Harmonization of occupational dosimetry monitoring in Europe: IRSN set up the data exchange platform ESOREX

In order to harmonize the radiation monitoring for workers exposed to occupational radiation across its European Union member states, the European Commission awarded a 3-year contract to a consortium led by IRSN. This contract finished in December 2015 with the set up of the data exchange platform named ESOREX.

In accordance with radiation protection principles commonly adopted in the nrauclear industry, the occupational dose uptake by the workers exposed to ionizing radiation must be kept “as low as reasonably achievable”. To that end, each country of the Union performs a continuous dosimetry monitoring and incorporates the data into dedicated national databases.

Transposing the 2013 Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive into each member state’s national legislation requires a review of each regulatory system. In this context, the European Commission awarded a 3-year contract to a consortium led by IRSN for the European Study on Occupational Radiation Exposure (ESOREX), a project to harmonize radiation monitoring for workers exposed to occupational radiation and to share best practices in this area.

The three main objectives of the ESOREX project are:

• to facilitate exchange of information and experience feedback among experts in occupational radiation exposure,
• to help implement the requirements for occupational radiation protection under the 2013 Directive,
• to promote the harmonization of data and information reporting formats within Europe and beyond, with international bodies such as UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation).

Led by IRSN, the project team set up a data exchange platform supported by a database for the assessment of occupational radiation exposure, into which each participating member state could enter its national dosimetry monitoring data. The challenge ahead is to make the ESOREX platform self-sustainable by the end of 2016, by attracting as many member states as possible.

To this end, the ESOREX team consulted with Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities (HERCA) in order to create a network of authorities to lead the platform and promote harmonized dosimetry monitoring standards.