Summary and evaluation of the closed conference 2008: Interventions and sustainability in radiation protection

The SSK closed conference on the topic “Interventions and Sustainability in Radiation Protection” took place on 13/14 November 2008 in Berlin. The following items were discussed in seven thematic blocks:

1. Principles of sustainability in radiation protection and nature conservation

   • Interventions in the case of relics from uranium ore mining principles for protecting individuals in a context of rehabilitation of living conditions in contaminated territories
   • Regulations concerning values for the protection and evaluation of the soil quality

2. Interventions in the case of relics from uranium ore mining

   • Application of the basic radiation protection principles within the scope of the Wismut remediation: Status and outlook
   • Radon situation and reduction of radon-caused exposures in Schlema and Schneeberg
   • International experiences: Lermontov (RU), Mailuu Suu (KG), Kitwe (ZM)

3. Interventions in the case of other mining and industrial relics

   • Radiological relics in Germany
   • Radiological industrial relics – situation, intervention, sustainability
   • Radiological relics in Switzerland
   • Remediation and release of the premises of the former “NUKEM-A” fuel element fabrication plant

4. Environmental ethics and sustainability

   • On the way to strong sustainability

5. Existing situations with artificial radionuclides

   • Remediation strategies for areas contaminated through the Chernobyl accident
   • Traces of plutonium production in the river Jenissei
   • Results and evaluations of the site of the Active Storage Facility for Residuals (Aktives Lager für Rückstände, ALFR) in Rheinsberg

6. Large-scale changes of environmental radioactivity

   • Atmospheric radioactivity
   • Long-lived radionuclides in the hydrosphere taking iodine-129 as an example
   • Radioactivity in the pedosphere: Long-term fate and behaviour of radioactivity in the soil

7. Long-term behaviour and sustainability

   • Evaluation of the long-term behaviour of remediation objects and relics
   • Long-term safety and sustainability in radioactive waste disposal
   • Assessment of long-term behaviour of uranium mining sites in France: The GEP approach (Groupe d’Expertise Pluraliste).

The summarising evaluation and the individual manuscripts have been published as volume 65 of the series “Veröffentlichungen der Strahlenschutzkommission" (Publications of the Commission on Radiological Protection).