Indoor radon and NORM in building materials: Critical analysis of the current European regulation and road map for the next decade

IF 1.9 3区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Journal of environmental radioactivity Pub Date : 2025-03-27 DOI:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107668

Konstantin Kovler , Andrey Tsapalov , Robert Bobkier , Rob Wiegers , Wouter Schroeyers , Tibor Kovács , Edit Toth-Bodrogi , Omar El Bounagui , Arkadiusz Babczuk

{"title":"Indoor radon and NORM in building materials: Critical analysis of the current European regulation and road map for the next decade","authors":"Konstantin Kovler , Andrey Tsapalov , Robert Bobkier , Rob Wiegers , Wouter Schroeyers , Tibor Kovács , Edit Toth-Bodrogi , Omar El Bounagui , Arkadiusz Babczuk","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107668","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This position paper deals with the critical analysis of the existing European regulation of indoor radon and NORM in building materials. It represents an opinion of the initiative group of experts created during the Workshop of European NORM Association (ENA) held in Rome, 15–17 May 2024. The main conclusions and propositions of the experts have been also discussed at the round table during the IX Terrestrial Radioisotopes in Environment International Conference on Environmental Protection, 19–22 November 2024, Vonyarcvashegy, Hungary.</div><div>The current paper lists and discusses several missing points and challenges within the European regulatory system in the field of NORM in building materials and indoor radon, consisting of three interconnecting functional levels: Legislative, Normative, and Methodological. It also serves as a Road Map for the regulatory development in the next decade.</div><div>Our analysis identifies areas for improvement. While the normative guidance (mid-tier of the hierarchical regulatory pyramid) is robust, the legislative framework has gaps, and methodological support remains underdeveloped with several serious deficiencies. These issues significantly hinder the global implementation of GRPs. To address these gaps, new harmonized standards and guidelines are necessary. It is concluded that enhancing radon and NORM regulations can be achieved by developing and globally implementing several relevant European (international) standards and guidelines within rational ISO/IEC concepts. From a legal-philosophical perspective, these findings are intended as an invitation to dialogue, not merely a critique.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15667,"journal":{"name":"Journal of environmental radioactivity","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 107668"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of environmental radioactivity","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X25000554","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This position paper deals with the critical analysis of the existing European regulation of indoor radon and NORM in building materials. It represents an opinion of the initiative group of experts created during the Workshop of European NORM Association (ENA) held in Rome, 15–17 May 2024. The main conclusions and propositions of the experts have been also discussed at the round table during the IX Terrestrial Radioisotopes in Environment International Conference on Environmental Protection, 19–22 November 2024, Vonyarcvashegy, Hungary.

The current paper lists and discusses several missing points and challenges within the European regulatory system in the field of NORM in building materials and indoor radon, consisting of three interconnecting functional levels: Legislative, Normative, and Methodological. It also serves as a Road Map for the regulatory development in the next decade.

Our analysis identifies areas for improvement. While the normative guidance (mid-tier of the hierarchical regulatory pyramid) is robust, the legislative framework has gaps, and methodological support remains underdeveloped with several serious deficiencies. These issues significantly hinder the global implementation of GRPs. To address these gaps, new harmonized standards and guidelines are necessary. It is concluded that enhancing radon and NORM regulations can be achieved by developing and globally implementing several relevant European (international) standards and guidelines within rational ISO/IEC concepts. From a legal-philosophical perspective, these findings are intended as an invitation to dialogue, not merely a critique.

查看原文本刊更多论文

建筑材料中的室内氡和NORM：对当前欧洲法规和未来十年路线图的批判性分析

本立场文件处理现有的欧洲室内氡法规和建筑材料规范的关键分析。它代表了2024年5月15日至17日在罗马举行的欧洲规范协会（ENA）研讨会期间创建的倡议专家组的意见。在2024年11月19日至22日于匈牙利vonyarchvashegy举行的第九届环境中的陆地放射性同位素国际环境保护会议的圆桌会议上，专家们的主要结论和主张也得到了讨论。当前的论文列出并讨论了在建筑材料和室内氡规范领域的欧洲监管体系中的几个缺失点和挑战，包括三个相互关联的功能层面：立法，规范和方法。它也为未来十年的监管发展提供了路线图。我们的分析确定了需要改进的地方。虽然规范指导（分层监管金字塔的中间层）是健全的，但立法框架存在差距，方法支持仍然不发达，存在几个严重缺陷。这些问题严重阻碍了全球实施grp。为了解决这些差距，有必要制定新的统一标准和准则。结论是，可以通过在合理的ISO/IEC概念内制定和在全球实施若干相关的欧洲（国际）标准和准则来加强氡和NORM法规。从法律哲学的角度来看，这些发现旨在邀请对话，而不仅仅是批评。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of environmental radioactivity 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

13.00%

发文量

209

审稿时长

73 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Environmental Radioactivity provides a coherent international forum for publication of original research or review papers on any aspect of the occurrence of radioactivity in natural systems. Relevant subject areas range from applications of environmental radionuclides as mechanistic or timescale tracers of natural processes to assessments of the radioecological or radiological effects of ambient radioactivity. Papers deal with naturally occurring nuclides or with those created and released by man through nuclear weapons manufacture and testing, energy production, fuel-cycle technology, etc. Reports on radioactivity in the oceans, sediments, rivers, lakes, groundwaters, soils, atmosphere and all divisions of the biosphere are welcomed, but these should not simply be of a monitoring nature unless the data are particularly innovative.