[en] The UK has a duty to comply with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives when planning and undertaking all of its regulatory and operational activities. These European Directives were introduced into UK legislation by the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994, as amended by the Conservation (Natural Habitats) (England) Regulations 2000. Under these Regulations, the Environment Agency has obligations in England and Wales to review all existing environmental licences to ensure that no Agency authorised activity results in an adverse effect, either directly or indirectly, on the integrity of identified European Sites. In this context European Sites consist of classified or Special Protection Areas (SPA) created under the Wild Birds Directive and candidate or designated Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the Habitats Directive. These sites are collectively referred to as Natura 2000 sites. Working in partnership with English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales, who select Natura 2000 sites, the Agency has put in place a staged approach to the assessment of the impact of ionising radiation on the environment. - Stage 1: Identifying whether the Habitats Regulations are applicable. - Stage 2: Identifying whether authorisations to discharge radioactive substances present a potential risk of significant effect on wildlife and habitats. - Stage 3: Identifying issues to consider when carrying out a more detailed assessment of the potential impact of radioactive discharges for sites identified as presenting a potential risk. - Stage 4: Grant or deny authorisation for regulated discharge purposes, following Stage 3 Assessment. The developed methodology, described in R and D Publication 128 and presented at the IAEA Darwin Symposium in 2003, was used in screening authorisations (Stage 2), and is now needed by practitioners to carry out detailed impact assessments under Stage 3. The current paper will describe how the methodology was used to apply the concept of reference organisms into the context of protecting feature species present in Natura 2000 sites. Feature species are named species, usually of conservation value, that have been identified as requiring protection. The derivation of concentration factors has been conservative, due to the lack of data for those protected feature species. In light of the lack of data, and given the assumptions and uncertainties that underlay the assessment methodology, a precautionary approach has been adopted. The derived guidance allows assessors to derive dose-rates to biota based on discharge limits (Bq/yr). The paper will outline the Stage 3 Assessment approach and provide a practical example of its application in England and Wales to demonstrate the use of this methodology as part of the UK regulatory framework. (Author)

[en] It is now generally recognised that there needs to be a system to demonstrate that the environment is protected from ionising radiation. In its latest recommendations, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) acknowledged the need for radiological protection of the environment. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also revising the international Basic Safety Standards (BSS) to incorporate the IAEAs fundamental safety objective: ''to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation''. The European Basic Safety Standards are also being revised and chapter X describes the requirements for environmental protection. There has been considerable international and national effort over the last decade on how to conduct environmental assessments. These have focused on collating relevant information and developing assessment approaches for regulatory purposes. Validation and comparison of the radioecological and dosimetric components of various approaches has also begun. It is important that the approaches used are practicable, credible to stakeholders and fit for purpose. This paper describes the results of the habitats assessments conducted for 429 Natura sites of conservation value in England and Wales and highlight some of the assumptions, limitations and issues identified. The assessment involves the calculation of dose rates to reference organisms and feature species from exposure to permitted discharges of radioactive substances at Natura 2000 sites in England and Wales. The calculated dose rates can then be related to biological effects data (e.g. mortality, morbidity, reproductive effects) to determine the likely risk of impact at the Natura 2000 site. A number of assumptions were included in the assessment process: 1) Discharges were assumed to be at the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 authorization limits (now Environmental Permit Limits) but in reality actual discharges are likely to be significantly lower than the discharge limit. 2) The calculated dose rate per unit concentration data used to calculate the dose rate to the reference or feature species are based on our earlier work. 3) The dispersion modelling conducted was for current discharges and the assessments do not include concentrations of radionuclides which may have been discharged when historical limits were significantly higher. 4) The total dose rate from releases to air and water to the worst affected organism has been calculated from the terrestrial dose rate and water environment dose rate for the worst affected organism. The total dose rates to the worst affected organism are less than the agreed threshold of 40 Gy h^-1 for all but two Natura 2000 sites. This threshold represents the level below which it is accepted that there will be no adverse affect on the integrity of a Natura 2000 site. The assessment process followed a staged approach to identify those sites most at risk from the discharges of radioactive substances and effort to completely assess the risk was targeted at those sites (i.e. the Drigg coastal SAC and the Ribble and Alt Estuaries SPA). This is considered to be an approach consistent with the likely level of risk of impact from ionising radiation to wildlife. (author)

[en] Soft-X-rays irradiation of yeast cells allows selective interference with different cellular structures. The monitoring of different physical parameters leads to substantial variations in the response to X-rays showing that monotonicity should not be taken for granted

[en] Vulcan is a multi-beam, Nd:glass, ultra-high power laser facility situated at the Central Laser Facility (CLF) in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Recent developments have generated intensities on target up to 10²⁰ W cm^-2. This is achieved by delivering a high energy, ultra-short pulse using the technique of Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), in a high quality beam that is close to the diffraction limit. This report presents the current capabilities of the system and progress in the 1 Peta-watt upgrade of the facility. (authors)

[en] The time and space-integrated emission spectra measurements have been performed in plasma produced by 308 nm wavelength XeCl laser radiation (I_L=(4-10)·10¹² W/cm², τ=10 ns) and by 248 nm wavelength KrF laser pulse train radiation (I_L=5·10¹⁵ W/cm², τ=7 ps, 16 pulses in train) on CF_n plane target. The lines' shapes and intensities modeling of Lyman series and He-like ion resonance series of fluorine up to n=7 by fitting experimental data shows the considerable difference of plasma formation features for these two sets of the laser pulse parameters

[en] The time and space-integrated emission spectra measurements have been performed in plasma produced by 308 nm wavelength XeCl laser radiation (I_L=(4-10)·10¹² W/cm², τ=10 ns) and by 248 nm wavelength KrF laser pulse train radiation I_L=5·10¹⁵ W/cm², τ=7 ps, 16 pulses in train) on (CF_n plane target. The lines' shapes and intensities modeling of Lyman series and He-like ion resonance series of fluorine up to n=7 by fitting experimental data shows the considerable difference of plasma formation features for these two sets of the laser pulse parameters