Environmental Radioactivity Research Network

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Who will benefit from this network?

Commercial / Private Sector

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA): UK Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste Management activities are overseen by the NDA. At this stage we have made the NDA aware of the network proposal, and we will strengthen this link upon initiation of the Env-Rad-Net to ensure knowledge transfer.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (NDA-RWMD): The NDA-RWMD is responsible for implementing the geological disposal of UK High Activity Wastes, and they are currently developing the UK geodisposal safety case. Shaw, Law, and several other key network participants have extant links with the NDA-RWMD (e.g., via the NERC BIGRAD and EPSRC AMASS). These links will be used to engage the NDA-RWMD as network participants upon initiation of the Env-Rad-Net, thus ensuring two-way knowledge transfer.

National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL): NNL (previously NIREX) is a government owned, contractor-operated company. It is responsible for supporting the UK's strategic nuclear R & D and for developing specialised, high-level skills in the nuclear environmental sciences. A key member of the NNL team (Dr. Small) will sit of the Env-Rad-Net steering committee thus ensuring knowledge transfer between the Env-Rad-Net and NNL.

Policy Makers

National level: Members of the Env-Rad-Net have policy links to geological disposal (DECC, CoRWM), new nuclear power (DECC and BIS) and on nuclear security (FERA) and nuclear incident response (GDS).

Local level: Decommissioning and geodisposal facilities will be hosted at a local council level, and the Env-Rad-Net will seek to link with, for example, imminent developments in the UK Geodisposal forward programme.

Wider public

Across the network, we have a track record in public engagement.

How will they benefit from this network?

Commercial-Private Sector

NDA, NDA-RWMD and NNL will benefit directly from the enhanced community in environmental radioactivity that will result from the network. At a higher level the network will directly address issues affecting environment and energy, and more specifically will produce new research that can be used in underpinning management and implementation issues in the nuclear sciences.

Policy makers

The release of radionuclides from nuclear sites, nuclear security, and safe management of nuclear wastes and the subsequent mobility of radionuclides in the environment are subjects of intense public concern. At the same time, radioactivity spans the remit of many research councils and government departments. By creating a new network interface between STFC facilities and the wider nuclear environmental science community we will assist in developing a refreshed research base in this area. It is clear that a healthy research base will provide capability in providing independent scrutiny in forward plans for geodisposal, low-level waste disposal and indeed for contaminated land and nuclear legacy management: Capability that will be crucial in implementation of these significant managerial, technical and environmental challenges over the next two decades.

Wider Public

We will actively engage with initiatives hosted within the STFC (e.g. DIAMOND Communications Office, Open Days etc.) to communicate the activities of the Env-Rad-Net to a wider audience. This will ensure a high level of public understanding.

Skills

The Env-Rad-Net is focussed on skills development and exploitation of STFC facilities. We anticipate developing skills of the wider environmental science community in working with environmental radioactivity challenges, of the radiochemistry and modelling community to develop their links into STFC facilities, and of cross STFC exploitation within the network.