Projects to strengthen emergency preparedness in in-vitro monitoring

Introduction

BfS, the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, in cooperation with EURADOS WG7 is strengthening the preparedness for the monitoring of intakes of radionuclides in the event of radiological emergencies with two projects and invites other laboratories to participate.

The first project is an interlaboratory comparison for ²¹⁰Po in urine with relevance for emergency response. The second one is the establishment of a database of capabilities of in-vitro internal dosimetry services in Europe.

Emergency intercomparison for in-vitro monitoring

The aim of the intercomparison is to determine emergency-relevant activities of ²¹⁰Po in urine samples. Each laboratory will be sent 9 urine samples, each 200 mL in volume. The samples will include urine spiked with a maximum activity of 30 Bq per sample and some blanks.

The results should be reported within 5 working days after arrival of the samples. The objective is to identify the 3 samples containing ²¹⁰Po activity. In addition, a dose assessment shall be carried out. The intercomparison is scheduled to take place over a four-week period in May/June 2027.

SHIELDS Database of in-vitro dosimetry services for use in emergencies

In radiological emergencies, the internal exposure of members of the public may need to be determined and a large number of biological samples may need to be analysed in a limited period of time. We believe that in such an event the measurements of biological samples cannot be conducted by a single internal dosimetry service and possibly not even by the internal dosimetry services in a single country.

We therefore aim to strengthen the international collaboration of internal dosimetry services in radiological emergencies by setting up a database of contact details and capabilities of internal dosimetry services in Europe.

Invitation to participate

For the emergency interlaboratory comparison, all laboratories in Europe and beyond that have a method for ²¹⁰Po in urine available are invited to fill in the attached questionnaire. We reserve the right to limit the number of participants. The participation fee is €353. If you are interested, please respond by end of November.

For the database, all laboratories that have methods for the bioassay of biological samples available are invited. This includes in-vitro internal dosimetry services and other laboratories with relevant capabilities. Further information can be found in our cover letter. Participation is free of charge. This project is open-ended but we would like to have a first version of the database ready by mid-November.