European cooperation in radiation protection in NORM-industries

Noturally occurring radioactive materials, abbreviated NORM, have been incorporated into the European legislative framework of radiation protection With Directive 96/29/Euratom. Title VII of this directive pointed out that radiation protection has to be applied to ''work activities not covered by Article 2 [1] within which the presence of natural radiation sources leads to a significant increase in the exposure of workers or of members of the public which cannot be disregarded from the radiation protection point of view''. This new legal framework resulted in challenges for non-nuclear industries which process, treat or otherwise handle natural radiation sources. The natural radiation sources in these industries differ from the man-made radiation sources used in technical applications of radioactivity. In the non-nuclear industry, large volumes of raw materials with generally low activity concentration are processed.