The European ALARA Network (EAN) was established in 1996 by the European Commission. In June 2005, after 9 years spent within the scope of the European Commission research programs, EAN became self-sustainable. It was registered as a legal entity under French law in July 2005 as a non-profit making association.
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European ALARA Network (EAN)
History
Objectives
- To promote a wider and more uniform implementation of the ALRA principle for the management of public, patient and worker’s exposures.
- To provide a focus and a mechanism for the exchange and dissemination of information from practical ALARA experiences and good radiation protection practice.
- To identify and investigate topical issues of common interest to further improve the implementation of ALARA.
Management
EAN has a Steering Group consisting of organizations from about 20 different European countries/organizations, which have signed the EAN “Terms and Conditions”. The budget of the network is managed by an Administrative Board, composed of Members financially supporting EAN. The technical and administrative management of the network is organised by a Coordination Team, composed of CEPN (France) and Public Health England (UK) staff members.
The countries represented in EAN are the following: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In each country one or several organizations with an interest in ALARA are represented in the EAN
Main Activities
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Workshops
Topical ALARA Workshops are regularly organised (ex. every 18 months) on challenging ALARA issues. From the 1st workshop organized in 1997, the last workshops included “ "ALARA in Emergency Exposure Situations" (2017) "ALARA for Decommissioning and Site Remediation" (March 2019) and "Innovative ALARA Tools" (November 2019).
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Newsletter
Since 1996, the European ALARA newsletter has been published twice a year. This Newsletter intends to reflect some major aspects of the ALARA life in Europe: change in regulation, results of research in optimization, incident etc.
The content of the Newsletter has mainly been provided by EAN Members. However, the EAN Newsletter Editorial Board has decided to also encourage recipients of the Newsletter to submit article for inclusion in future issues.
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Survey
The EAN organizes quick surveys on questions emanating from the Members or based on the opportunity. The EAN has the objective to publish a public synthesis of the survey. Topics of surveys included : Diagnostics Reference Levels in Europe, Delineation and access of regulated area or radiation protection of aircraft crew.
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European sub-networks and working group
When a topic or sector needed further, deeper and specialised discussion the network supported the creation of new networks, subnetworks or working groups devoted to certain subject areas regarding ALARA
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EAN Website
The EAN website is regularly updated and gives access to different information regarding the networks’ activities such as the electronic versions of the newsletter, papers of the workshops, summarised conclusions and recommendations. Several hundred individuals regularly visit the website.