The epidemiological study EPICE provides well-documented answers regarding non-cancerous radiation-induced effects. This study does not observe an association between cardiac arrhythmia and caesium-137 deposition levels on children living in the Bryansk region exposed to Chenobyl fallout.

The scientific evidence currently available about the possible health consequences of accidental exposure to ionizing radiation is mainly based on lessons learned from the follow-up of A-bomb survivors (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) in Japan, as well as populations exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl accident in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The observed effects vary according to the type of radiation exposure, dose rate and study population.

In the long term (a few years to decades), an increase in the risk of leukemia and cancers has been observed among the Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, as well as an increase of thyroid cancer in children exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl accident in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

With respect to non-cancerous effects, a relationship between the risk of cardiovascular disease and exposure to ionizing radiation was observed in the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and in Chernobyl liquidators; a similar observation was made for lens opacities (early stage of cataract) and exposure. However major uncertainties remain over the existence of such low-dose associations.

To address this issue, IRSN set up in 2005 the EPICE program (Evaluation of Pathologies potentially Induced by chronic CEsium contamination) in order to gather scientific information on non-cancerous effects resulting from chronic low-dose ionizing exposures and to answer a societal question relating to the health consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in a sensitive population (children).

All of these medical examinations diagnosed 2,526 children with cardiac arrhythmia. As a result of a thorough statistical analysis of the data collected on the field, over the period 2009-2013, the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias estimated in the contaminated territories is significantly lower than in the controlled territories. With regard to caesium-137 whole-body burden, no association could be demonstrated. Therefore, caesium-137 is not an associated factor in the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmia in the frame of the study.

This epidemiological study, which is unique in terms of its size and the quantity of data collected, thus provides well-documented answers regarding non-cancerous radiation-induced effects in children living in Russian contaminated territories by the fallout from the Chernobyl accident, issue which is widely discussed for many years.

This article, published in BMJ Open (open access version of the prestigious journal The British Medical Journal), is the first in a series of future publications on the results of the EPICE program, including the conclusions of a study on a large-scale screening of lens opacities in a similar group of children living in the same region of Russia.

Download the article published in BMJ Open “Is exposure to ionising radiation associated with childhood cardiac arrhythmia in the Russian territories contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout? A cross-sectional population-based study” (PDF, 408 Ko)

The guidelines presented at the final meeting of the European Shamisen project underlines the importance of involving population in the management of an accident and taking into account the economic and social upheavals and the psychological effects, particularly in the context of an emergency evacuation.​​

Download the report Recommendations and procedures for preparedness and health surveillance of populations affected by a radiation accident​​ (PDF, 338 Ko)​

What to do or not to do in case of a nuclear accident? How to improve the health surveillance and living conditions of affected population? Because the decisions taken at the time of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents sometimes "did more harm than good", the European Commission funded the Shamisen project, a research program that brought together 19 European and Japanese organizations including IRSN, as well as American, Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian experts. ​

Resarchers agreed to set 28 recommendations to improve the emergency and preparedness to a nuclear accident, the early and intermediate phase and the long-term recovery phase. General principles that can be applied to other types of accidents and disaster have also been identified.

The guidelines aim to extend the management of the nuclear accident beyond the protection of population from exposure to ionizing radiation alone. Measures such as the emergency evacuation have important psychosocial that must be taken into account.

To summarize, the recommendations focus on three main objectives (see infographics above to involve affected populations in the decision making process alongside experts and authorities:

• Take in​to account the well-being of the affected populations;
• Foster participation of affected population and other stakeholders such as medical staff;
• Respect the autonomy and dignity of the affected populations.

All major aspects on nuclear accident management are concerned: evacuation of populations, measurement and dose assessment, health surveillance, epidemiological studies and communication.

For example, local facilitators should make the link between the experts and the affected populations to allow everyone to make a choice based on reliable, timely and up-to-date information. Population should also be encouraged to participate freely in epidemiological studies in order to improve their relevance, efficiency and acceptability. However, it is important to ensure that these studies are informative and sustainable over time the findings are communicated in a clear understandable language to all concerned.

Some of the recommendations of the S​​​hamisen project have already been implemented in France and are included in the French National Plan for Response to a Major Nuclear or Radiological Accident published in February 2014.​

Complex reactions occur between the compounds used for the treatment of spent fuel. They can lead, under certain conditions, to the formation of unstable compounds known as "red oils". At some point, there is a danger of thermal runaway and explosions like in the Savannah River reprocessing plant (USA) in 1953 and in the Tomsk-7 industrial complex (Russia) in 1993.

In 2017, IRSN will complete a research program to understand in depth the thermal runaway phenomena and the parameters leading to it. The research program aims to define appropriate operating procedures to prevent the phenomena. It also seeks to improve safety provisions used to control this type of risk.

Since its start in 2012, the program is also supported by Areva NC, the operator of the spent fuel reprocessing plants in La Hague in Normandy, and the public government-funded research organization CEA.

First results in the research program led to recommendations issued by IRSN during the safety review for the UP3 spent fuel reprocessing plant in La Hague (Report in French).

The Institute has requested that risk analysis be supplemented by taking into account accident situations associated with red oils. For its part, Areva proposed to improve the procedures in existing fission product concentration units as well as technical changes for future units.

IRSN also develops a simulation tool named “ALAMBIC” intended to model red oils phenomena. The parameters used in this tool will be validated with data obtained with the current research program.

More information: Read the technical note of IRSN of June 2008 about Risks of explosion associated with "red oils" in reprocessing plants”

NUGENIA, the European association for research on Generation II and III nuclear reactors, gathered 260 participants in April 2016 in Marseille. The meeting gave IRSN and its partners the opportunity to discuss the projects they plan to propose in response to the call for projects 2016-2017 launched by the European Commission, under the H2020 Framework Program.

The meeting, to which the European Commission and the AIEA were invited, provided an opportunity for IRSN and members of NUGENIA to discuss also ongoing projects selected in the first call for projects for 2014-2015.

The program for this second call for projects, like the first one, focuses largely on research relative to generation II reactors built up to the end of the 1990’s and generation III reactors such as EPR under construction in Normandy, France.

The subjects discussed by the key partners included extending the service life of current nuclear power plant, passive safety systems for generation II and III reactors, small modular reactors, and severe reactor accidents and their consequences.

Work on finalizing the safety-related research proposals is now underway for submission this fall. The European Commission will notify the results in March 2017.

More informations: Website of NUGENIA - NUclear GENeration II & III Association

The CABRI research reactor has once again achieved criticality after several years of renovation and modification work. Operational preparation for the CABRI International Program (CIP) for the study of reactivity accidents can now go ahead. Led by IRSN under the aegis of the NEA, CIP involves 18 partners from 12 countries.

The divergence of the CABRI research reactor in October 2015 is the culmination of several years of renovation and modification of the facility. This achievement was the last technical step prior to the operational implementation of the Cabri International Program (CIP), an international research program led by IRSN under the aegis of the OECD NEA and devoted to reactivity initiated accident experiments.

During a reactivity accident, some of the fuel assemblies making up the reactor core can be subject to a significant power surge for a few milliseconds, exposing the fuel elements to extreme loads, which may cause their destruction. It is therefore essential to verify experimentally the effects of such loads on fuel elements, in order to understand safety margins and adapt regulatory safety criteria where necessary. This is the goal of the fuel tests conducted in CABRI, a reactor with outstanding characteristics which make it unlike any other facility in the world.

CABRI is designed to produce rapid power transients. Its new water loop reproduces the pressure (155 bar) and temperature (280°C) conditions observed in a pressurized water reactor, so it can be used to study all the physical phenomena(7) involved in a reactivity accident, along with their interactions. The CIP program consists of ten tests on different types of fuel (UO2 or MOX) at different burnups, using different cladding materials. Among other things, the program will provide a fuller understanding of thermal and mechanical processes that are observed in the fuel rods and that can impair their integrity, in particular during the advanced phase of the accident.

Learn more: summary of the CABRI research program

New research results of the epidemiological study INWORKS published today reinforce the evidence of the existence of a relationship between risk of death from cancers other than leukemia and exposure to ionizing radiation. These results complete the first results of INWORKS published in June 2015 regarding leukemia risk.

INWORKS is an epidemiological study of mortality among workers in the nuclear industry coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC www.iarc.fr) and involving IRSN, NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health www.cdc.gov/niosh) for the United States, the PHE-CRCE (Public Health England's Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england) for the United Kingdom, the University of North Carolina (UNC www.unc.edu) and the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL www.creal.cat).

The study combines cohorts of French, American and British workers in the nuclear industry (fuel preparation, research, power generation, reprocessing of spent fuel) and monitored for external radiation exposure by wearing individual dosimeters. The population studied in INWORKS includes more than 300,000 workers, male and female employees from the mid-1940s. The French cohort of more than 59,000 individuals included in INWORKS brings together workers of AREVA NC, the CEA and EDF.

INWORKS aims to verify the validity of the assumptions underlying the current system of radiation protection of workers which is based on an extrapolation of knowledge of radiation-induced risks derived from the epidemiological monitoring of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is the largest epidemiological study ever conducted to quantify the health risks potentially associated with chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation.

In June 2015, the first results of INWORKS reinforced the evidence of the existence of a relationship between leukemia risk and exposure to ionizing radiation (cf. our news report of 23 June 2015).

New research results published today on the website of the British Medical Journal concern the risk of death from cancers other than leukemia.

Download IRSN information note of 21 October 2015: Publication of new results of the epidemiological study INWORKS on the risk of cancer among nuclear industry workers chronically exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation

Download IRSN information note of 23 June 2015: Publication of the first results of the epidemiological study INWORKS on the risk of leukemia and lymphoma in the nuclear industry workers chronically exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation

IRSN has recently launched a national program of experiments called PROGRES to determine how agglomerations of debris in a reactor core could be cooled by injecting water into the vessel.

Retaining the corium resulting from a core meltdown accident within the reactor vessel or containment represents a major safety objective for the protection of people and the environment. 

For this reason, IRSN, as leader of the European IVMR project, has recently launched a national program of experiments called PROGRES to determine how agglomerations of debris in a reactor core could be cooled by injecting water into the vessel to enhance the retention strategy based on external vessel cooling.

Can the corium resulting from core degradation in a damaged reactor be cooled effectively enough to slow and prevent the progression of the accident towards total core meltdown and potential reactor vessel failure? Can it be stabilized and retained in the reactor vessel, even for higher power reactors (900 MWe and above)? 

Expected to run for five years under IRSN’s leadership, the European IVMR project (In-Vessel Melt Retention), which brings together 23 partners, raises key questions regarding corium behavior in the vessel in the event of a severe accident. 

In this context, one part of IRSN’s PROGRES program will study more specifically the cooling of the various types of debris agglomeration that may form in the vessel of a damaged reactor. Conducted at IRSN's PEARL facility, the program will subsequently extend beyond the vessel, assuming its failure. In fact, whether the debris bed is located inside the reactor core, at the bottom of the vessel or in the reactor pit, the phenomena surrounding corium cooling can be formulated in the same scientific terms.

This work forms part of a strategic IRSN goal – underpinned by the lessons learned from the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents – to fill the remaining gaps in knowledge in order to help develop effective solutions to prevent, limit and control large radioactive releases in the event of a severe accident.

More information about the IVMR projet

INWORKS is an epidemiological study of mortality among workers in the nuclear industry coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC www.iarc.fr).

The study involves IRSN, NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health www.cdc.gov/niosh) for the United States, PHE-CRCE (Public Health England's Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england) for the United Kingdom, University of North Carolina (UNC www.unc.edu/) and the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL www.creal.cat.

The study combines cohorts of French, American and British workers in the nuclear industry (fuel preparation, research, power generation, reprocessing of spent fuel) and monitored for external radiation exposure by wearing individual dosimeters. The population studied in INWORKS includes more than 300,000 workers, male and female employees from the mid-1940s. The French cohort of more than 59,000 individuals included in INWORKS brings together workers of AREVA NC, the CEA and EDF.

INWORKS aims to verify the validity of the assumptions underlying the current system of radiation protection of workers which is based on an extrapolation of knowledge of radiation-induced risks derived from the epidemiological monitoring of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This is the largest epidemiological study ever conducted to quantify the health risks potentially associated with chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation.

The first results of INWORKS reinforce the evidence of the existence of a relationship between leukemia risk and exposure to ionizing radiation. In particular, they show that this relationship is observed for chronic exposure to low doses of radiation, as are occupational exposures, thus reinforcing one of the foundations of the current system of radiological protection.

Download the information note of 23 June 2015: Publication of the first results of the epidemiological study INWORKS on the risk of leukemia and lymphoma in the nuclear industry workers chronically exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation

The European Commission (EC) has just announced the results of the first call for projects of the Horizon 2020 programme (the 8th Euratom Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development), for research and training activities in nuclear fission and radiation protection. IRSN participates in 11 projects out of the 14 selected in the topics relevant to the Institute (8 topics out of 16 in the call for projects).

This result reflects IRSN dynamism in the proposals made for Horizon 2020 and its contribution to collective action for research at the European level. Of these 11 projects, 3 are intended to structure European research in their field in a sustainable manner. For 2 other projects, IRSN led the construction of a collective response around a core of key competencies corresponding to the major issues of safety.

IRSN sees these results as a double recognition: it both acknowledges the place given to safety and radiation protection issues in a growing share of the selected projects, and recognizes IRSN involvement in structuring research activities in nuclear energy and radiation protection at European level.

This involvement is part of a fundamental shift in European R&D structuring, which aims to establish cooperation between all the actors in a field, to define a common and consistent vision, structure priorities and coordinate programs within European thematic platforms [1] such as the European associations MELODI, which studies the effects of low radiation doses, or NUGENIA in the field of pressurized water nuclear power reactors. These platforms’ production includes Strategic Research Agendas helping to structure optimally successive calls for projects. IRSN has been committed for years in these platforms where it specifically addresses the scientific issues for safety and radiation protection.

Note:

1. Research platforms are associative structures, involving stakeholders - research institutions, industry, universities – in a given field of research. They aim to define a common and consistent vision, structure R&D priorities, coordinate programmes and calls for projects, and gradually set up a joint programming.

​The 11 projects involving IRSN

Three projects which intend to sustainably structure European research in their field

• Concert (European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research), on the governance of radiation protection; it aims to sustainably integrate national and European research projects in a European joint programming in radiation protection. IRSN is one of the organizations designated by the French authorities, alongside the National Research Agency (ANR) and the CEA, as project manager for France.
  Project presentation 
• Sitex 2 (Sustainable network for independent technical expertise of radioactive waste disposal – interactions and implementation), led by IRSN and following the Sitex project (2012-2013) on the management of nuclear waste; it develops a network of expertise to establish safety organizations’ joint priorities in the field of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. 
  Project presentation
• Joprad (Towards a joint programming on geological disposal for high activity long lived radioactive waste), also on the management of nuclear waste; the aim of this project is to prepare the setting up of a joint programming on radioactive waste geological disposal to coordinate research at the European level. 
  Project presentation

Two projects for which IRSN led the construction of a collective response around a core of key competencies corresponding to the major issues of safety

• IVMR (In vessel melt retention), on power reactors safety; the project objective is an analysis of the feasibility and technical limits of In-Vessel Melt Retention (IVMR) as a safety strategy to manage severe accidents with core meltdown. 
  Project presentation
• Fastnet (Tool for the fast and reliable prediction of severe accident progression and anticipation of the source term of a nuclear accident), in the field of emergency preparedness and response management; at the crossroads of safety and radiation protection, the project aims to develop analytical tools in emergency preparedness, response management and drills, especially software for the rapid assessment of source terms for all types of severe accidents on European PWRs.
  Project presentation

Six other projects

• Soteria (Safe long term operation of light water reactors). Project presentation
• Sesame (Safety assessment of thermal hydraulics in metal cooled). Project presentation
• Incefa Plus (Covering gaps in fatigue assessment light water reactor environments). Project presentation
• Samofar (Reactor safety of molten salt fast reactor). Project presentation
• Modern2020 (Development and demonstration of monitoring strategies and technologies for geological disposal). Project presentation
• Cebama (Cement-based materials for geological disposal). Project presentation

The ERMSAR (European Review Meeting on Severe Accident Research) conference organized by IRSN in Avignon (France) in October 2013 gave a broad view of four years of R&D relating to major nuclear reactor accidents. This event was the opportunity to promote the decision taken by the SARNET network of excellence to continue its activities in the framework of the NUGENIA association (Nuclear Generation II & III Association).

The SARNET network of excellence reached a special milestone with the 6th ERMSAR conference, attended by 137 participants from 61 organizations and 25 countries, confirming its status as a leading international event on major nuclear reactor accidents. Among other things, the ERMSAR conference defined the highest priority areas for future research, considering the first feedback of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The future research topics will notably focus on developing technology systems aiming to limit the consequences of such accidents.

It was officially announced that, after operating for eight years under the European Commission’s supervision, SARNET will continue to run as one Technical Area of the NUGENIA association, of which IRSN is a founding member, and which is recognized as the key European vector for research on the safety of generation II and III reactors. IRSN will continue to coordinate the network, confirming its leadership position with regard to this crucial safety research issues.

More information:

Presentation of SARNET

NUGENIA website