Expectations for the protection of the environment: Greenpeace perspectives

Full text: In seeking to develop and apply a system of radiation protection of the environment, there is a need for the provision of high-quality scientific information. It is essential also to take into account information provided through other disciplines and the experience gained through study of non-radioactive environmental stressors. The policy development and management approaches developed in response to other environmental contaminants have a significant role to play in this process. Greenpeace advocates use of a precautionary approach for protection of the environment centred upon the following core principles: damage should be prevented; decisions should be informed by scientific information, whilst recognising the limitations and uncertainties in the available knowledge; and all activities should meet the requirement for progressive reduction of the presence of environmental stressors. In developing a policy and in determining a management approach to environmental releases of radioactive materials, it is suggested that it is essential to consider, inter alia, that: the effects of continued releases of radioactive materials into the environment are unpredictable in the long term, particularly where the physical or chemical form of the radioactive material may make it liable to accumulate and where the radioactivity may be long-lived; any accumulation of persistent presence in the environment may be practically difficult to reverse; and environmental/ecosystem effects may be undetectable at an early stage which could mean that later intervention to reduce the overall impact may be 'too little, too late'. To meet these and other concerns, the prime management objective should be the cessation of environmental releases of radioactive materials in order to reduce their levels in the environment to the lowest level practically possible given historic releases. In this context, the assessment of risk to non-human species fulfils the purpose of aiding in the determination of how the objective can be achieved and in identifying specifically the various sources, routes and pathways to the environment. In the management phase, the risk assessment will facilitate and inform the decisions on which programmes and measures will be most effective and which should be prioritised and, in addition, provide useful inputs to decisions on remedial measures for addressing historic contamination. (author)