Retrospective and emergency dosimetry in response to radiological incidents and nuclear mass-casualty events: A review

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 in...

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8113849/file/8113860.pdf

RENEB – Running the European Network of biological dosimetry and physical retrospective dosimetry

In the event of a large-scale radiological emergency, the triage of individuals according to their degree of exposure forms an important initial step of the accident management. Although clinical signs and symptoms of a serious exposure may be used for radiological triage, they are not necessarily radiation specific and can lead to a false diagnosis. Biodosimetry is a method based on the analysis of radiation-induced changes in cells of the human body or in portable electronic devices and enables the unequivocal identification of exposed people who should receive medical treatment. The MULTIBIODOSE (MBD) consortium developed and validated several biodosimetric assays and adapted and tested them as tools for biological dose assessment in a mass-casualty event. Different biodosimetric assays were validated against the 'gold standard' of biological dosimetry-the dicentric assay. The assays were harmonised in such a way that, in an emergency situation, they can be run in parallel in a network of European laboratories. The aim of this guidance is to give a concise overview of the developed biodosimetric tools as well as how and when they can be used in an emergency situation.

Operational guidance for radiation emergency response organisations in Europe for using biodosimetric tools developed in EU MULTIBIODOSE project

Purpose: RENEB, ‘Realising the European Network of Biodosimetry and Physical Retrospective Dosimetry,’ is a network for research and emergency response mutual assistance in biodosimetry within the EU. Within this extremely active network, a number of new dosimetry methods have recently been proposed or developed. There is a requirement to test and/or validate these candidate techniques and inter-comparison exercises are a well-established method for such validation.Materials and methods: The authors present details of inter-comparisons of four such new methods: dicentric chromosome analysis including telomere and centromere staining; the gene expression assay carried out in whole blood; Raman spectroscopy on blood lymphocytes, and detection of radiation-induced thermoluminescent signals in glass screens taken from mobile phones.Results: In general the results show good agreement between the laboratories and methods within the expected levels of uncertainty, and thus demonstrate that there is a lot...

https://tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09553002.2016.1206233

Integration of new biological and physical retrospective dosimetry methods into EU emergency response plans – joint RENEB and EURADOS inter-laboratory comparisons

V. Cauwels

Papers

Retrospective radiation dosimetry using OSL of electronic components: results of an inter-laboratory comparison