Current radiation protection approaches acknowledge the importance of protecting not only humans but also the environment. Previously the concern focused on mankind’s environment only with regard to the transfer of radionuclides through it, mainly in the context of planned exposure situ­ations. In such situations, the standards of environmental control needed to protect the general public would ensure that other species are not placed at risk. To provide a sound framework for environmental protection in all exposure situations, there has been proposed the use of ‘reference animals

Bands or constraints and reference levels (mSv) Characteristics of the exposure situation Radiological protection requirements Examples Greater than 20 Individuals are exposed by sources Consideration should be given to reducing Reference level set to 100bc that are not controllable, or where actions to reduce doses would be disproportionately disruptive. Exposures are usually controlled by action on the exposure pathways. doses. Increasing efforts should be made to reduce doses as they approach 100 mSv. Individuals should receive information on radiation risk and on the actions to reduce doses. Assessment of individual doses should be undertaken. for the highest planned residual dose from a radiological emergency. Greater than 1 Individuals will usually receive benefit Where possible, general information Constraints set for to 20 from the exposure situation but not necessarily from the exposure itself. Exposures may be controlled at source or, alternatively, by action in the exposure pathways. should be made available to enable individuals to reduce their doses. For planned situations, individual assessment of exposure and training should take place. occupational exposure in planned situations. 1 or less Individuals arc exposed to a source that gives them little or no individual benefit but benefits to society in general. Exposures are usually controlled by action taken directly on the source for which radiological protection requirements can be planned in advance. General information on the level of exposure should be made available. Periodic checks should be made on the exposure pathways as to the level of exposure. Constraints set for public exposure in planned situations.

and plants’. In order to establish a basis for acceptability, additional doses calculated to these reference organisms could be compared with doses known to have specific biological effects and with dose rates normally experienced in the natural environment. Nobody, however, is proposing to set any form of ‘dose limits’ for environmental protection.

It should be recognized that until recently the word environment itself was absent in normal parlance and, unsurprisingly, concerns for environ­mental protection are a relatively new phenomenon. The term ‘environ­ment’ derives from the old French environ, ‘surroundings’, from en ‘in’ + viron ‘circuit’, strictly referring to the surroundings of an object. More recently it has evolved to mean the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal or plant lives or operates and, even more recently, it has become equated to the natural world, especially as affected by human activ­ity. It will certainly take time to develop comprehensive protection doc­trines for such a relatively contemporary concept, one that encompasses this relatively new human apprehension. Over the last years, two fundamen­tal environmental protection approaches (rather than ethics) are being constructed: the so-termed biocentrism and ecocentrism.

In spite of this apparent vacuum of an environmental protection ethics, some basic principles are being developed for protecting not only humans but also the environment in itself from the detrimental effects of radiation exposure. The aim is to ensure that the development and application of approaches to environmental protection are compatible with those for radiological protection of humans, and with those for protection of the environment from other potential hazards (IAEA, 2005b).

As indicated heretofore, within the context of planned exposure situa­tions, the standards of environmental control needed to protect the general public should ensure that other species in the human habitat are not placed at risk. However, the situation could be different in emergency and existing situations and in the environment at large. Thus, the radiation protection community is adhering to some international basic environmental protec­tion objectives such as:

• to maintain biological diversity

• to ensure the conservation of species

• to protect the health and status of natural habitats, communities and ecosystems.

Under these premises, a framework for assessing the impact of ionizing radiation on non-human species (ICRP, 2003) and the techniques for imple­mentation (ICRP, 2008) have been recommended by ICRP.

Ultimately, the protection of the environment from radiation exposure will be achieved through international efforts for restricting discharges of radioactive substances (Gonzalez, 2005).

360 Infrastructure and methodologies for justification of NPPs