Radiation protection

We are naturally immersed in an environment pervaded by natural radiation: the ground, the waters, the atmosphere, the walls of our houses and many other things that surround us are sources of weak radiation. There are also artificial radiation sources, such as diagnostic equipment, particle accelerators, nuclear power plants, cathode ray tube televisions, air travel, etc. that expose us to weak ionizing radiation. There may also be accidents involving small or large quantities of radioactive material, such as release from nuclear power plants or radioactive sources for industrial uses that are dispersed into the environment.

Since exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation can be harmful to human health, the EU wants to protect its citizens from the dangers of increased exposure levels through the provisions contained in the Nuclear Cooperation Treaty, which goes under the Euratom name.

Safety standards

The EU has established a number of safety rules to protect workers, the public and
patients from the dangers of ionizing radiation.

These rules cover both usual situations and those that arise as a result of accidents. Rules tightened following the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The Basic Safety Standards guarantee:

protection of workers exposed to ionizing radiation,
medical personnel and those who work in places with indoor radon or in activities involving natural radioactive material (NORM)
protection of citizens, for example from radon in buildings
protection of medical patients, for example by avoiding accidents in radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy
and strengthened requirements on emergency preparedness and response that incorporate lessons learned from the Fukushima incident.

The basic safety standards are developed in consultation with a panel of scientific experts in public health and in particular in radiation protection.

The latest Basic Safety Standards Directive 2013/59/Euratom was adopted on 5/12/2014 and entered into force on 6 February 2014. EU countries had to ensure compliance by 6 February 2018.

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Emergency preparedness and response

In the event of a nuclear accident, fast and accurate sharing of information can make a huge difference in ensuring people's safety. Under the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission is responsible for exchanging information quickly. It does this through:

The European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange (ECURIE), which was set up to facilitate early notification and information exchange in the event of a radiological or nuclear emergency. All EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia take part, and they must promptly notify the Commission if they decide to take measures in order to protect their population in the event of an emergency. The Commission must then make this notification available to all other members.

The European Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP), which makes radiological monitoring data from 38 European countries available to each other. All EU Countries plus Iceland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Belarus participate in EURDEP. EURDEP data is usually provided at least once a day. Data is delivered at least once every hour during an emergency. Public radiation monitoring data is made available at the public EURDEP site.

Information on the EU's response to the Fukushima disaster.