Effects of Radioactivity in the Environment Research Programme (R01)

This programme is currently being reviewed

The Food Standards Agency is responsible for protecting the food supply from undue or unacceptable contamination with radioactivity. Authorisation for the discharge and disposal of radioactive waste from both licensed nuclear sites and other users of radioactivity is given by the Environment Agency in England and Wales and by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in Scotland. They are both required by statute to consult the Food Standards Agency on the determination of authorised limits.

Programme R01 is concerned with the assessment of the impact of both routine and accidental discharges of radioactivity on both terrestrial and aquatic foodstuffs. The programme also covers the assessment of the impact of naturally occurring radionuclides on the food chain.

The aim for the programme is to ensure that the Food Standards Agency can carry out its responsibilities to assess the potential impact of both planned and accidental discharges on the food chain using state-of-the-art methods. It is therefore important that the work of this programme can be identified as advancing radiological dose assessment methodologies and that the outcomes are communicated to stakeholders and the public in a clear fashion, thus contributing to two of the Agency's core aims and values:

• to improve public confidence in the national food safety and standards arrangements; and
• to protect consumers through improved food safety and standards.

Scientific Aims

The scientific aims of the programme are to:

• develop approaches to radiological dose assessments that take into account the variability and uncertainties in our understanding of radionuclide transport through the environment;
• continue the development of our understanding of the transport of radionuclides through the environment and into the food chain;
• ensure that our assessments take into account the latest methodologies and approaches.

Areas of Activity

To achieve these aims, the activities of the programme fall into a number of different areas including:

• The refining and treatment of the uncertainties that exist within the parameter values used in the modelling of radionuclide transport through the environment. This also includes research on how to present the results of probabilistic dose assessments to the public. This research will help us quantify the inherent uncertainties in our models, giving us greater confidence in our estimates of public exposure to radiation.
• Development of our modelling capability. This will help to develop models for specific uses and to give us information on how to make better use of the models we already possess.
• Habit surveys around nuclear sites. From these surveys knowledge is gained of individuals' consumption rates and daily life around nuclear sites in England and Wales. This helps to ensure that the Agency's assessments of public exposure to radiation are based upon realistic assumptions.
• The refinement of our understanding of the transport of radionuclides through the environment. By examination of the levels and types of radioactive substances in the environment we can establish accurate models of the fate of radionuclides that will be discharged in the future.

Implications for consumers

This research will allow the Agency to improve food safety and benefit the consumer by:

• developing methods that will allow us to assess whether radioactive discharges will unduly contaminate foodstuffs; and
• allowing us to address the uncertainties in variables used to model the transport of radionuclides in the environment, thereby ensuring that our assessments are appropriate and not overly pessimistic.

Most of the cost of this work is recovered from industry by charges levied under the provisions of the Environment Act 1995.

Name: Stuart Conney
Tel: 020 7276 8782
Email: stuart.conney@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk