Strategies for the selection of reference organisms in environmental assessment programmes

Swedish Radiation Protection Institute, 17116 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

At present there exists no internationally accepted strategy for the protection of the environment against ionising radiation although the requirement is increasing due to both growing public concern for environmental protection issues and to the evolving integration of environmental impact assessments into the regulatory process. In order to progress the work, strategies have been formulated which include the use of reference organisms. This approach resembles the concept of reference man, which has been used in traditional radiation protection for many years. The purpose of selecting reference organisms is to narrow the problem and simplify the development of appropriate exposure and dose models in the areas of environmental radiation protection. These ideas will be further explored in an ongoing EU-financed project (FASSET: Framework for Assessment of Environmental Impact) aiming at developing a system for protection of the environment. The selection of reference organisms is based on criteria which relate to both ecological and radiation sensitivities as well as exposure. Not all of the different identified effect variables will be predominant at the same time and consequently some kind of judgements needs to be done. If applicable, multivariate analysis may show the most influential variables and also existing interactions between these variables.