in sicer dvakrat mesečno. Na vzorčenih lokacijah je prisotna različna kmetijska raba: pašniki in travniki. Skupaj je bilo opaženih 50 vrst metuljev. Med njimi je bilo 8 vrst metuljev prvič opaženih na tem območjuod tega sta dve ogroženi in/ali zavarovani vrsti v Sloveniji: Boloria selene in Lycaena alciphron. Ugotovili smo, da je bila na vzorčenih pašnikih pestrost metuljev večinoma večja kot na travnikih

Human Biomonitoring Data in Health Risk Assessments Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals between 2016 and 2021: Confronting Reality after a Preliminary Review

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a rapidly developing field that is emphasized as an important approach for the assessment of health risks. However, its value for health risk assessment (HRA) remains to be clarified. We performed a review of publications concerned with applications of HBM in the assessment of health risks. The selection of publications for this review was limited by the search engines used (only PubMed and Scopus) and a timeframe of the last five years. The review focused on the clarity of 10 HRA elements, which influence the quality of HRA. We show that the usage of HBM data in HRA is limited and unclear. Primarily, the key HRA elements are not consistently applied or followed when using HBM in such assessments, and secondly, there are inconsistencies regarding the understanding of fundamental risk analysis principles and good practices in risk analysis. Our recommendations are as follows: (i) potential usage of HBM data in HRA should not be non-critically overestimated but rather limited and aligned to a specific value for exposure assessment or for the interpretation of health damage; (ii) improvements to HRA approaches, using HBM information or not, are needed and should strictly follow theoretical foundations of risk analysis