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The BioPhyMeTRE project (2020-2023) focuses on the use of innovative biological and physical methods for a fast evaluation of the radiation exposure level of people involved in a radiological mass casualty incident. The proposed biological method combines the two standardized Dicentric and Micronuclei assays into a single one, which allows the simultaneous scoring of chromosome aberrations and micronuclei on the same slide [1]. The physical method is based on the use of a low-cost, portable photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) reader for the individual dose assessment by using personal items that people can have in their pockets or bags [2]. Both methods can be applied for a quick screening of the potential victims by using user-friendly analytical procedures. The multi-parametric approach by different techniques provides complementary information useful to overcome the limits (low radiation sensitivity, signal instability, etc.) that each method has, since the “ideal” dosimeter does not exist. From the beginning of the project (April 2020) important progress has been made to optimize and automate the biological procedure and very satisfactory results have been obtained with the PSL technique applied to salty crackers and beach sand. Interlaboratory exercises for the validation of the analytical procedures are planned in the coming months. Next to the work for the improvement of the methods, other important activities have been carried out: online training for the transfer of knowledge and skills among the partners and disseminations of the results through the participation to several international conferences. The project, fully funded by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme (Grant G5684), is coordinated by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) of Italy and involves the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology (IRSE) of National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan, the National Health Institute (ISS) of Italy and the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) of Croatia.

International audience; Purpose: A European network was initiated in 2012 by 23 partners from 16 European countries with the aim to significantly increase individualized dose reconstruction in case of large-scale radiological emergency scenarios. Results: The network was built on three complementary pillars: (1) an operational basis with seven biological and physical dosimetric assays in ready-to-use mode, (2) a basis for education, training and quality assurance, and (3) a basis for further network development regarding new techniques and members. Techniques for individual dose estimation based on biological samples and/or inert personalized devices as mobile phones or smart phones were optimized to support rapid categorization of many potential victims according to the received dose to the blood or personal devices. Communication and cross-border collaboration were also standardized. To assure long-term sustainability of the network, cooperation with national and international emergency preparedness organizations was initiated and links to radiation protection and research platforms have been developed. A legal framework, based on a Memorandum of Understanding, was established and signed by 27 organizations by the end of 2015. Conclusions: RENEB is a European Network of biological and physical-retrospective dosimetry, with the capacity and capability to perform large-scale rapid individualized dose estimation. Specialized to handle large numbers of samples, RENEB is able to contribute to radiological emergency preparedness and wider large-scale research projects. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

International audience; Purpose: The RENEB accident exercise was carried out in order to train the RENEB participants in coordinating and managing potentially large data sets that would be generated in case of a major radiological event. Materials and methods: Each participant was offered the possibility to activate the network by sending an alerting email about a simulated radiation emergency. The same participant had to collect, compile and report capacity, triage categorization and exposure scenario results obtained from all other participants. The exercise was performed over 27 weeks and involved the network consisting of 28 institutes: 21 RENEB members, four candidates and three non-RENEB partners. Results: The duration of a single exercise never exceeded 10 days, while the response from the assisting laboratories never came later than within half a day. During each week of the exercise, around 4500 samples were reported by all service laboratories (SL) to be examined and 54 scenarios were coherently estimated by all laboratories (the standard deviation from the mean of all SL answers for a given scenario category and a set of data was not larger than 3 patient codes). Conclusions: Each participant received training in both the role of a reference laboratory (activating the network) and of a service laboratory (responding to an activation request). The procedures in the case of radiological event were successfully established and tested. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

International audience; Purpose In the EC-funded project RENEB (Realizing the European Network in Biodosimetry), physical methods applied to fortuitous dosimetric materials are used to complement biological dosimetry, to increase dose assessment capacity for large-scale radiation/nuclear accidents. This paper describes the work performed to implement Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dosimetry techniques. Materials and methods OSL is applied to electronic components and EPR to touch-screen glass from mobile phones. To implement these new approaches, several blind tests and inter-laboratory comparisons (ILC) were organized for each assay. Results OSL systems have shown good performances. EPR systems also show good performance in controlled conditions, but ILC have also demonstrated that post-irradiation exposure to sunlight increases the complexity of the EPR signal analysis. Conclusions Physically-based dosimetry techniques present high capacity, new possibilities for accident dosimetry, especially in the case of large-scale events. Some of the techniques applied can be considered as operational (e.g. OSL on Surface Mounting Devices [SMD]) and provide a large increase of measurement capacity for existing networks. Other techniques and devices currently undergoing validation or development in Europe could lead to considerable increases in the capacity of the RENEB accident dosimetry network. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group.

National audience; Monitoring cake behavior for filterability and compressibility is a useful way to follow a solid precipitation process and anticipate solid/liquid issues in the separation stage. In many cases, experimental results have to be obtained in a few minutes with very small samples (just a few grams) of the suspension. Clearly, a need existed for a Filtration Performance Test (FPT) at a very compact scale. Such a tool could find applications in investigating toxic hazardous products such as radioactive materials or pharmaceutical compounds. Filterability and compressibility values can also be very helpful in choosing the best separator device when moving from pilot to industrial scale. The FPT presented here can meet a wide range of these needs. It will be shown that the technology enables cake specific resistance measurement in accordance with a modified Darcy's law at a constant pressure drop. A statistical approach on 1, 1.8 and 3 cm inner diameter test cells showed that wall effects can be ignored with even the smallest test cell. A high level of confidence is ensured for the filterability data obtained. Hydrodynamic modeling of tank, pipe and test cell situations with Openfoam CFD software led to an optimized design for the filtration tests. Settling zones are avoided and homogeneous cake construction is guaranteed inside the cell. Moreover, a user friendly tactile graphic display for the FPT enables online control of the suspension behavior, which helps ensure the ideal conditions of the industrial solid-liquid separation step. This development, presented in WFC12, concerns the very first commercial apparatus for the Filterability Pressure Test. The model was designed by FlowerSep company after some years of research and development in the CEA. With the Filtration Performance Test, researchers have obtained suspension behavior results contributing to quality control or to the choice of the most appropriate device for the solid/liquid separation stage (centrifugation, filtration).

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This study aimed to verify the applicability of the EN 1787 method for the detection of irradiation in herbal ingredients used in Plant Food Supplements (PFSs). In matrices such as herbs and spices the main limit of the method is the presence of intrinsic radicals responsible for spurious signals leading to complex ESR spectra. To overcome this limit, before ESR measurement a treatment with alcohol has been proposed (Delincee and Soika, 2002; Ahn et al., 2012, 2014). As reported in the literature, this treatment is expected to reduce/eliminate the confounding signals so that the samples may be correctly classified. In this study the efficacy of the pre-treatment was tested on raw herbal ingredients largely used for PFSs, namely Camellia sinensis, Cinnamomum verum, Curcuma longa, Ginkgo biloba, Silybum marianum, Vaccinium myrtillus and Zingiber officinale. Non-irradiated and irradiated (5, 10 kGy) samples were analysed before and after pre-treatment. The results showed a general decrement of signal intensity. In some cases, this was associated with the elimination of some spurious signals, which, however, did not always ensue in an easier interpretation of the ESR spectra. Only for two matrices (Camellia sinensis and Vaccinium myrtillus) was alcoholic extraction crucial for the correct classification of the samples.

This paper reports the results of a study carried out to verify the applicability of the EN 1787 method, which uses the Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) technique for the identification of irradiated plant-origin foods with health benefits. The method was tested on samples of herbal ingredients of Plant Food Supplements (PFSs), nuts and fresh blueberries. Untreated and irradiated samples of Camellia sinensis (leaves) Ginkgo biloba (leaves), Glycine max (seeds), Silybum marianum (fruits), Vaccinium myrtillus (fruits), almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts and fresh blueberries were analysed. The work includes an inter-laboratory blind test involving five Italian laboratories that perform routine analyses for the official control of irradiated food. A total of 180 untreated and irradiated samples of PFS ingredients, nuts and fresh blueberries were analysed. The analyses on the irradiated samples were replicated even a long time after irradiation (up to two years depending on the matrix) to test the reliability of the method throughout the shelf life of the products. The results were matrix-dependent: all the 5 kGy irradiated nuts and the 1 kGy-irradiated blueberries were correctly classified, whereas herbal ingredients showed complex ESR spectra with spurious signals which often prevented the correct classification of the sample.

International audience; In the framework of the EU-FP7 MULTIBIODOSE project, two protocols using OSL of resistors removed from the circuit board of mobile phones were developed with the aim to use the resistors as fortuitous dosimeters in the event of a large scale radiological accident. This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory comparison carried out under the umbrella of EURADOS. The two aims of this exercise were the validation of the MULTIBIODOSE protocols by a large number of laboratories and the dissemination of the method with the objective of preparing the basis for a network that could increase Europe's response capacity in the case of a mass casualty radiological emergency. Twelve institutes from eleven European countries and one institute from the USA, with various degrees of expertise in OSL dosimetry, took part in the OSL inter-laboratory comparison. Generally, a good agreement within uncertainties was observed between estimated and nominal doses. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.