Eden NE are pleased to have been awarded a new contract by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to review the current state of knowledge regarding radioactive material migration in urban water systems. DEFRA is the UK Government department responsible for providing advice, guidance, and access to capability for the remediation of areas contaminated as a result of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) and major hazardous material (hazmat) incidents.

Decisions on remediation in urban areas following a radiological or nuclear incident will need to consider the surrounding social issues and its acceptability by the wide range of stakeholders involved. Issues related to the transfer of radioactive contamination from urban areas to surrounding water bodies are of particular concern due to the risk to humans and the environment. Therefore, it is important for the responsible authorities to consider the extent to which radioactive material deposited on urban surfaces could be spread into water supplies.

The work to be carried out by Eden NE will be to collate existing UK and international knowledge on the transport and fate of radionuclides in urban sewerage and drainage systems and create new summaries of current literature into a form that can be readily used by Government scientists. The project will also identify any gaps in the knowledge base and make recommendations for further R&D that could be carried out.