Exposure due to radionuclides in food in non-emergency situations

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Presenter: Kevin Kelleher (EPA, Ireland)

Dates:
Part 1: 2 April 2025, 13.30–14.30 (Vienna time), moderated by Laura Urso (IAEA) Recording →
Part 2: 9 April 2025, 13.30–14.30 (Vienna time), moderated by Laura Urso (IAEA) Recording →
Part 3: 16 April 2025, 13.30–14.30 (Vienna time), moderated by Laís Aguiar (IAEA) Recording →
Part 4: 23 April 2025, 13.30–14.30 (Vienna time), moderated by Laís Aguiar (IAEA) Recording →
Part 5: 30 April 2025, 13.30–14.30 (Vienna time), moderated by Heloisa De Fonseca (IAEA) 

Jointly organized with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO).

About the webinar series

The environment, our bodies, the food and drink that we consume all contain a certain amount of radionuclides, these are generally in low amounts and from natural sources, such as potassium-40 and the long-lived radionuclides of the uranium-radium decay series and the thorium decay series. Radionuclides can be transferred to plants and then to animals from rocks and minerals present in the soil and water resulting in exposure to ionizing radiation as part of everyday life. Such exposure varies depending on the concentrations of radionuclides in food and water, and on local dietary habits.

The IAEA International Basic Safety Standards require that regulatory bodies or other relevant authorities establish specific reference levels for exposure due to radionuclides in food.

The IAEA in conjunction with the FAO and WHO reviewed and summarized criteria for radionuclide activity concentrations for food and drinking water, international standards and guidance for different exposure situations related to radionuclides in food (IAEA TECDOC-1788) and provided suggested approaches and supporting material to assist national authorities in managing internal exposure from the consumption of radionuclides associated with food in non-emergency situations (IAEA TECDOC-2011 and IAEA Safety Report Series No. 114).

This webinar series will provide an overview of the current international guidance available to support countries to enhance and further develop a robust approach to identify, measure and eventually manage the levels of radioactivity in food and the diet in normal situations.

Learning objectives

During the webinar series, participants will:

• Learn about the sources of radioactivity in food and how guidance is provided to ensure exposure can be managed according to pre-determined criteria;
• Become familiar with the international guidance, requirements and recommendations related to radioactivity in food in non-emergency situations;
• Gain insights into the approaches that are used to assess radioactivity in the diet;
• Be provided with practical approaches for the measurement of radioactivity in food;
• See how the proposed approach for managing radioactivity in food was developed, taking into consideration the international regulatory framework and what is known about levels of radioactivity in food.

Programme

Part 1: Introduction by IAEA, WHO, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre. Sources of radioactivity in food, existing guidance, legislation and regulatory framework.
Part 2: Approaches to assessing radiation dose from food and the diet (including examples).
Part 3: How to measure radioactivity in food and the diet.
Part 4: An overview of natural radioactivity in food and diet (with international and specific examples).
Part 5: An internationally harmonized approach for managing radioactivity in food in non-emergency situations. Special Q&A with IAEA, WHO and the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.

About the presenter

Kevin Kelleher is a Senior Scientist in Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency with over 20 years’ experience in radiation protection. Kevin has experience in the monitoring and measurement of radioactivity in food, drinking water and the environment in non-emergency situations through his work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), having spent more than ten years working in the EPA’s radiation monitoring laboratory. Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, Kevin has also been working with the IAEA and other international partners in the measurement and assessment of radioactivity in food and the environment following a nuclear emergency. Between 2020 and 2021 Kevin worked with the IAEA in developing the Technical Document and Safety Reports published on Exposure Due to Radionuclides in Food Other Than During a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency. Kevin is also an associate research professor at the University of Hiroaki Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine.