Radioecology definition

Radioecology is a branch of environmental science devoted to studying the fate of radioactive substances in the environment, the environmental exposure of humans and wildlife populations, and their consequences on ecosystems. Its field of research is broad and multidisciplinary in nature, and embraces basic science to form the foundation for environmental risk assessment and management. This includes the risks to human health, ecosystem health and protection of biodiversity, and the development of prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce exposure. Radioecology emerged as a science in the late 1940s and 50s in response to concerns about releases from nuclear weapons production facilities and radioactive fallout from the use and testing of nuclear weapons. In subsequent decades radioecology further developed along with the increased use of nuclear power for civil purposes. Following the Chernobyl accident in 1986 European research in radioecology expanded, but was faced with a substantial decrease in funding at the start of the 21st century. The accident at the Fukushima Daïchi nuclear power plant, in 2011, highlighted the limitations in experimental data and in the robustness of models to predict the transfer of radionuclides in the environment and hence the human food chain (Raskob et al., 2018; Beresford et al., 2020) as well as the scarcity of qualified personnel.

Technological developments in the nuclear and non-nuclear fields may impact on the exposure of ecosystems, wildlife and humans in particular. These include for example developments in decommissioning activities and long-term nuclear waste disposal, expansion of nuclear power in many countries (as part of the low-carbon transformation of economies worldwide). They also include hazards associated with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) e.g. from mining and process industries (Michalik et al., 2013), and the increasing use of medical radioisotopes. Simultaneously, there is a growing awareness among the public on the importance of global quality of the environment and its biodiversity. Furthermore, human and ecosystem health are increasingly recognised as strongly interconnected and need to be in balance with economic and social activities (United Nations, 2015). Research in radioecology is needed not only as a goal in itself, but also to maintain credibility in human health and ecological risk assessment and ensure public trust. 

(*) from Gilbin et al, 2021. JER 237, 106697 -  An updated strategic research agenda for the integration of radioecology in the European radiation protection research)